Gervais de La Rue (7 September 175124 September 1835), French historical investigator, once regarded as one of the chief authorities on

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

and

Anglo-Norman literature Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 * Anglo-Norman language ** Anglo-Norman literature * Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1 ...

Biography

Gervais de La Rue was a native of Caen. He received his education at the university of that town, and was ultimately raised to the rank of professor. His first historical enterprise was interrupted by the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, which forced him to take refuge in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, where he took the opportunity to examine a vast mass of original documents in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

and elsewhere, and received much encouragement, from

Sir Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy' ...

among others. From England, he moved to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, still in prosecution of his favorite task. In 1798, he returned to France. The rest of his life was spent in his native town, where he was chosen principal of his university. While in England, he had been elected a member of the

Royal Society of Antiquaries The Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland is a learned society based in Ireland, whose aims are "to preserve, examine and illustrate all ancient monuments and memorials of the arts, manners and customs of the past, as connected with the antiquit ...

; and in his own country he was made a corresponding member of the Institute, and was enrolled in the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

. Besides numerous articles in the ''Memoirs of the Royal Society of London'', the ''Mémoires de l'Institut'', the ''Mémoires de la Societé d'Agriculture de Caen'', and in other periodical collections, he published separately ''Essais historiques sur les Bardes, les Jongleurs, et les Trouvères normands et anglo-normands'' (3 vols., 1834), and ''Recherches historiques sur la Prairie de Caen'' (1837); and after his death appeared ''Mémoires historiques sur le palinod de Caen'' (1841), ''Recherches sur la tapisserie de Bayeux'' (1841), and ''Nouveaux Essais historiques sur la ville de Caen'' (1842). In all his writings, he displayed a strong partiality for everything Norman, and rated the Norman influence on French and English literature as of the very highest moment.

Main publications

* ''Essais historiques sur la ville de Caen et son arrondissement'' (2 vol., 1820) * ''Recherches sur la tapisserie représentant la conquête de l’Angleterre par les Normands et appartenant à l’église cathédrale de Bayeux'' (1824, on the Bayeux Tapestry) * ''Essais historiques sur les bardes, les jongleurs et les trouvères normands et anglo-normands, suivis de pièces de

Malherbe Malherbe may refer to: People * Malherbe (surname) ** François de Malherbe (1555-1628), French poet, reformer of French language Places France * La Haye-Malherbe, municipality of Eure (département), Eure * Malherbe-sur-Ajon, new municipal ...

, qu’on ne trouve dans aucune édition de ses œuvres'' (3 vol., 1834) * ''Mémoire historique sur le palinod de Caen'' (1841) * ''Nouveaux essais historiques sur la ville de Caen et son arrondissement, contenant mémoires d’antiquités locales et annales militaires, politiques et religieuses de la ville de Caen et de la Basse-Normandie'' (2 vol., 1842)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:La Rue, Gervais de 1751 births 1835 deaths 19th-century French historians Writers from Caen Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres French male non-fiction writers 18th-century French historians