author
Paulin Paris
1800–1881
A key early scholar of medieval French literature, he helped bring old romances, chansons de geste, and Arthurian texts back into view for modern readers. His work at the Royal Library and the Collège de France made him an important guide to the literary Middle Ages.
1 Audiobook
About the author
Born in Avenay, France, in 1800, Paulin Paris studied in Reims and later went to Paris for law, but literature quickly became his real path. Early on, he defended the Romantic movement and took part in Parisian journalism before turning fully toward scholarship.
His career became closely tied to manuscripts and medieval texts. Appointed to the manuscript department of the Bibliothèque royale, he devoted years to studying and cataloging old French works, and he later taught the language and literature of the French Middle Ages at the Collège de France. He was also elected to the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.
Paulin Paris is best remembered as one of the major nineteenth-century figures in the rediscovery of medieval French literature. Through studies and editions such as his work on French manuscripts and Arthurian romances, he helped shape the modern study of Old French and Romance philology.