Francisque Xavier Michel (18 February 1809,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, third-largest city and Urban area (France), second-largest metropolitan area of F ...

– 18 May 1887,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

) was a French historian and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as th ...

Life

He became known for his editions of French works of the Middle Ages, and the French Government, recognizing their value, sent him to England (1833) and

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

(1837) to continue his research there. In 1837 he became a member of the Comité Historique and in 1838 chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur. In 1839 he was appointed professor of foreign literature in the ''Faculté des lettres'' at the

University of Bordeaux The University of Bordeaux (French: ''Université de Bordeaux'') is a Lists of universities in France, public university based in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in Southern France, southwestern France. It has several campuses in the cities and towns of Bor ...

. Between 1834 and 1842 he published editions of many works written between the eleventh and fourteenth centuries in French, English, and Saxon, including the ''Roman de la rose'' and the ''Chanson de Roland''. He got his licence in literature in 1842, and his doctorat in 1846, with a thesis in Latin on

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...

and a thesis in French, entitled: ''Histoire des races maudites de la France et de l'Espagne''. Subsequently, he published French translations of

Goldsmith A goldsmith is a metalworker who specializes in working with gold and other precious metals. Nowadays they mainly specialize in jewelry-making but historically, goldsmiths have also made silverware, platters, goblets, decorative and servicea ...

, Sterne,

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

, and

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...

. In 1857 he published his important book on the Basque Country: ''Le Pays Basque, sa population, sa langue, ses moeurs, sa littérature et sa musique''.

Publications

*''Quae vices quaeque mutationes et Virgilium ipsum et ejus carmina per mediam aetatem exceperint.'' (thesis, 1846). *''Histoire des races maudites de la France et de l'Espagne'' (thesis, 1847) *''Recherches sur le commerce pendant le moyen âge'' (1852–1854) *''Les Ecossais en France et les français en Ecosse'' (1862) *''Etudes de philologie comparée sur l'argot'' (1856) *''Le Pays basque'' (1857) *''Le Romancero du Pays Basque'' (1859) *''Histoire du commerce et de la navigation a Bordeaux'' (1867–1871) * in conjunction with

Édouard Fournier Édouard Fournier (15 June 1819, Orléans – 10 May 1880, Paris) was a 19th-century French homme de lettres, playwright, historian, bibliographer and librarian. Biography Born into a locksmiths artist family, he studied at the Collège d'Orl� ...

, ''Histoire des hôtelleries, cabarets, hotels garnis'' (1851–1854)

Edited texts

Michel was one of the most prolific editors of medieval French texts. His ''Libri Psalmorum versio antiqua gallica'' lists 50 of his works, both editions of Medieval texts and original works.Libri Psalmorum versio antiqua gallica
1860 The following is a selected bibliography. * ''Tristan; recueil de ce qui reste des poëmes relatifs à ses aventures'', 1835. Edition of several poems on the subject of

Tristan Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to we ...

* ''Charlemagne an Anglo-Norman Poem of the twelfth Century'', 1836 * ''Chronique des ducs de Normandie'' par Benoît, trouvère anglo-normand du XII^e siècle, 1836-44. Three volumes, verses in total * ''

La Chanson de Roland ''The Song of Roland'' (french: La Chanson de Roland) is an 11th-century ''chanson de geste'' based on the Frankish military leader Roland at the Battle of Roncevaux Pass in 778 AD, during the reign of the Carolingian king Charlemagne. It is ...

'', 1837 * ''La Chanson des Saxons'' par

Jean Bodel Jean Bodel (c. 1165 – c. 1210), was an Old French poet who wrote a number of ''chanson de geste, chansons de geste'' as well as many fabliaux. He lived in Arras. Writings Bodel wrote ("Song of the Saxons") about the war of King Charlemagne wi ...

, 1839. Two volumes * ''Jordan Fantosme, Chronicle of the War between the English and the Scots in 1173 and 1174'', 1840 * ''Gérard de Rossillon'', 1856 * ''Libri Psalmorum versio antiqua gallica'' (The Oxford Psalter), 1860. Includes variants from the Winchester Psalter and the * ''Le

Roman de la Rose ''Le Roman de la Rose'' (''The Romance of the Rose'') is a medieval poem written in Old French and presented as an allegorical dream vision. As poetry, ''The Romance of the Rose'' is a notable instance of courtly literature, purporting to prov ...

'', 1864. Two volumes * ''Le Livre des psaumes'' (The

Eadwine Psalter The Eadwine Psalter or Eadwin Psalter is a heavily illuminated 12th-century psalter named after the scribe Eadwine, a monk of Christ Church, Canterbury (now Canterbury Cathedral), who was perhaps the "project manager" for the large and excepti ...

), 1876 * ''Les voyages merveilleux de saint Brandan'', 1878

References

* * William Cole. First and Otherwise Notable Editions of Medieval French Texts Printed from 1742 to 1874: A Bibliographical Catalogue of My Collection. Sitges: Cole & Contreras, 2005.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Michel, Francisque Xavier 1809 births 1887 deaths French antiquarians French male non-fiction writers