Ménard Philippe
Date of birth:
- 1/1/1935
Place of birth:
- Cubzac-les-Ponts (departman Gironde)
Emails:
Ménard Philippe
Academic titles:
- Professor doctor of Science
- Professor Emeritus (Sorbonne)
Membership in Academy:
- Corresponding member – Department of Philological Sciences (5/19/2022 – …)
Curriculum Vitae
Philippe Ménard, one of French leading medievalists, professor emeritus of French language and literature of the Middle Ages at the Sorbonne University in Paris, has enriched philological science with a series of studies on medieval Latinity, on connections between Roman languages, literatures, and cultures in the Middle Ages, and in the last few decades with works on literary and cultural contacts between the Apennine Peninsula and the Croatian Adriatic coast.
So far, he has published twelve scientific books and 204 scientific articles in journals and proceedings. In the field of linguistics, his book on Old French syntax (Syntaxe de l’ancien français, 1973) stands out in particular. In accordance with the best traditions of Roman philology, the author systematically analyzed, explained and exhibited the essential features of old French syntax taking into account the origin of individual constructions (in Latin) and the results of the latter development (in French). This book has become classic for this subject.
In collaboration with Émanuèle Baumgartner published Dictionnaire étymologique et historique de la langue française (1996). In this etymological dictionary, special attention in interpretation is given to the development of meaning and the cultural circumstances in which a given word developed. Professor Ménard began the study of medieval French literary creation with the study of Arturian literature, and then, after his capital main doctoral thesis on smiles and laughter in courtly literature (Le rire et le sourire dans les romans courtois en France au Moyen Âge (1150-1250), 1969), he prepared monumental editions of old French key texts (e.g. A novel in prose about Tristan, 9 volumes).
Professor Philippe Ménard gave unreserved support to the establishment and operation of the Multidisciplinary Programme of Croatian Studies at the University of Sorbonne, and the support of such scientific authority was key to the realization of the program. For several decades, Professor Philippe Ménard has played a key role not only in the development of linguistic, interdisciplinary and comparative research on the French Middle Ages, but also in disseminating knowledge about scientific achievements in this field.
For his work, he received recognitions from the following institutions: the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres and the Académie française. He is a correspondent member of the Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona (since 1986) and at the Medieval Academy of America (since 1986) and a foreign member at the Academia dei Lincei in Rome (since 2002). Professor Philippe Ménard is undeniably one of the greatest scientific authorities in the field of linguistic and philological research of the Old Roman period and one of the best connoisseurs of the interim linguistic, literary and cultural connections between Roman countries and peoples in the Middle Ages.
Professor Philippe Ménard was elected as a correspondent member of the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts on 19 May 2022.