Gabriel Monod (7 March 1844 – 10 April 1912) was a French

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, the nephew of

Adolphe Monod Adolphe-Louis-Frédéric-Théodore Monod (21 January 1802 – 6 April 1856) was a French Protestant churchman. His elder brother was Frédéric Monod. He was born in Copenhagen, where his father, Jean Monod (Sept. 5, 1765 – April 23, 1836; himse ...

Biography

Born in Ingouville,

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

, he was educated at

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...

then went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

to complete his education, lodging with the de Pressensé family. The influence of

Edmond de Pressensé Edmond Dehault de Pressensé (7 January 18248 April 1891) was a French Protestant religious leader. Biography He was born at Paris, and studied at Lausanne under Alexandre Vinet. He went on to the University of Halle as a pupil of Friedrich ...

, a pastor and large-minded

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, and of Madame de Pressensé, a woman of superior intellect and refined feeling, who devoted her life to educational works and charity, made a great impression on him. In 1865 he left the École normale supérieure, and went to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

, where he studied at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

and

Humboldt University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiati ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

. The teaching of

Georg Waitz Georg Waitz (9 October 1813 – 24 May 1886) was a German medieval historian and politician. Waitz is often spoken of as the leading disciple of Leopold von Ranke, though perhaps he had more affinity with Georg Heinrich Pertz or Friedrich Christ ...

definitely directed his studies towards the history of the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. Returning to France in 1868 he was nominated by

Victor Duruy Jean Victor Duruy (10 September 1811 – 25 November 1894) was a French historian and statesman. Life Duruy was born in Paris, the son of a factory worker, and at first intended for his father's trade. Having passed brilliantly through the Éc ...

to give lectures on history, following the method used in German seminaries, at the École des hautes études. When the Franco-Prussian War broke out, Gabriel Monod, with his cousins Alfred and Sarah Monod, organized an

ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to med ...

with which he followed the whole campaign, from Sedan to

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...

. He wrote a small book of memoirs of this campaign, ''Allemands et Français'' (1871), in which he spoke of the conquerors without bitterness; this attitude was all the more praiseworthy as his mother was originally from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

, and he was unable to resign himself to the loss of Alsace and

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

. The war being over he returned to teaching. At this period of his life he wrote '' Grégoire de Tours et Marius d'Avenche'' (1872); ''Frédégaire'', whose history, taken from original manuscripts, he published in 1885; a translation of a book of W. Junghans, ''Histoire critique des règnes de Childerich et de Chlodovech'', with introduction and notes (1879); ''Études critiques sur les sources de l'histoire carolingienne'' (1898, 1st part only published); and ''Bibliographie de l'histoire de France'' (1888). He himself said that his pupils were his best books; he intended to teach them not so much new facts as the way to study, endeavouring to develop in them an idea of criticism and truth. They showed their gratitude by dedicating a book to him in 1896, ''Études d'histoire du moyen âge'', and after his retirement in 1905 by having his features engraved on a slab (see ''À Gabriel Monod, en souvenir de son enseignement: École pratique des hautes études'', 1868–1905, ''École normale supérieure'', 1880-1904. 26 May 1907). Monod married

Olga Herzen Olga may refer to: People and fictional characters * Olga (name), a given name, including a list of people and fictional characters named Olga or Olha * Michael Algar (born 1962), English singer also known as "Olga" Places Russia * Olga, Russia, ...

, daughter of Russian political thinker

Alexander Herzen Alexander Ivanovich Herzen (russian: Алекса́ндр Ива́нович Ге́рцен, translit=Alexándr Ivánovich Gértsen; ) was a Russian writer and thinker known as the "father of Russian socialism" and one of the main fathers of agra ...

, in 1873. In 1876 he founded the ''Revue Historique'', which rapidly became a great authority on scientific education. Some of his articles in this and other periodicals were put together in book form, ''Les Maîtres de l'histoire:

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, expert of Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote in ...

Hippolyte Taine Hippolyte Adolphe Taine (, 21 April 1828 – 5 March 1893) was a French historian, critic and philosopher. He was the chief theoretical influence on French naturalism, a major proponent of sociological positivism and one of the first practitio ...

Jules Michelet Jules Michelet (; 21 August 1798 – 9 February 1874) was a French historian and an author on other topics whose major work was a history of France and its culture. His aphoristic style emphasized his anti-clerical republicanism. In Michelet' ...

'' (1894); ''Portraits et souvenirs'' (1897: on

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

Fustel de Coulanges Numa Denis Fustel de Coulanges (; 18 March 1830 – 12 September 1889) was a French historian. Joseph M. McCarthy argues that his first great book, '' The Ancient City'' (1864), was based on his in-depth knowledge of the primary Greek and Latin te ...

, etc.) In 1903 he published ''Souvenirs d'adolescence'', and in 1905 ''Études sur Michelet, sa vie et ses Œuvres''. Gabriel Monod died in 1912 in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

and is buried there in the

Cimetière des Gonards The Cimetière des Gonards is the largest cemetery in Versailles on the outskirts of Paris. It began operations in 1879. The cemetery covers an area of and contains more than 12,000 graves. Description This is a rurally landscaped cemetery, t ...

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Monod, Gabriel 1844 births 1912 deaths People from Seine-Maritime 19th-century French historians French medievalists French people of the Franco-Prussian War École Normale Supérieure alumni Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques Burials at the Cimetière des Gonards

Biography

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