Rafael Lapesa Melgar (February 8, 1908 – February 1, 2001) was a Spanish

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 ...

, a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human species; as well as the ...

language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...

and of

Spanish literature Spanish literature is literature ( Spanish poetry, prose, and drama) written in the Spanish language within the territory that presently constitutes the Kingdom of Spain. Its development coincides and frequently intersects with that of other ...

Early life

He was born in

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

on February 8, 1908. is family moved to

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

when he was eight. By 1930, he had earned his professorship (''cátedra'') for his work on the medieval dialect of the western

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

Career

At the Centro de Estudios Históricos he was under the guidance of

Ramón Menéndez Pidal Ramón Menéndez Pidal (; 13 March 1869 – 14 November 1968) was a Spanish philologist and historian."Ramon Menendez Pidal", ''Almanac of Famous People'' (2011) ''Biography in Context'', Gale, Detroit He worked extensively on the history of t ...

Tomás Navarro Tomás Tomás Navarro Tomás (12 April 1884 – 16 September 1979) was a Spanish philologist, librarian and linguist. His work in the field of Spanish Philology is one of the key contributions to the Spanish Scientific modernization movement of the ...

and

Américo Castro Américo Castro Quesada (May 4, 1885 – July 25, 1972) was a Spanish cultural historian, philologist, and literary critic who challenged some of the prevailing notions of Spanish identity, raising controversy with his conclusions that Spaniards ...

. He had met Pilar Lago de Couceiro while both were students. She worked at the Tribunal de Cuentas and he worked for an insurance company. They married in 1932. In Madrid from 1932 to 1941, he was a professor of Spanish Language and Literature. In addition, during the Civil War, he taught classes of republican soldiers how to read and write. By 1942, he had moved to the university at

Oviedo Oviedo () or Uviéu (Asturian language, Asturian: ) is the capital city of the Principality of Asturias in northern Spain and the administrative and commercial centre of the region. It is also the name of the municipality that contains th ...

, and from 1942 to 1947 he was at

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

. Back in Madrid at the

Complutense University of Madrid The Complutense University of Madrid (, UCM; ) is a public research university located in Madrid. Founded in Alcalá in 1293 (before relocating to Madrid in 1836), it is one of the oldest operating universities in the world, and one of Spain's ...

, he was Professor of the History of the Spanish Language from 1947 to 1978. He became associated with the Seminario de Lexicografía de la

Real Academia Española The Royal Spanish Academy (, ; ) is Spain's official royal institution with a mission to ensure the stability of the Spanish language. It is based in Madrid, Spain, and is affiliated with national language academies in 22 other Hispanopho ...

in 1947, serving as the Director from 1969 to 1981. There, he participated on the ''Diccionario histórico de la lengua española''. Travelling widely, he was visiting professor at many universities in Europe, North America and South America. He also received numerous academic honours and other awards like 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 ...

'' and the ''

Prince of Asturias Award for Literature A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The fe ...

''.

Selected works

*Rafael Lapesa, ''Historia de la lengua española'' (Madrid: Escelicer 1942, preface by

; 9th ed., Madrid: Gredos 1991) *Rafael Lapesa, ''Historia lingűística y historia general'' (Madrid 1958) *Rafael Lapesa, ''Sobre el texto y lenguaje de algunas "jarchyas" mozárabes'' (Madrid: Impr. S. Aguirre Torre 1960) *Rafael Lapesa, ''Le dictionnaire historique de la langue espagnole'' (Paris 1960) *Rafael Lapesa, ''El andaluz y el español de América'' (Madrid 1964) *Rafael Lapesa, ''De la Edad Media a nuestros días'' (Madrid 1967) *Rafael Lapesa, ''Generaciones y Semblanzas de filólogos españoles'' (1998) *Rafael Lapesa and

Emilio García Gómez Emilio García Gómez, 1st Count of Alixares (4 June 1905 – 31 May 1995) was a Spanish Arabist, literary historian and critic, whose talent as a poet enriched his many translations from Arabic language, Arabic. Life Emilio García Góme ...

, ''En el centario del nacimiento de don Miguel Asín'' (Madrid: CSIC 1969) *Rafael Lapesa and Constantino García, ''Léxico hispánico primativo: siglos VII-XII'' (Pozuelo de Alarcon: Espasa Calpe 2003)

External links

Rafael Lapesa Melgar Archive (Biblioteca Valenciana)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lapesa, Rafael 1908 births 2001 deaths Members of the Royal Spanish Academy Academics from Valencia 20th-century Spanish philologists Academic staff of the Complutense University of Madrid

Early life

Career

Selected works

See also

External links