Philippe Lauer

Born in 1874 and dead in 1953, Philippe Lauer was a French librarian and historian known especially for his work on the Middle Ages. He studied at the École des chartes and the École pratique des hautes études, then spent two years at the École française de Rome before joining the manuscripts department of the Bibliothèque nationale, where he worked until retirement.

Lauer became a respected specialist in medieval sources, particularly Carolingian and early French history. His books and scholarly editions focused on rulers, chronicles, charters, and manuscripts, including work on Louis IV, Charles the Simple, Flodoard, and other key figures and texts from the early medieval period.

What makes his writing still appealing is its solid grounding in original documents. He wrote with the habits of an archivist and paleographer, helping preserve and explain the records that historians still rely on today.