Gabriel Milin
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Gabriel-Jean-Maie Milin or Gab Milin (3 September 1822,
Saint-Pol-de-Léon Saint-Pol-de-Léon (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department in Brittany in north-western France, located on the coast. It is noted for its 13th-century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian in the 6th cen ...
,
Finistère Finistère (, ; ) is a Departments of France, department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. Its prefecture is Quimper and its largest city is Brest, France, Brest. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.Île de Batz The Île de Batz (; ) is an island off Roscoff in Brittany, France. Administratively, it is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Climate Île de Batz has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classificatio ...
, Finistère) was a poet, folklorist and philologist writing in the
Breton language Breton (, , ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic languages, Celtic language group spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albei ...
, sometimes under his
bardic name A bardic name (, ) is a pseudonym used in Wales, Cornwall, or Brittany by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement. The Welsh language, Welsh term bardd ('poet') originally referred to the Welsh poets of the M ...
, Laouenan Breiz. He was also a naval clerk and mayor of the ÃŽle de Batz.


Life

Milin was born in 1822 at the manor of Kermorus in
Saint-Pol-de-Léon Saint-Pol-de-Léon (; ) is a commune in the Finistère department in Brittany in north-western France, located on the coast. It is noted for its 13th-century cathedral on the site of the original founded by Saint Paul Aurelian in the 6th cen ...
, western
Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...
, to a farming family. He was educated first in Saint-Pol and then at a seminary in
Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...
, which he left after one and a half years, doubting that he had a religious vocation. From 1845 until his retirement in 1880 he worked as a naval accountant at the
Brest Arsenal The Brest Arsenal () is a collection of naval and military buildings located on the banks of the river Penfeld, in Brest, France. Timeline *1631–1635 – Beginning of the foundations of the port infrastructure. *1674 – Appearance of the ...
, supporting the thirteen children he had by his three wives. His work brought him into contact with Breton-speakers from all regions, from whom he collected proverbs, tales and songs in various dialects. He did not have enough money to publish the results of his researches on his own account, but was enabled to do so by financial help from the poet . In the course of his work he met Colonel , a Breton-language lexicographer, with whom he collaborated: in 1855 appeared ''Mignoun ar Vugale'', a little booklet for children, in 1857 the ''Nouvelles conversations en breton et en français, divizoù brezonek ha gallek'' and in 1862 the ''Colloque français et breton, ou Nouveau vocabulaire entièrement refondu''. He held to the system of Le Gonidec which standardizes Breton grammar and spelling and minimizes the use of French loan-words, despite the sometimes unfavorable reception of that system. He also translated or adapted many works into Breton, notably Greek and Latin classics and the ''
Fables Fable is a literary genre defined as a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that ...
'' of
La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, ; ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...
, and composed original poems. In 1880 he retired to the
Île de Batz The Île de Batz (; ) is an island off Roscoff in Brittany, France. Administratively, it is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Climate Île de Batz has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classificatio ...
and became its mayor, holding that office until his death in 1895. At the same time, from 1883 to 1884 he was editor of the journal ''
Feiz ha Breiz Feiz ha Breiz (Faith and Brittany) is the principal weekly journal in the Breton language. It originally appeared from 1865 to 1884, then was revived from 1899 to 1944, and then again from 1945 onwards. Original journal Léopold de Léseleuc, bish ...
''. Alongside the publication of about fifteen works in Breton (from 1866 to 1885), he collected expressions and terms of local use on the Île de Batz, and in Léon and
Trégor Trégor (; , ), officially the Land of Trégor (; , ) is one of the nine traditional provinces of Brittany, in its northwestern area. It comprises the western part of the Côtes-d'Armor and a small part of the northeast of Finistère, as far ...
he collected folksongs. Ninety-nine of these, including also proverbs, folktales etc., were published by Abeozen and Maodez Glanndour in the journal ''Gwerin'' (nos. 1, 2 and 3; 1961–1962).


References


Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Milin, Gabriel 1822 births 1895 deaths People from Saint-Pol-de-Léon Mayors of places in Brittany Poets from Brittany Breton-language poets 19th-century French poets 19th-century French translators Folk-song collectors French accountants French magazine editors French Navy personnel