Bruno Paulin Gaston Paris (; 9 August 1839 – 5 March 1903) was a French literary historian,
philologist
Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also defined as the study of ...
July Monarchy
The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...
Old French
Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th Romance literature was placed on a solid basis by courses of study at the Romance (heroic literature)">Romance literature was placed on a solid basis by courses of study at the University of Bonn (1856), in the German Confederation">University of Bonn">Romance (heroic literature)">Romance literature was placed on a solid basis by courses of study at the University of Bonn (1856), in the German Confederation, and at the École Nationale des Chartes, at the time under the rule of the Second French Empire.
Paris taught French grammar in a private school, later succeeding Alexis Paulin Paris, his father as professor of medieval French literature at the Collège de France in 1872; in 1876 he was admitted to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and in 1896 to the
Académie Française
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
; in 1895 he was appointed director of the Collège de France. He won a reputation as a renowned scholar of Romance literature throughout Europe. In Bonn he had learnt the scientific methods of exact research, but besides being an accurate philologist he was a literary critic of great acumen and breadth of view, and brought a singularly clear mind to bear on his favourite study of medieval French literature. His '' Vie de saint Alexis'' (1872) broke new ground and provided a model for future editors of medieval texts. It included the original text and the variations of it dating from the 12th, 13th, and 14th centuries. He contributed largely to the '' Histoire littéraire de la France'', and with Paul Meyer published ''Romania'', an
academic journal
An academic journal (or scholarly journal or scientific journal) is a periodical publication in which Scholarly method, scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. They serve as permanent and transparent forums for the ...
devoted to the study of Romance literature.
In 1877 Gaston Paris was invited to
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...
for the 400th anniversary of the Upsala University, where he was made an honorary doctor. Before returning home he also visited Kristiania (
Oslo
Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...
University of Oslo
The University of Oslo (; ) is a public university, public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation#Europe, oldest university in Norway. Originally named the Royal Frederick Univ ...
Gaston Paris also held a lecture about the two folktale collectors,
Asbjørnsen and Moe Asbjørnsen is a Norwegian surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Kristin Asbjørnsen (born 1971), Norwegian jazz singer
*Øyvind Asbjørnsen (born 1963), Norwegian film producer
*Peter Christen Asbjørnsen (1812–1855), Norwegian wr ...
, which he believed to be, besides the Brothers Grimm, the best re-tellers of the genre.
He received the German Order Pour le Mérite (civil class) in August 1902. Paris died in
Cannes
Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...
in 1903.
Works
* Histoire poétique de Charlemagne ' (1865)
*''Les Plus anciens monuments de la langue française'' (1875)
*''Manuel d'ancien Français'' (1888)
*''Mystère de la passion by Arnoul Gréban'' (1878), in collaboration with Gaston Raynaud
*''Deux rédactions du roman des sept sages de Rome'' (1876)
*a translation of the ''Grammaire des langues romanes'' (1874–1878) of Friedrich Diez, in collaboration with MM. Brachet and Morel-Fatio.
*''La Poésie du Moyen Âge'' (1885 and 1895)
*''Penseurs et poètes'' (1897)
*''Poèmes et légendes du moyen âge'' (1900)
*''François Villon'' (1901), an admirable monograph contributed to the "Grands Écrivains Français" series
*''Legendes du Moyen Âge'' (1903).
* Summary of medieval French literature forms a volume of the ''Temple Primers''.
Paris endeared himself to a wide circle of scholars outside his own country by his unfailing urbanity and generosity. In France, he trained a band of disciples at the École des Chartes and the Collège de France who continued the traditions of exact research that he established. Among them were Leopold Pannier; Marius Sepet, the author of ''Le Drame chrétien au Moyen Âge'' (1878) and ''Origines catholiques du théâtre moderne'' (1901); Charles Joret; Alfred Morel-Fatio; Gaston Raynaud, who was responsible for various volumes of the excellent editions published by the Société des anciens textes français; Arsène Darmesteter; and others.