Edmond-Frederic Le Blant
Encyclopedia
Edmond-Frederic Le Blant (12 August 1818-5 July 1897, at Paris) was a French archaeologist and historian. He was the father of the military artist Julien Le Blant
.
He studied law and having qualified to practice, he obtained in 1843 a situation in the customs under the Finance Board. This position assured his future and he was free to follow his scientific inclinations. During a voyage through Italy (1847) he visited the Kircher Museum, and his intercourse with G. B. de Rossi determined him to undertake in France the scientific work which the founder of Christian archeology had undertaken in Rome.
As early as 1848 Le Blant was commissioned to collect the inscriptions of the earliest days of Christianity in Gaul, and like de Rossi, he made an investigation of manuscripts, printed books, museums, churches, and the Gallo-Roman cemeteries. In 1856 appeared the first volume of his "Recueil des inscriptions chrétienne des Gaules antérieures au VIIIe siècle". The second volume of the work (Paris, 1865) obtained for its author his election as a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. A third volume appeared in 1892 under the title of "Nouveau Recueil". In the course of his researches Le Blant did not overlook any questions raised by his documents. He wrote learned articles on the method of Christian epigraphy
, on Christian art, on the origin, progress, popular beliefs, and moral influence of Christianity in ancient Gaul. When he resigned his post as sub-commissioner of the customs (1872) he continued to devote himself to his studies.
He tried to gather into one "Corpus" the Christian sarcophagi of which so many have been preserved in the south of France. In 1878 he published in Paris his "Etudes sur les sarcophages chrétiens de la ville d'Arles", which was followed by a second work "Etudes sur les sarcophages chrétiens de la Gaule" (Paris, 1886). In the introduction he treats of the form, ornamentation, and iconography of these monuments; he dwells upon the relationship between the sarcophagi of Arles
and those of Rome, and the difference between them and those of the south-west of France, in which he finds more distinct signs of local influence. His studies and his personal tastes led him to take an interest also in the history of the persecutions and the martyrs.
In numerous writings he treats in particular of the judicial bases of the persecutions and the critical value of the Acts of the Martyrs
. These studies were crowned by his work "Persécuteurs et Martyrs" (Paris, 1893), in which he displays his knowledge of history and his deep Christian convictions.
In 1883, Le Blant became director of the Ecole Française at Rome; his name figures between Geffroy and Louis Duchesne
.
In addition to his works mentioned above we may mention his collaboration with Jacquemart
in "Histoire artistique, industrielle et commerciale de la porcelaine" (Paris, 1862); "Manuel d'épigraphie chrétienne" (Paris, 1869); "Les Actes des martyrs, Supplément aux Acta sincera' de Dom Ruinart" (Paris, 1882).
Julien Le Blant
Julien Le Blant was a French painter of military subjects who specialized in the scenes of the Vendee Wars of 1793–1799 that occurred during the French Revolution...
.
He studied law and having qualified to practice, he obtained in 1843 a situation in the customs under the Finance Board. This position assured his future and he was free to follow his scientific inclinations. During a voyage through Italy (1847) he visited the Kircher Museum, and his intercourse with G. B. de Rossi determined him to undertake in France the scientific work which the founder of Christian archeology had undertaken in Rome.
As early as 1848 Le Blant was commissioned to collect the inscriptions of the earliest days of Christianity in Gaul, and like de Rossi, he made an investigation of manuscripts, printed books, museums, churches, and the Gallo-Roman cemeteries. In 1856 appeared the first volume of his "Recueil des inscriptions chrétienne des Gaules antérieures au VIIIe siècle". The second volume of the work (Paris, 1865) obtained for its author his election as a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres. A third volume appeared in 1892 under the title of "Nouveau Recueil". In the course of his researches Le Blant did not overlook any questions raised by his documents. He wrote learned articles on the method of Christian epigraphy
Epigraphy
Epigraphy Epigraphy Epigraphy (from the , literally "on-writing", is the study of inscriptions or epigraphs as writing; that is, the science of identifying the graphemes and of classifying their use as to cultural context and date, elucidating their meaning and assessing what conclusions can be...
, on Christian art, on the origin, progress, popular beliefs, and moral influence of Christianity in ancient Gaul. When he resigned his post as sub-commissioner of the customs (1872) he continued to devote himself to his studies.
He tried to gather into one "Corpus" the Christian sarcophagi of which so many have been preserved in the south of France. In 1878 he published in Paris his "Etudes sur les sarcophages chrétiens de la ville d'Arles", which was followed by a second work "Etudes sur les sarcophages chrétiens de la Gaule" (Paris, 1886). In the introduction he treats of the form, ornamentation, and iconography of these monuments; he dwells upon the relationship between the sarcophagi of Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
and those of Rome, and the difference between them and those of the south-west of France, in which he finds more distinct signs of local influence. His studies and his personal tastes led him to take an interest also in the history of the persecutions and the martyrs.
In numerous writings he treats in particular of the judicial bases of the persecutions and the critical value of the Acts of the Martyrs
Acts of the Martyrs
Acts of the Martyrs are accounts of the suffering and death of a Christian martyr or group of martyrs. These accounts were collected and used in church liturgies from early times, as attested by Saint Augustine....
. These studies were crowned by his work "Persécuteurs et Martyrs" (Paris, 1893), in which he displays his knowledge of history and his deep Christian convictions.
In 1883, Le Blant became director of the Ecole Française at Rome; his name figures between Geffroy and Louis Duchesne
Louis Duchesne
Louis Marie Olivier Duchesne was a French priest, philologist, teacher and a critical historian of Christianity and Roman Catholic liturgy and institutions....
.
In addition to his works mentioned above we may mention his collaboration with Jacquemart
Henri Alfred Jacquemart
Henri Alfred Marie Jacquemart , often known as Alfred Jacquemart, was a noted French sculptor and animalier....
in "Histoire artistique, industrielle et commerciale de la porcelaine" (Paris, 1862); "Manuel d'épigraphie chrétienne" (Paris, 1869); "Les Actes des martyrs, Supplément aux Acta sincera' de Dom Ruinart" (Paris, 1882).