Jacques Stiennon (1 May 1920 – 5 May 2012) was a Belgian

medievalist The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

who worked as a librarian and a professor of history at the

University of Liège The University of Liège (), or ULiège, is a major public university of the French Community of Belgium founded in 1817 and based in Liège, Wallonia, Belgium. Its official language is French (language), French. History The university was foun ...

. His main research interests were in the history of the

principality of Liège A principality (or sometimes princedom) is a type of monarchical state or feudal territory ruled by a prince or princess. It can be either a sovereign state or a constituent part of a larger political entity. The term "principality" is often ...

and of

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

, especially with regard to monastic history, art and archaeology.

Life

Stiennon was born in

Liège Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia, and the capital of the Liège Province, province of Liège, Belgium. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east o ...

on 1 May 1920. He obtained a doctorate in history from Liège University in 1948, while working as a university librarian (1945–1965). He was one of the organisers of the Congrès culturel wallon (Walloon cultural congress) of October 1955. In 1965 he was appointed to a professorship in the university. In 1972 he started the university's first course in

codicology Codicology (; from French ''codicologie;'' from Latin , genitive , "notebook, book" and Greek , ''-logia'') is the study of codices or manuscript books. It is often referred to as "the archaeology of the book," a term coined by François Masai. ...

. He was particularly influential in the related fields of

palaeography Palaeography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, UK) or paleography (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, US) (ultimately from , , 'old', and , , 'to write') is the study and academic disciplin ...

and

diplomatics Diplomatics (in American English, and in most anglophone countries), or diplomatic (in British English), is a scholarly discipline centred on the critical analysis of documents, especially historical documents. It focuses on the conventions, pr ...

. He died in Liège on 5 May 2012.

Publications

* ''Étude sur le Chartrier et le domaine de l’abbaye de Saint-Jacques de Liège, 1015–1209'' (1951) * ''L’écriture diplomatique dans le diocèse de Liège du IXe au milieu du XIIIe siècle. Reflet d’une civilisation'' (1960) * with

Rita Lejeune Rita Lejeune (1906–2009) was a Belgian philologist who became a leading expert in the study of medieval French literature. Life Lejeune was born in Herstal on 22 November 1906. Her father, Jean Lejeune, was a local government clerk and also a ...

, ''La Légende de Roland dans l'art du Moyen Âge'' (2 vols, 1966) * ''Paléographie du Moyen Âge'' (1973, much reprinted) * ''L’écriture'' (1995) – in the

Brepols Brepols is a Belgian publishing house. Once, it was one of the largest printing companies in the world and one of the main employers in Turnhout (Belgium). Besides its printing business, Brepols is also active as a publisher. Formerly well known ...

series "Typologie des sources du Moyen Âge occidental" * with Rita Lejeune, eds., ''La Wallonie. Le Pays et les Hommes: Arts, Lettres, Cultures'' (4 vols, 1978–1981) * ''Histoire de Liège'' (1991) * ''Un Moyen Âge pluriel'' (1999) – selected essays

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stiennon, Jacques 1920 births 2012 deaths University of Liège alumni Academic staff of the University of Liège Belgian medievalists