Sir Robert Pipon Marett (20 November 1820 – 10 November 1884, pseudonym ''Laelius'') was a lawyer,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

, politician, and Bailiff of

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the l ...

from 1880 until his death.

Life and career

He was born in St. Peter on 20 November 1820 and studied at the

University of Caen The University of Caen Normandy (French: ''Université de Caen Normandie''), also known as Unicaen, is a public university in Caen, France. History The institution was founded in 1432 by John of Lancaster, 1st Duke of Bedford, the first rector ...

and the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

. He was admitted to the Bar of Jersey as advocate in 1845, but in 1846 the family moved to

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

as a result of his mother's ill health. Returning to Jersey, he entered the political scene and was elected Constable of St. Helier in 1856. During his short term in municipal office, he laid out the Parade as an urban promenade. The death of the Bailiff, Sir Thomas Le Breton, created a vacancy among the Crown Officers and on 6 March 1858 Robert Pipon Marett was appointed Solicitor-General. He rose through the legal hierarchy, becoming

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in 1866, and Bailiff in 1880. He was knighted in 1880. He was one of the founders of the Société Jersiaise and a patron of education for girls. He was the father of

Robert Ranulph Marett Robert Ranulph Marett (13 June 1866 – 18 February 1943) was a British ethnologist and a proponent of the British Evolutionary School of cultural anthropology. Founded by Marett's older colleague, Edward Burnett Tylor, it asserted that mo ...

. He died on the 10 November 1884 at his home, La Haule Manor in St. Brelade, after a long illness.

Literature

On his return from Blois, Robert Pipon Marett was one of the founders of the newspaper ''La Patrie'' in which his poetry in Jèrriais appeared from 1849 under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

''Laelius''. His ''La Fille Malade'' was widely admired and François-Victor Hugo reproduced it in his ''La Normandie inconnue''. It has been suggested that his ''Lé R'tou du Terre-Neuvi oprès san prumi viage'' influenced

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 ...

's ''Les Pauvres gens'' written in Jersey in 1854. He corresponded publicly in verse form with

George Métivier George Métivier (29 January 1790 – 23 March 1881) was a Guernsey poet dubbed the "Guernsey Burns", and sometimes considered the island's national poet. He wrote in Guernésiais, which is the indigenous language of the island. Among his poetic ...

, the Guernsey poet. His comparatively small poetic output belies its continuing influence. His poetry is generally social rather than political, but ''La Bouonne Femme et ses Cotillons'' satirises conservative resistance to constitutional reform. He took a philological interest in Jèrriais and through his prestige did much to standardise Jèrriais

orthography An orthography is a set of conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, hyphenation, capitalization, word breaks, emphasis, and punctuation. Most transnational languages in the modern period have a writing system, and ...

on the pattern of French orthography. On being appointed to high office he stopped publishing poetry, and a fire at his home, Blanc Pignon, in St. Brelade in 1874 destroyed his papers – a loss to Jèrriais literature.

Note

# ''Des Filles, une sorcière, Dame Toumasse et quelques autres'' R.-J. Lebarbenchon, 1980, Azeville

References

*''Bulletîn d'Quart d'An'' Vol. I, L'Assembliée d'Jèrriais *Obituary, ''La Nouvelle Chronique de Jersey'', 12 November 1884 *Obituary, ''La Chronique de Jersey'', 12 November 1884

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marett, Robert Pipon 1820 births 1884 deaths Bailiffs of Jersey Norman-language poets University of Paris alumni University of Caen Normandy alumni Jersey writers People from Saint Helier Jersey journalists Constables of Jersey Jersey lawyers Lawyers awarded knighthoods 19th-century British journalists British male journalists British male poets 19th-century British poets 19th-century British male writers