Henri Hubert (23 June 1872 – 25 May 1927) was a French

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

and sociologist of

comparative religion Comparative religion is the branch of the study of religions with the systematic comparison of the doctrines and practices, themes and impacts (including migration) of the world's religions. In general the comparative study of religion yie ...

who is best known for his work on the

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

s and his collaboration with

Marcel Mauss Marcel Mauss (; 10 May 1872 – 10 February 1950) was a French sociologist and anthropologist known as the "father of French ethnology". The nephew of Émile Durkheim, Mauss, in his academic work, crossed the boundaries between sociology and ...

and other members of the Année Sociologique.

Life and work

Hubert was born and raised in Paris, where he attended

Lycée Louis-le-Grand The Lycée Louis-le-Grand (), also referred to simply as Louis-le-Grand or by its acronym LLG, is a public Lycée (French secondary school, also known as sixth form college) located on rue Saint-Jacques in central Paris. It was founded in the ...

. There he was influenced by the school chaplain, Abbé Quentin, who instilled in him an interest in religion and in particular in religion amongst

Assyria Assyria ( Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , romanized: ''māt Aššur''; syc, ܐܬܘܪ, ʾāthor) was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization which existed as a city-state at times controlling regional territories in the indigenous lands of the A ...

ns. He entered the

École Normale Supérieure École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, S ...

. He began to study the history of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global popula ...

. He passed the

agrégation In France, the ''agrégation'' () is a competitive examination for civil service in the French public education system. Candidates for the examination, or ''agrégatifs'', become ''agrégés'' once they are admitted to the position of ''profe ...

in history in 1895 after studying the Eastern Orthodox Church, the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

, and

iconoclasm Iconoclasm (from Greek: grc, εἰκών, lit=figure, icon, translit=eikṓn, label=none + grc, κλάω, lit=to break, translit=kláō, label=none)From grc, εἰκών + κλάω, lit=image-breaking. ''Iconoclasm'' may also be consid ...

. His doctoral thesis focused on pre-Christian religion in

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. Unlike most French academics, Hubert focused on research rather than teaching after graduation. He took a position at the École Pratique des Hautes Études and in 1898 he also took up a position at the Musée des Antiquités. It was at this time that he grew increasingly interested in Celtic history and culture. It was also in 1898 that Hubert became a close friend of Marcel Mauss and began collaborating on the Année Sociologique of

Émile Durkheim David Émile Durkheim ( or ; 15 April 1858 – 15 November 1917) was a French sociologist. Durkheim formally established the academic discipline of sociology and is commonly cited as one of the principal architects of modern social science, al ...

, where he eventually became responsible for the section on the 'sociology of religion'. Hubert and Mauss were to collaborate on several important works in the future, including an "Sacrifice: Its Nature and Function" (1899) and their ''Outline of a General Theory of Magic'' (1904). By 1906 Maus was thoroughly ensconced at the Ecole Pratique, where he would remain until his death. It was also this time that he took up a post at the École du Louvre where he lectured on the ethnographic prehistory of Europe. Throughout the first two decades of the twentieth century Hubert continued to publish on both Asia and the Celts as well as more general topics. Works from this period include (in English translation) ''The Rise of the Celts'' and ''The Greatness and Decline of the Celts'', both available in a single volume entitled ''The History of the Celtic People'' (London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner 1934; reprint Bracken 1993). His follow-up work on the

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...

, entitled ''Les Germains'' and published posthumously in 1952, has yet to be translated to English. Also from this period is ''Essay on Time: A Brief Study of the Representation of Time in Religion and Magic''. Durkheim's death in 1917 affected Hubert greatly, as did the death of his wife in childbirth in 1924. After years of bereavement, Hubert died in 1927.

Bibliography

* ''Les Celtes et l'expansion celtique jusqu'à l'époque de La Tène'', Albin Michel Paris (1932) reissued (1974), reissued by Jean de Bonnot (2007) * ''Les Celtes depuis l'époque de la Tène et la civilisation celtique'', La renaissance du livre (1932), reissued by Jean de Bonnot (2007) * ''Les Germains: Cours professé à l'école du Louvre en 1924-1925'', Albin Michel Paris (1952) {{DEFAULTSORT:Hubert, Henri 1872 births 1927 deaths Lycée Louis-le-Grand alumni École Normale Supérieure alumni French sociologists Scientists from Paris French male non-fiction writers French archaeologists 19th-century archaeologists 20th-century archaeologists 19th-century French male writers 20th-century French male writers 19th-century French non-fiction writers 20th-century French non-fiction writers