Jean Bayet (12 November 1892 – 5 December 1969) was a French Latinist. A Professor of Latin Language and Literature at the Sorbonne, he was Director-General of Education in 1944 and Director of the

École française de Rome The École française de Rome (EFR) is a French research institute for history, archaeology, and the social sciences; overseen by the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and a division of the Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur et ...

from 1952 to 1960. In 1948 he was elected a member of the

Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

. A specialist of Latin literature and

Religion in ancient Rome Religion in ancient Rome consisted of varying imperial and provincial religious practices, which were followed both by the people of Rome as well as those who were brought under its rule. The Romans thought of themselves as highly religious, ...

, Jean Bayet, through his works and the theses he directed, played a decisive role in the development of a French school of history of the Roman religion, particularly active in the second half of the twentieth century.

Biography

His grandfather was mayor of

Commentry Commentry (; Auvergnat: ''Comentriac'') is a commune in the department of Allier in central France. It lies southwest of Moulins in the valley of the Œil. It is within 8 km of one of the geographic centres of France. The film actress ...

Allier from 1871 to 1873. His mother, Louise Villain, was the daughter of (1830–1907) deputy mayor of Sedan at the end of the 19th century. François Bayet, his son, died in deportation. As a child he was overwhelmed with an infirmity in his legs, which made walking painful and made him suffer all his life; he had to give up the military career his father had followed. 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 ...

in 1912, obtained his agrégation of letters and was a member of the

from 1917 to 1920. In 1915, he was awarded one of the

Montyon Prizes The Montyon Prize (french: Prix Montyon) is a series of prizes awarded annually by the French Academy of Sciences and the Académie française. They are endowed by the French benefactor Baron de Montyon. History Prior to the start of the French R ...

by the Académie française and the Marcelin Guérin Prize in 1933. He taught first in secondary education (at the

Lycée Charlemagne The Lycée Charlemagne is located in the Marais quarter of the 4th arrondissement of Paris, the capital city of France. Constructed many centuries before it became a lycée, the building originally served as the home of the Order of the Jesui ...

and the Lycée de

Laon Laon () is a city in the Aisne department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Early history The holy district of Laon, which rises a hundred metres above the otherwise flat Picardy plain, has always held strategic importance. ...

), while continuing the preparation of his doctoral theses on ''Les Origines de l'Hercule romain'' and the critical study of the main monuments related to the Etruscan Hercules, which he defended in 1926. He was then appointed to the Faculty of Arts of Caen, before moving to the Sorbonne in 1932.On his attitude of opposition to Vichy and the occupying forces during the Occupation and in particular on his vote of opposition to the application of the status of the Jews in a preliminary vote at the Sorbonne Faculty Assembly of December 1940, we have the testimony of a colleague,

Georges Mathieu Georges Mathieu (27 January 1921 – 10 June 2012) was a French abstract painter, art theorist, and member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He is considered one of the fathers of European lyrical abstraction, a trend of informalism. Bi ...

, only recently published. At the Liberation of France, he was appointed Director-General of Education and took part in the work of the . He was elected a member of the

Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres The Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres () is a French learned society devoted to history, founded in February 1663 as one of the five academies of the Institut de France. The academy's scope was the study of ancient inscriptions (epigr ...

3 December 1948. He was also a member of the Accademia dei Lincei and of the Pontificia Accademia Romana di Archeologia. Jean Bayet was director of the École française de Rome from 1952 to 1960 (where he succeeded Albert Grenier and was in turn succeeded by

Pierre Boyancé Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

). In 1954-1955, he presided the Unione internazionale degli Istituti di archeologia, storia e storia dell'arte in Roma. Upon his return, he retired (1961). His last years were obscured by the disease which gradually froze him in immobility.

Works (selection)

*1926: ''Les Origines de l'Hercule romain'' (« Bibliothèque des Écoles françaises d'Athènes et de Rome », n° 132), Paris, E. de Boccard *1934: ''Littérature latine. Histoire, pages choisies'', Paris,

Armand Colin Armand Colin is a French publishing house founded in 1870 by Auguste Armand Colin. It specializes in publishing works concerning human sciences, economics and education. Among its best-known publications are the "U" collection begun in 1968, an ...

; numerous reprints. *1957: ''Histoire politique et psychologique de la religion romaine'', Paris, Payot; numerous reprints.

Sources

* Christophe Charle, ''Les Professeurs de la Faculté des lettres de Paris : dictionnaire biographique, 1909-1939'', Paris, Éd. du CNRS, 1986. *

Georges Rougeron Georges may refer to: Places *Georges River, New South Wales, Australia *Georges Quay (Dublin) *Georges Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania Other uses * Georges (name) * ''Georges'' (novel), a novel by Alexandre Dumas * "Georges" (song), a 197 ...

, ''Les Bourbonnais à l'Institut de France (an IV-1965)'', Moulins, 1966. * Michel Lejeune, « Éloge funèbre de M. Jean Bayet, académicien ordinaire », ''Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des inscriptions et belles-lettres'', 113e année, n° 4, 1969,
online
* Pierre Boyancé, "Jean Bayet, directeur de l'École Française de Rome (1952-1960)", ''Mélanges d'archéologie et d'histoire'', 82, 1970.
online

References

External links

Jean Bayet
on the site of the Académie française
Jean Bayet. Histoire politique et psychologique de la religion romaine (compte rendu)
on Persée {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayet, Jean People from Versailles 1892 births 1969 deaths École Normale Supérieure alumni French Latinists Latin–French translators University of Paris faculty French scholars of Roman history Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 20th-century translators