Paul Alfred Delarue, born 20 April 1889 in Saint-Didier, Nièvre, died 25 July 1956 in

Autun Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is B ...

, was a French

folklorist Folklore studies (also known as folkloristics, tradition studies or folk life studies in the UK) is the academic discipline devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currency in the 1950s to distinguish the ac ...

. A specialist in the field of folklore, his crowning achievement was his , a catalog of folktales found in France and French-speaking areas, structured and modeled on the Aarne-Thompson classification system. The first volume appeared in 1957, a few months after his death. The project, expected to run to several volumes, was continued by Marie-Louise Tenèze. After dabbling in his interest into local flora (''Étude sur la Flore nivernaise'', published 1930), he dedicated himself to transcribing and index-carding collected folktales in the manuscripts left by

Achille Millien Achille Millien (4 September 1838 – 12 January 1927) was a French poet and folklore, folklorist. His poetic work includes a dozen collections of rustic inspiration: ''La Moisson'', ''Chants agrestes'', ''Musettes et clairons'', ''Chez nous'', ...

, the

Nivernais Nivernais (, ) was a province of France, around the city of Nevers, which forms the modern department of Nièvre. It roughly coincides with the former Duchy of Nevers.Nièvre Nièvre () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, central-east France. Named after the river Nièvre, it had a population of 204,452 in 2019.Saint-Léger-des-Vignes Saint-Léger-des-Vignes () is a commune in the department of the Nièvre, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, in central France. Geography Saint-Léger-des-Vignes is situated in the South of the Nièvre, on the road D981. It is the beginning point of t ...

, then Montsauche and Vauzelles, then moving to the Paris area. He was director of the school in

Ivry-sur-Seine Ivry-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Paris's main Asian district, the Quartier Asiatique in the 13th arrondissement, borders the ...

, 1939–1946. His articles showed interest in the origins of the mother goose tales of

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , , ; 12 January 162816 May 1703) was a French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tales, published in his ...

, and the relationship between oral and written literature. An anthology by Delarue was published in English translation as ''The Borzoi Book of French Folk Tales'' in 1956. He had distinguished service in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, and had received the

legion of honor 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. Currently consisting of five classes, it was ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he was ranked Chef de bataillon (

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

), fighting battles in

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

and

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

, taken prisoner in 1940, and liberated in 1941. Paul Delarue headed the folklore committee at the Ligue de l'enseignement (1946-1953) and subsequently at the Musée national des Arts et Traditions Populaires. He was also vice-president of the Société d'Ethnographie Française from 1952, and sat on the directing committee at thea Fédération Folklorique d'Île-de-France. His son Georges Delarue (born 1926) has continued along his footsteps, publishing ''Chansons populaires du Nivernais et du Morvan'' (7 volumes).

Works

* ''Recueil de chants populaires du Nivernais'', 1934-1947 (with Achille Milien). * ''La « Promesse » de Jean-Pierre et de la Yeyette'', 1936 * ''Écoliers, chantez nos chansons folkloriques'', 1938 * ''L'Amour des trois oranges et autres contes folkloriques des Provinces de France'', 1947 * ''La Bête de la forêt'', 1947 * ''Vieux métiers du Nivernais. Les fendeurs'', 1949 * ''Le Conte populaire français : Catalogue raisonné des versions de France et des pays de langue française d'outre-mer : Canada, Louisiane, îlots français des États-Unis, Antilles Françaises, Haiti, Île Maurice, La Réunion'', with

Marie-Louise Ténèze Marie Louise or Marie-Louise is a French feminine compound given name. In other languages, it may take one of several alternate forms: * Maria Luiza (Bulgarian, Portuguese) * Maria Luisa (Italian, Spanish) * Maria Luise (German) * Maria Louisa ...

, Maisonneuve et Larose, 1957 * ''Le Conte populaire français'', with

, Maisonneuve et Larose, 1993 (nouv. éd.)

References

;Citations ;Bibliography *

External links

Biography

French folklorists Collectors of fairy tales 20th-century French non-fiction writers 1889 births 1956 deaths People from Nièvre French literary theorists {{France-writer-stub