Jean Markale
Encyclopedia
Jean Bertrand' directs here. You may have been looking for the Haiti
an politician Jean-Bertrand Aristide
.
Jean Markale (May 23 1928, Paris
- November 23 2008) was the pen name of Jean Bertrand, a French
writer, poet, radio show host, lecturer and high school French
teacher who lived in Brittany
.
He published numerous books about Celtic civilisation, particularly the place of women in Celtic culture, and Arthurian
literature. His many works deal with subjects as varied as summations of various myths, their relationships with subjects like the Templars
, the Cathar
s and the Rennes le Château mystery, Atlantis
, the megalith
building civilisations, Druidism and the biography of Saint Columba
.
's concept of "collective unconscious
" as an explanatory device, since the vast majority of psychologists outside Jungian depth psychology do not accept the concept.
His already weakened reputation was further tarnished in 1989, when he became involved in a plagiarism
case after he published under his own name a serious and well-documented guide to the oddities and antiquities of Brittany
, the text of which had already been published, twenty years before by a different writer, through the very same publisher.
The Breton scholar Christian-Joseph Guyonvarc'h dismissed Markale as follows; "Mr Jean Bertrand, a.k.a Jean Markale, styles himself as a professor of classical literature. He never says where he teaches; but [...] he cannot properly accentuate Greek
, knows nothing of Latin
[...] he doesn't know how many cases there are in Irish
declension (sometimes he says two, at other times three) [...] Jean Markale very complacently quotes his own works in his later publications and, every time an Irish text is mentioned, he refers the reader to his 'Celtic Epics' as though that book included actual translations or constituted the most basic and essential reference on the matter. All this is, at best, a joke."
However, for others, his loose scholarly presentation is balanced by "the insightful points Markale does make about various texts, clever interpretations of certain scenes and thought-provoking parallels to other traditions".
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an politician Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide
Jean-Bertrand Aristide is a Haitian former Catholic priest and politician who served as Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince in 1982 after completing his studies...
.
Jean Markale (May 23 1928, 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...
- November 23 2008) was the pen name of Jean Bertrand, a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
writer, poet, radio show host, lecturer and high school French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
teacher who lived in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
He published numerous books about Celtic civilisation, particularly the place of women in Celtic culture, and Arthurian
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
literature. His many works deal with subjects as varied as summations of various myths, their relationships with subjects like the Templars
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, the Cathar
Cathar
Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries...
s and the Rennes le Château mystery, Atlantis
Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
, the megalith
Megalith
A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones. Megalithic describes structures made of such large stones, utilizing an interlocking system without the use of mortar or cement.The word 'megalith' comes from the Ancient...
building civilisations, Druidism and the biography of Saint Columba
Saint Columba
-Saints:* Columba , Irish Christian saint who evangelized Scotland* Columba the Virgin, also known as Saint Columba of Cornwall* Columba of Sens* Columba of Spain* Columba of Terryglass* Sancta Columba -Schools:...
.
Controversy
While Markale presents himself as widely read on the subjects about which he writes, the value of his work is controversial. His 'creative' use of scholarship and his tendency to make great leaps in reasoning cause scholars following more normative and conservative methods to balk and his interest in subjects that his critics consider questionable, including various branches of the occult, have gained him at least as many opponents as supporters. Another source of controversy is his use of Carl JungCarl Jung
Carl Gustav Jung was a Swiss psychiatrist and the founder of Analytical Psychology. Jung is considered the first modern psychiatrist to view the human psyche as "by nature religious" and make it the focus of exploration. Jung is one of the best known researchers in the field of dream analysis and...
's concept of "collective unconscious
Collective unconscious
Collective unconscious is a term of analytical psychology, coined by Carl Jung. It is proposed to be a part of the unconscious mind, expressed in humanity and all life forms with nervous systems, and describes how the structure of the psyche autonomously organizes experience...
" as an explanatory device, since the vast majority of psychologists outside Jungian depth psychology do not accept the concept.
His already weakened reputation was further tarnished in 1989, when he became involved in a plagiarism
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is defined in dictionaries as the "wrongful appropriation," "close imitation," or "purloining and publication" of another author's "language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions," and the representation of them as one's own original work, but the notion remains problematic with nebulous...
case after he published under his own name a serious and well-documented guide to the oddities and antiquities of Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, the text of which had already been published, twenty years before by a different writer, through the very same publisher.
The Breton scholar Christian-Joseph Guyonvarc'h dismissed Markale as follows; "Mr Jean Bertrand, a.k.a Jean Markale, styles himself as a professor of classical literature. He never says where he teaches; but [...] he cannot properly accentuate Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
, knows nothing of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
[...] he doesn't know how many cases there are in Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
declension (sometimes he says two, at other times three) [...] Jean Markale very complacently quotes his own works in his later publications and, every time an Irish text is mentioned, he refers the reader to his 'Celtic Epics' as though that book included actual translations or constituted the most basic and essential reference on the matter. All this is, at best, a joke."
However, for others, his loose scholarly presentation is balanced by "the insightful points Markale does make about various texts, clever interpretations of certain scenes and thought-provoking parallels to other traditions".
Works
- The Celts: Uncovering the Mythic and Historic Origins of Western Culture (ISBN 0-89281-413-6)
- Montségur and the Mystery of the Cathars (ISBN 0-89281-090-4)
- Women of the Celts
- The Druids: Celtic Priests of Nature (ISBN 0-89281-703-8)
- Cathedral of the Black Madonna: The Druids and the Mysteries of Chartres
- King of the Celts: Arthurian Legends and Celtic Tradition
- The Epics of Celtic Ireland: Ancient Tales of Mystery and Magic
- The Great Goddess: Reverence Of The Divine Feminine From The Paleolithic To The Present