Paul Emile Auguste Barbier (1873–1947) was Professor of French at the

University of Leeds The University of Leeds is a public research university in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It was established in 1874 as the Yorkshire College of Science. In 1884, it merged with the Leeds School of Medicine (established 1831) and was renamed Y ...

1903–38; he is noted for his work on French lexicography and his promotion of

Celtic Studies Celtic studies or Celtology is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to the Celts, Celtic-speaking peoples (i.e. speakers of Celtic languages). This ranges from linguistics, literature and art h ...

Early and family life

Paul E. A. Barbier's paternal grandfather, Georges Barbier, was a French Protestant pastor. Georges's son, Paul Eugene Emile Barbier (1846–1921), was born in France, in the Doubs Valley. In 1862, Georges migrated to London, becoming pastor of the French Protestant Church in

Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park leasehold estate, let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II of Engla ...

, taking his family with him. Georges took in Swiss women who were training as governesses; after a ten-year acquaintance, one of them, the Protestant French-Swiss Euphémie Bornet (1847–1923), married Paul E. E. Barbier in 1872. The two had eight children, including Paul E. A. Barbier.Pip Bartlett,
Guest post: Paul E. E. Barbier and Cardiff University
, ''Special Collections and Archives / Casgliadau Arbennig ac Archifau: Showcasing Research Resources / Hyrwyddo Adnoddau Ymchwil'' (18 July 2017). At the time of Paul E. A. Barbier's birth, his father taught French at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) is a highly Selective school, selective Private_schools_in_the_United_Kingdom, private day school for boys aged 7-18 in Manchester, England, which was founded in 1515 by Hugh Oldham (then Bishop of Exeter). ...

while his mother ran a private school for young children called Aubonne House School for Ladies.William P. Milne, ‘Professor Paul Barbier, 1873–1947: A Personal Tribute’, ''The University of Leeds Review'', 1 (1948–49), 42–54. In 1883, Paul E. E. Barbier became Professor of French at

University College, Cardiff Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

, and the family moved there. Thus as a child Paul E. A. Barbier acquired English, French, and Welsh as native languages; he also studied Latin and Ancient Greek, and acquired some knowledge of Italian and German. After school, Paul E. A. Barbier took an MA in French and Welsh at University College, Cardiff (awarded by

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

), which involved some study at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

.Pip Bartlett,
Guest Post: Paul E E Barbier and the wider Cardiff Community
, ''Special Collections and Archives / Casgliadau Arbennig ac Archifau: Showcasing Research Resources / Hyrwyddo Adnoddau Ymchwil'' (18 August 2017). Like his brothers, he undertook compulsory French military service. Around 1906, Barbier married Cecile Ernestine Delaloye.Cardiff University Archives, GB 1239 463/7
Pip Bartlett,
Guest post: The Barbier family and World War One
, ''Special Collections and Archives / Casgliadau Arbennig ac Archifau: Showcasing Research Resources / Hyrwyddo Adnoddau Ymchwil'' (10 July 2017). Their children were Paul G. R. Barbier (1908–72), Marie C. C. Barbier (1909–2000), Cecile E. Barbier (1910–1995), and Albert F. Barbier (1912–?); in the account of his friend and colleague William P. Milne, 'Barbier had all the Frenchman's traditional genius for filling the rôle of the

paterfamilias The ''pater familias'', also written as ''paterfamilias'' (: ''patres familias''), was the head of a Roman family. The ''pater familias'' was the oldest living male in a household, and could legally exercise autocratic authority over his extende ...

Career

Notwithstanding his parents' hopes that he would enter diplomatic service, in 1898 Barbier became a French teacher at Gainsborough Grammar School, and the following year lecturer in French at the Yorkshire College in

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

. The Yorkshire College became the

in 1904. He took up residence in

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

; indeed, 'those of his colleagues who were privileged to partake of his hospitality in his home and to share in the pregnant converse that flowed continuously from his lips called him the Sage of Otley'. In 1903 he was promoted to

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of French, though his working conditions were unprepossessing: J. R. R. Tolkien characterised the office which Barbier shared with George S. Gordon, the professor of English, in the early 1920s as 'a box of glazed bricks, mainly furnished with hot water pipes'. Barbier went on to hold 'most of the principal public offices in the university', including Dean of Arts, Dean of Commerce, member of Council, and Pro-Vice-Chancellor, though in Milne's assessment 'administrative duties though bravely carried out rather irked him. They consumed time that could have been more profitably employed on philological research'. Barbier's work as Chairman of the Library Committee was particularly noted, and he had a significant influence on the acquisition of medieval French manuscripts by the university. The First World War saw Barbier serving as an English interpreter for the French army. He remained in correspondence with his colleagues at Leeds; indeed, in 1915 the Vice Chancellor even attempted, unsuccessfully, to convince the French authorities to allow Barbier to return to his Leeds duties. Barbier's wife Cecile, meanwhile, was part of a Leeds committee for sending gifts and parcels to University employees serving in France. Barbier was best known for his lexicographical research, reading widely in search of interesting words and useful citationsJ. O., 'Paul Barbier, 1873--1947', ''French Studies'', 1 (1947), 381, (including during meetings of the University Senate). He alleviated the tedium of war service with lexicographical research on the dialect of his new environs,

Erquinghem-Lys Erquinghem-Lys () (''Erkegem an de Leie'' in West Flemish) is a commune situated in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Erquinghem is one of a series of villages on the river Lys establishe ...

. In 1921 he published a pamphlet on 'English Influence on the French Vocabulary' followed from 1925 by a series of 28 articles under the title 'miscellanea lexicographica' in the Literary and Historical Section of the ''Proceedings of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society''. On his death left a vast, unpublished dictionary of French, the manuscripts of which are held by Leeds University Library's special collections. Barbier was an important member of the university's Polyglot Society, and in 1928 a founder of the Yorkshire Society for Celtic Studies, which aspired to endow a lectureship and degree in Celtic at the University of Leeds. In his commitment to encouraging Celtic Studies, Barbier followed in his father's footsteps; already in 1897 he had addressed the

Eisteddfod In Welsh culture, an ''eisteddfod'' is an institution and festival with several ranked competitions, including in poetry and music. The term ''eisteddfod'', which is formed from the Welsh morphemes: , meaning 'sit', and , meaning 'be', means, a ...

on 'The Age of

Owain Gwynedd Owain ap Gruffudd ( – 23 or 28 November 1170) was King of Gwynedd, North Wales, from 1137 until his death in 1170, succeeding his father Gruffudd ap Cynan. He was called Owain the Great () and the first to be styled "Prince of Wales" and th ...

'. When in 1925 J. R. R. Tolkien left Leeds for Oxford halfway through delivering a two-year course on Middle Welsh, Barbier completed the supervision of the course's sole student, Brian Woledge.Brian Woledge, 'Rhai o Atgofion Celtaidd Arbenigwr yn y Ffrangeg', ''Llên Cymru Cyfrol'', 15 (1984–86), 172–73. Barbier retired in 1938, becoming professor emeritus in that year.

Honours

In 1939 Barbier was awarded an honorary

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

degree from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

and created knight of the French

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

. Two years later, Leeds awarded him an honorary Litt.D. degree.

Bibliography

* T. V. Benn, ''Bibliographie des travaux de Paul Barbier (1873-1947)'' (Leeds: Brotherton Library et Département de Français, Université de Leeds, 1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barbier, Paul E. A. 1873 births 1947 deaths 20th-century philologists Academics of the University of Leeds British Army personnel of World War I English people of French descent English people of Swiss descent English philologists Linguists from England Recipients of the Legion of Honour