Michel Bréal: Difference between revisions

Michel Bréal
Michel Bréal
Born	26 March 1832; Landau, Kingdom of Bavaria
Died	25 November 1915 (aged 83); Paris, France
Main interests	Semantics

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Michel Jules Alfred Bréal (French: [miʃɛl bʁeal]; 26 March 1832 – 25 November 1915), French philologist, was born at Landau in Rhenish Palatinate. He is often identified as a founder of modern semantics. He was also the creator of the modern marathon race, having proposed its first running at the 1896 Olympic Games and offered what would become known as Breal's Silver Cup to the winner.

Life and career

Michel Bréal was born at Landau in Germany of French-Jewish parents.^[1]

After studying at Wissembourg, Metz and Paris, he entered the École Normale Supérieure in 1852. In 1857 he went to Berlin, where he studied Sanskrit under Franz Bopp and Albrecht Weber. On his return to France he obtained an appointment in the department of oriental manuscripts at the Bibliothèque Impériale. In 1864 he became professor of comparative grammar at the Collège de France, in 1875 member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres, in 1879 inspecteur général for higher education until the abolition of the office in 1888. In 1890 he was made commander of the Legion of Honour.^[2] He resigned his chair in 1905, and died in Paris.^[3]

In 1883, Bréal coined the term semantics in the article “Les lois intellectuelles du langage. Fragment de sémantique” published in the journal Annuaire de l'association des études grecques en France (page 133).^[4]

Invention of the modern marathon

Bréal is credited with the invention of the marathon race. He attended the 1894 Founding Congress of the International Olympic Committee at the Sorbonne in Paris; at its concluding dinner, he was seated next to the father of the modern games, Pierre de Coubertin.^[5] Soon after the congress, on September 15, 1894, Bréal sent Coubertin a letter outlining his idea:

Puisque vous allez à Athènes, voyez donc, si l’on peut organiser une course de Marathon au Pnyx. Cela aura une saveur antique. Si nous savions le temps qu’a mis le guerrier grec, nous pourrions établir le record. Je réclamerais pour ma part l’honneur d’offrir « la Coupe de Marathon ».^[5]

Translation: Since you are going to Athens, see if we can organize a Marathon race at the Pnyx. This would have an antique flavor. If we knew how long the Greek warrior took, we could set the distance. For my part, I would claim the honor of offering the "Marathon Cup."

The legend of the ancient run — the run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides to announce victory at the Battle of Marathon to either Athens — had become more culturally prominent in late 19th-century Europe. Robert Browning's 1879 poem "Pheidippides" had brought the story to wider attention, as had an 1890 archeological dig of the Marathon tumuli.^[5] Before Bréal's proposal, the 1896 Olympics had not planned any races longer than 1500 meters; some argued that such a long distance was "contrary to the principles of sport and of hygiene."^[6]^[5]

As part of his sponsorship of the race, Bréal had a Paris jeweler create Breal's Silver Cup for the winner, who ended up being the Greek Spyros Louis.

Works

Among his works, which deal mainly with mythological and philological subjects, may be mentioned:

L'Étude des origines de la religion zoroastrienne (1862), for which a prize was awarded him by the Académie des Inscriptions
Hercule et Cacus (1863), in which he disputes the principles of the symbolic school in the interpretation of myths
Le Mythe d'Œdipe (1864)
Les Tables eugubines (1875)
Mélanges de mythologie et de linguistique (2nd. ed., 1882)
Leçons de mots (1882, 1886)
Dictionnaire étymologique latin (1885)
Grammaire latine (1890).
Essai de sémantique (1897), on the signification of words, which was translated into English by Mrs Emmeline Cust with preface by J. P. Postgate.
a translation of Bopp's Comparative Grammar (1866–1874), with introductions, which is highly valued.

He also wrote pamphlets on education in France, the teaching of ancient languages, and the reform of French orthography. In 1906 he published Pour mieux connaitre Homère.^[2]

Hans W. Giessen, Heinz-Helmut Lüger, Günther Volz (Hrsg.): Michel Bréal – Grenzüberschreitende Signaturen. Verlag Empirische Pädagogik, Landau 2007 ISBN 3-9373-3363-0
Hans W. Giessen & Heinz Helmut Lüger (2024), « Michel Bréal, L’homme qui a inventé le Marathon ». In: Alexandre Farnoux, Violaine Jeammet, Christina Mitsopoulou (Eds.) (2024), L’Olympisme, une invention moderne, un héritage antique. Paris: Éditions du Louvre, Hazan. 26–33. (Catalogue of the exhibition at the Louvre in Paris).
Hans W. Giessen: Mythos Marathon. Von Herodot über Bréal bis zur Gegenwart. (= Landauer Schriften zur Kommunikations- und Kulturwissenschaft. Band 17). Verlag Empirische Pädagogik, Landau 2010, ISBN 978-3-941320-46-8.
Heinz-Helmut Lüger (dir.), Hans W. Giessen (dir.) et Bernard Weigel (dir.), Entre la France et l'Allemagne : Michel Bréal, intellectuel engagé, Limoges, Lambert-Lucas, 2012 (ISBN 978-2-35935-043-2)
Brigitte Nerlich: Michel Bréal: mettre l’homme dans la langue. In: Penser l’histoire des savoirs linguistiques. Hommage à Sylvain Auroux. Textes réunis par Sylvie Archaimbault Jean-Marie Fournier & Valérie Raby, 611-619. Lyon: ENS, 2013. (ISBN 978-2-84788-417-3).
Jan Noordegraaf: Salient scholars. Michel Bréal and his Dutch connections. In: Penser l’histoire des savoirs linguistiques. Hommage à Sylvain Auroux. Textes réunis par Sylvie Archaimbault Jean-Marie Fournier & Valérie Raby, 621-632. Lyon: ENS, 2013. (ISBN 978-2-84788-417-3). http://hdl.handle.net/1871/51333

References

^ Michel Bréal (1832–1915), A forgotten precursor of enunciation and subjectivity Arnaud Fournet
^ ^a ^b One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bréal, Michel Jules Alfred". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 481.
^ One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Bréal, Michel Jules Alfred". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 30 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 494.
^ Michel Bréal, “Les lois intellectuelles du langage. Fragment de sémantique”, Annuaire de l'association des études grecques en France 17 (1883) 132-142. Text on JSTOR
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Müller, Norbert (5 November 2015). "Michel Bréal (1832-1915) – The Man Behind the Idea of the Marathon". The Sport Journal. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
^ "HELLENIC GAMES REVIVED". The Inter Ocean. 19 April 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 9 July 2024.

External links

Michel Bréal Society, Michel-Bréal-Gesellschaft

[af-1] Michel Bréal (1832–1915), A forgotten precursor of enunciation and subjectivity Arnaud Fournet

[EB1911-2] One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Bréal, Michel Jules Alfred". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 481.

[3] One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). "Bréal, Michel Jules Alfred". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 30 (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. p. 494.

[aaegf-4] Michel Bréal, “Les lois intellectuelles du langage. Fragment de sémantique”, Annuaire de l'association des études grecques en France 17 (1883) 132-142. Text on JSTOR

[sj-5] Müller, Norbert (5 November 2015). "Michel Bréal (1832-1915) – The Man Behind the Idea of the Marathon". The Sport Journal. Retrieved 10 July 2024.

[6] "HELLENIC GAMES REVIVED". The Inter Ocean. 19 April 1895. p. 3. Retrieved 9 July 2024.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|French philologist (1832–1915)}}
-{{multiple issues|
-{{one source|date=February 2012}}
-{{more footnotes|date=February 2012}}
-}}
 {{Redirect-distinguish|Breal|B-Real}}
+{{more footnotes needed|date=February 2012}}
 {{Infobox philosopher
 |image            = Breal1.jpg
 |image_size       =
-|caption          = Michel Bréal
 |name             = Michel Bréal
 |birth_date       = {{birth date|1832|3|26|df=y}}
@@ Line 21: / Line 18: @@
 }}
-'''Michel Jules Alfred Bréal''' ({{IPA-fr|bʁeal|lang}}; 26 March 1832 – 25 November 1915), French [[philologist]], was born at [[Landau]] in [[Palatinate region|Rhenish Bavaria]]. He is often identified as a founder of modern [[semantics]].
+'''Michel Jules Alfred Bréal''' ({{IPA|fr|miʃɛl bʁeal|lang}}; 26 March 1832{{snd}}25 November 1915), French [[philologist]], was born at [[Landau]] in [[Palatinate region|Rhenish Palatinate]]. He is often identified as a founder of modern [[semantics]]. He was also the creator of the modern [[marathon]] race, having proposed its first running at the [[1896 Olympic Games]] and offered what would become known as [[Breal's Silver Cup]] to the winner.
 ==Life and career==
+Michel Bréal was born at [[Landau]] in Germany of [[French-Jewish]] parents.<ref name="af">Michel Bréal (1832–1915), A forgotten precursor of enunciation and subjectivity
-After studying at [[Wissembourg|Weissenburg]], [[Metz]] and [[Paris]], he entered the [[École Normale Supérieure]] in 1852. In 1857 he went to Berlin, where he studied [[Sanskrit]] under [[Franz Bopp]] and [[Albrecht Weber]]. On his return to France he obtained an appointment in the department of oriental manuscripts at the [[Bibliothèque Impériale]]. In 1864 he became professor of [[comparative grammar]] at the [[Collège de France]], in 1875 member of the [[Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres]], in 1879 ''inspecteur général'' for higher education until the abolition of the office in 1888. In 1890 he was made commander of the [[Legion of Honour]].<ref name=EB1911>{{EB1911|inline=1 |title=Bréal, Michel Jules Alfred |volume=4 |page=481 |url=https://archive.org/stream/encyclopaediabri04chisrich#page/481/mode/1up}}</ref> He resigned his chair in 1905, and died in Paris.<ref>{{EB1922|inline=1 |title=Bréal, Michel Jules Alfred |volume=30 |page=494 |url=https://archive.org/stream/encyclopaediabri30chisrich#page/494/mode/1up}}</ref>
+Arnaud Fournet</ref>
+After studying at [[Wissembourg]], [[Metz]] and [[Paris]], he entered the [[École Normale Supérieure]] in 1852. In 1857 he went to Berlin, where he studied [[Sanskrit]] under [[Franz Bopp]] and [[Albrecht Weber]]. On his return to France he obtained an appointment in the department of oriental manuscripts at the [[Bibliothèque Impériale]]. In 1864 he became professor of [[comparative grammar]] at the [[Collège de France]], in 1875 member of the [[Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-lettres]], in 1879 ''inspecteur général'' for higher education until the abolition of the office in 1888. In 1890 he was made commander of the [[Legion of Honour]].<ref name="EB1911">{{EB1911|inline=1 |wstitle=Bréal, Michel Jules Alfred |volume=4 |page=481}}</ref> He resigned his chair in 1905, and died in Paris.<ref>{{EB1922|inline=1 |title=Bréal, Michel Jules Alfred |volume=30 |page=494 |url=https://archive.org/stream/encyclopaediabri30chisrich#page/494/mode/1up}}</ref>
+In 1883, Bréal coined the term [[semantics]] in the article “Les lois intellectuelles du langage. Fragment de sémantique” published in the journal ''Annuaire de l'association des études grecques en France'' (page 133).<ref name="aaegf">Michel Bréal, “Les lois intellectuelles du langage. Fragment de sémantique”, ''Annuaire de l'association des études grecques en France'' 17 (1883) 132-142. [https://www.jstor.org/stable/44253893?read-now=1&seq=2 Text on JSTOR]</ref>
+==Invention of the modern marathon==
+Bréal is credited with the invention of the [[marathon (sport)|marathon]] race. He attended the 1894 Founding Congress of the International Olympic Committee at the [[Sorbonne (building)|Sorbonne]] in [[Paris]]; at its concluding dinner, he was seated next to the father of the modern games, [[Pierre de Coubertin]].<ref name="sj">{{cite journal |last1=Müller |first1=Norbert |title=Michel Bréal (1832-1915) – The Man Behind the Idea of the Marathon |journal=The Sport Journal |date=5 November 2015 |url=https://thesportjournal.org/article/michel-breal-1832-1915-the-man-behind-the-idea-of-the-marathon/ |access-date=10 July 2024}}</ref> Soon after the congress, on September 15, 1894, Bréal sent Coubertin a letter outlining his idea:
+''{{Blockquote |text= Puisque vous allez à Athènes, voyez donc, si l’on peut organiser une course de Marathon au Pnyx. Cela aura une saveur antique. Si nous savions le temps qu’a mis le guerrier grec, nous pourrions établir le record. Je réclamerais pour ma part l’honneur d’offrir « la Coupe de Marathon ».<ref name="sj" />}}''
+{{Blockquote |text= ''Translation:'' Since you are going to Athens, see if we can organize a Marathon race at the [[Pnyx]]. This would have an antique flavor. If we knew how long the Greek warrior took, we could set the distance. For my part, I would claim the honor of offering the "Marathon Cup."}}
+The legend of the ancient run — the run of the Greek soldier [[Pheidippides]] to announce victory at the [[Battle of Marathon]] to either Athens — had become more culturally prominent in late 19th-century Europe. [[Robert Browning]]'s 1879 poem "Pheidippides" had brought the story to wider attention, as had an 1890 archeological dig of the [[Marathon tumuli]].<ref name="sj" /> Before Bréal's proposal, the 1896 Olympics had not planned any races longer than 1500 meters; some argued that such a long distance was "contrary to the principles of sport and of hygiene."<ref>{{cite news |title=HELLENIC GAMES REVIVED |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-inter-ocean/151013469/ |access-date=9 July 2024 |work=The Inter Ocean |date=19 April 1895 |pages=3}}</ref><ref name="sj" />
+As part of his sponsorship of the race, Bréal had a Paris jeweler create [[Breal's Silver Cup]] for the winner, who ended up being the Greek [[Spyros Louis]].
 ==Works==
 Among his works, which deal mainly with mythological and philological subjects, may be mentioned:
-*''L' Etude des origines de la religion Zoroastrienne'' (1862), for which a prize was awarded him by the Académie des Inscriptions
+*''L'Étude des origines de la religion zoroastrienne'' (1862), for which a prize was awarded him by the Académie des Inscriptions
 *''Hercule et Cacus'' (1863), in which he disputes the principles of the symbolic school in the interpretation of myths
-*''Le Mythe d'œdipe'' (1864)
+*''Le Mythe d'Œdipe'' (1864)
-*''Les Tables Eugubines'' (1875)
+*''Les Tables eugubines'' (1875)
 *''Mélanges de mythologie et de linguistique'' (2nd. ed., 1882)
 *''Leçons de mots'' (1882, 1886)
-*''Dictionnaire étymologique Latin'' (1885)
+*''Dictionnaire étymologique latin'' (1885)
 *''Grammaire latine'' (1890).
-*''Essai de Sémantique'' (1897), on the signification of words, which was translated into English by Mrs [[H. Cust]] with preface by [[J. P. Postgate]].
+*''Essai de sémantique'' (1897), on the signification of words, which was translated into English by Mrs [[Emmeline Cust]] with preface by [[J. P. Postgate]].
 *a translation of Bopp's ''Comparative Grammar'' (1866–1874), with introductions, which is highly valued.
-He also wrote pamphlets on education in France, the teaching of ancient languages, and the reform of French orthography. In 1906 he published ''Pour mieux connaitre Homère''.<ref name=EB1911/>
+He also wrote pamphlets on education in France, the teaching of ancient languages, and the reform of French orthography. In 1906 he published ''Pour mieux connaitre Homère''.<ref name="EB1911"/>
+* Hans W. Giessen, Heinz-Helmut Lüger, Günther Volz (Hrsg.): Michel Bréal – Grenzüberschreitende Signaturen. Verlag Empirische Pädagogik, Landau 2007 {{ISBN|3-9373-3363-0}}
-Michel Bréal can also be credited with the invention of the [[marathon (sport)|marathon]] race. He made the suggestion to put this event on the programme of the [[1896 Summer Olympics|first modern Olympics]] in [[Athens]] in 1896 to his friend [[Pierre de Coubertin]]. The event was to commemorate the Greek soldier [[Pheidippides]] who, according to several legends, ran from the [[Battle of Marathon]] to either Athens or Sparta.
+* Hans W. Giessen & Heinz Helmut Lüger (2024), « Michel Bréal, L’homme qui a inventé le Marathon ». In: Alexandre Farnoux, Violaine Jeammet, Christina Mitsopoulou (Eds.) (2024), L’Olympisme, une invention moderne, un héritage antique. Paris: Éditions du Louvre, Hazan. 26–33. (Catalogue of the exhibition at the [[Louvre]] in [[Paris]]).
-* Hans W. Giessen, Heinz-Helmut Lüger, Günther Volz (Hrsg.): Michel Bréal – Grenzüberschreitende Signaturen. Verlag Empirische Pädagogik, Landau 2007 ISBN 3-9373-3363-0
+* Hans W. Giessen: Mythos Marathon. Von Herodot über Bréal bis zur Gegenwart. (= Landauer Schriften zur Kommunikations- und Kulturwissenschaft. Band 17). Verlag Empirische Pädagogik, Landau 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-941320-46-8}}.
+* Heinz-Helmut Lüger (dir.), Hans W. Giessen (dir.) et Bernard Weigel (dir.), Entre la France et l'Allemagne : Michel Bréal, intellectuel engagé, Limoges, Lambert-Lucas, 2012 ({{ISBN|978-2-35935-043-2}})
-* Hans W. Giessen & Heinz-Helmut Lüger: Ein Grenzgänger der ersten Stunde. Michel Bréal: Vom Marathon zum Pynx in: Dokumente. Zs. für den deutsch-französischen Dialog. Gesellschaft für übernationale Zusammenarbeit, Bonn. Heft 4 / 2008, pp.&nbsp;59 – 62 ISSN 0012-5172
+* Brigitte Nerlich: Michel Bréal: mettre l’homme dans la langue. In: Penser l’histoire des savoirs linguistiques. Hommage à Sylvain Auroux. Textes réunis par Sylvie Archaimbault Jean-Marie Fournier & Valérie Raby, 611-619. Lyon: ENS, 2013. ({{ISBN|978-2-84788-417-3}}).
-* Hans W. Giessen: Mythos Marathon. Von Herodot über Bréal bis zur Gegenwart. (= Landauer Schriften zur Kommunikations- und Kulturwissenschaft. Band 17). Verlag Empirische Pädagogik, Landau 2010, ISBN 978-3-941320-46-8.
+* Jan Noordegraaf: Salient scholars. Michel Bréal and his Dutch connections. In: Penser l’histoire des savoirs linguistiques. Hommage à Sylvain Auroux. Textes réunis par Sylvie Archaimbault Jean-Marie Fournier & Valérie Raby, 621-632. Lyon: ENS, 2013. ({{ISBN|978-2-84788-417-3}}). http://hdl.handle.net/1871/51333
-* Heinz-Helmut Lüger (dir.), Hans W. Giessen (dir.) et Bernard Weigel (dir.), Entre la France et l'Allemagne : Michel Bréal, intellectuel engagé, Limoges, Lambert-Lucas, 2012 (ISBN 978-2-35935-043-2)
-* Brigitte Nerlich: Michel Bréal: mettre l’homme dans la langue. In: Penser l’histoire des savoirs linguistiques. Hommage à Sylvain Auroux. Textes réunis par Sylvie Archaimbault Jean-Marie Fournier & Valérie Raby, 611-619. Lyon: ENS, 2013. (ISBN 978-2-84788-417-3).
-* Jan Noordegraaf: Salient scholars. Michel Bréal and his Dutch connections. In: Penser l’histoire des savoirs linguistiques. Hommage à Sylvain Auroux. Textes réunis par Sylvie Archaimbault Jean-Marie Fournier & Valérie Raby, 621-632. Lyon: ENS, 2013. (ISBN 978-2-84788-417-3). http://hdl.handle.net/1871/51333
 ==References==
@@ Line 53: / Line 64: @@
 ==External links==
+{{Wikiquote}}
+{{EB1911 poster|Bréal, Michel Jules Alfred|Michel Bréal}}
 * Michel Bréal Society, [http://www.michel-bréal-gesellschaft.de/ Michel-Bréal-Gesellschaft]
-{{Authority control|VIAF=24598653|LCCN=n/84/020294|GND=}}
+{{Authority control}}
-{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. -->
-| NAME              = Breal, Michel
-| ALTERNATIVE NAMES =
-| SHORT DESCRIPTION = French philologist
-| DATE OF BIRTH     = 26 March 1832
-| PLACE OF BIRTH    = [[Landau]], [[Kingdom of Bavaria]]
-| DATE OF DEATH     = 25 November 1915
-| PLACE OF DEATH    = [[Paris]], France
-}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Breal, Michel}}
+[[Category:People from Landau]]
 [[Category:1832 births]]
 [[Category:1915 deaths]]
@@ Line 72: / Line 77: @@
 [[Category:École Normale Supérieure alumni]]
 [[Category:Marathon running]]
-[[Category:Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur]]
+[[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Honour]]
-[[Category:Collège de France faculty]]
+[[Category:Academic staff of the Collège de France]]
-[[Category:Battle of Marathon]]
 [[Category:Members of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres]]
+[[Category:Academic staff of the École pratique des hautes études]]

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