Biography

Laurant was born in 1935 in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 and studied at the Lycée Claude Bernard. Two major early influences were Julien Gracq

Julien Gracq

Julien Gracq , born Louis Poirier in Saint-Florent-le-Vieil, in the French département of Maine-et-Loire, was a French writer. He wrote novels, critiques, a play, and poetry. His literary works were noted for their Surrealism.Gracq first studied in Paris at the Lycée Henri IV, where he earned his...

 and Jean-René Huguenin, in whose weekly Arts Laurant published.

After studying history at the Sorbonne

Sorbonne

The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...

, Laurant taught at the lycée in Soissons

Soissons

Soissons is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France, located on the Aisne River, about northeast of Paris. It is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital of the Suessiones...

, Picardy

Picardy

This article is about the historical French province. For other uses, see Picardy .Picardy is a historical province of France, in the north of France...

. He was elected mayor

Mayor

In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....

 of the commune of Vézaponin (population 109-129 persons), near Soissons.

In 1975, he started to give pioneering courses on nineteenth- and twentieth-century esotericism

Esotericism

Esotericism or Esoterism signifies the holding of esoteric opinions or beliefs, that is, ideas preserved or understood by a small group or those specially initiated, or of rare or unusual interest. The term derives from the Greek , a compound of : "within", thus "pertaining to the more inward",...

 at the Ecole pratique des hautes études

École pratique des hautes études

The École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....

 of the Sorbonne

Sorbonne

The Sorbonne is an edifice of the Latin Quarter, in Paris, France, which has been the historical house of the former University of Paris...

.

Laurant was a founder and director of Politica hermetica, an influential association for the study of the social influence of esoteric thought that published a journal of the same name.

In 1990, he received the degree of docteur ès lettres from the University of Paris

University of Paris

The University of Paris was a university located in Paris, France and one of the earliest to be established in Europe. It was founded in the mid 12th century, and officially recognized as a university probably between 1160 and 1250...

 XII.

Select bibliography

• L'ésotérisme chrétien en France au XIXe siècle ISBN 2-8251-0330-6
• Matgioi, un aventurier taoïste ISBN 2-85076-151-6
• René Guénon ISBN 2-85197-055-0
• L'Ésotérisme ISBN 2-204-04850-X
• René Guénon: Les enjeux d'une lecture (2006) ISBN 2-84454-423-1
• L'Antimaçonnisme catholique, with Émile Poulat
  Émile Poulat
  Émile Poulat , is a French historian and sociologist. Director of Studies at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales, he is also director of research at CNRS and historian of the contemporary church. He is a founding member of the Group of Sociology of Religion, director and member of the...
  
  , Paris, Berg international, 2006