Peter James Bayley (20 November 1944 – 10 April 2018) was a British scholar of French literature, specialising in

17th-century French literature 17th-century French literature was written throughout the '' Grand Siècle'' of France, spanning the reigns of Henry IV of France, the Regency of Marie de' Medici, Louis XIII of France, the Regency of Anne of Austria (and the civil war called ...

, sermons and essays. He was Drapers Professor of French at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

from 1985 to 2011, and a

Fellow A fellow is a title and form of address for distinguished, learned, or skilled individuals in academia, medicine, research, and industry. The exact meaning of the term differs in each field. In learned society, learned or professional society, p ...

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, commonly known as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348 by Edmund Gonville, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and ...

from 1971 until his death.

Biography

Peter Bayley was born in

Portreath Portreath ( or ) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish, village and fishing port on the north coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is about three miles (5 km) west-north-west of Redruth. The village extends along ...

, Cornwall, and was educated at

Redruth Grammar School Redruth Grammar School in Redruth, Cornwall, was a boys school between 1907 and 1976. History The school was opened on 5 October 1907 by General Sir Redvers Buller. It was originally built to accommodate 150 pupils and to serve the Camborne-Red ...

. In 1963, he went up to

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mo ...

to read modern and mediaeval languages (French and Spanish); in 1966, he graduated with a First. He continued at Emmanuel as a postgraduate student, and in 1969 was elected to a Research Fellowship. In 1971, he was awarded his PhD for a thesis on 17th-century French sermons. That same year, he was appointed to a college lectureship at, and was elected Fellow of, Gonville and Caius College. In 1974, he was appointed university assistant lecturer in the Department of French; and in 1978, university lecturer. In 1982, Peter Rickard retired as Drapers Professor of French. Bayley was appointed acting head of department. The process of electing a new Drapers Professor was a protracted one, and he was installed in the chair only in 1985. At that time, it was unusual for Cambridge professors to supervise undergraduates; but Bayley did. Other offices he took on were: various college posts; 1989–1997, vice-president of the Association of University Professors and Heads of French; 1990–1992, president of the Society for French Studies; 1994–1996, member of the executive of the University Council for Modern Languages; and 2000–2002, chairman of the (newly formed) School of Arts and Humanities at Cambridge. In 2006, he suffered a stroke, and a bad fall. He never fully recovered his faculties, and was unable to complete his monograph on the oratory of

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and theology, theologian. Renowned for his sermons, addresses and literary works, he is regarded as a brilliant orator and lit ...

(1627–1704). His friends had the novel and distressing experience of finding themselves the dominant partners in conversations. In 2011, he retired, and was presented by his colleagues with a volume in his honour containing contributions by leading scholars from the United Kingdom, France and North America. He increasingly spent his days at the house in Hackleton, Northamptonshire he shared with his partner Angus Bowie, classicist, of

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

; who delivered the eulogy at his funeral in Caius Chapel on 4 May 2018.

Honours

In 1988, Bayley was made an ''Officier'' (Officer) of the ''

Ordre des Palmes Académiques A suite, in Western classical music, is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral/concert band pieces. It originated in the late 14th century as a pairing of dance tunes; and grew in scope so that by the early 17th century it comprised up to ...

'' by France. In 2006, he was promoted to ''Commandeur'' (Commander): this is the highest rank of the order and he was the first British academic under retirement age to achieve it.

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayley, Peter James 1944 births 2018 deaths 20th-century British linguists 21st-century British linguists British literary historians Scholars of French literature People from Redruth People educated at Redruth Grammar School Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of Emmanuel College, Cambridge Fellows of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Commandeurs of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques Drapers Professors of French