Ernest Renan

Ernest Renan (1823–1892) was a French philologist, Orientalist, historian of religion, philosopher, biblical scholar, and writer. Born in Tréguier in Brittany, he was educated in ecclesiastical seminaries before turning toward the scientific study of language, history, and religion.

Renan held the chair of Hebrew, Chaldean, and Syriac languages at the Collège de France from 1862 to 1892 and later served as the institution’s administrator. His Life of Jesus (1863) became a landmark of nineteenth-century biblical criticism, while his 1882 lecture What Is a Nation? remains widely known for its reflections on national identity and collective memory.