User:Pdebee/Georges Mongrédien

Georges Adolphe Marcel Mongrédien (19 August 1901 – 15 November 1980) was a French historian specialising in 17th century French literature, theatre, and social history. He held office as a local government functionary at the prefecture of the Seine while pursuing a parallel career as historian, conference speaker and writer, publishing over 60 books and more than 1,000 articles.

His working method featured a rigorous and scrupulous search for authentic, complete and often unknown documents, combined with a talent for exposition and a strong motivation to inform the general public about various aspects of 17th century history and cultural mores. His works could be categorised in either of two types: on the one hand, he produced learned bibliographies, releases of unpublished documents, and annotated critical editions, while collaborating assiduously with the bi-monthly journals Revue d'Histoire littéraire de la France and Revue des questions historiques. On the other hand, he published well-informed essays on various themes, as well as widely-distributed articles for magazines such as: Revue mondiale, Revue de Paris, Revue de France, Revue des Deux-Mondes, Mercure de France, Revue d'histoire du théâtre, and numerous chronicles for Nouvelles Littéraires.

In 1939, he was called up to serve in the French infantry, and after France surrendered, became a POW until the end of the war. He resumed both his post at prefecture of the Seine and his career as a historian. [To expand.]

In 1948, he founded Société d'étude du XVIIe siècle and its journal XVIIe siècle. He continued to publish books and articles. [To expand.]

In 1939, he was awarded the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 and made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour, then promoted to Officier in 1958.

Early years
Mongrédien was born in Paris on 19 August 1901, one of two sons of Émile Mongrédien and Fanny Auzelle. He spent the first three years of his life at Verneuil-sur-Avre in Normandy, where he was raised by his grandparents in a rural, farming community. In 1904, he returned to live with his parents in Paris, where his father was employed as an attorney's clerk. Mongrédien completed his secondary education at the Lycée Charlemagne, where he studied Philosophy. He joined the prefecture of the Seine as a part-time political editor while pursuing his tertiary education at the Faculty of Law and at the Sorbonne, where he graduated in 1921 with two degrees, one in Law and another in Humanities (Lettres). He aspired to an academic life as a hellenicist&mdash;aiming to join the French School at Athens&mdash;but embraced the career of a local government functionary instead, because his father's modest income could not afford the funding of further studies. He nonetheless earned a Doctorat ès lettres in 1924, for his thesis Étude sur la vie et l'œuvre de Nicolas Vauquelin, seigneur des Yveteaux, précepteur de Louis XIII.

Local government career
After completing military service by training as a reserve officer at the École de l'infanterie, Mongrédien rejoined the prefecture of the Seine at the Paris Hôtel de Ville in 1923. He held a series of job positions there until being called for military action in 1939, at the beginning of WW2. Three months after the liberation of Paris, while he was still detained as a POW in Silesia, he received correspondence on 19 November 1944, announcing his promotion to deputy director of the prefecture’s secretariats for both the municipal council of Paris and the general council of the Seine. In 1947, two years after his return, he was promoted to the top directorship of both departments and remained in post until his retirement in 1966.

His ability to combine two seemingly incompatible careers&mdash;one as a functionary, the other as a historian, writer, and conference speaker&mdash;was due to his immense capacity for work, aided by the nature of the administrative workload at the prefecture, which alternated between periods of low activity and phases of intense pressure generated by long quarterly sessions, often running into the night.

He retired on 19 August 1966, at which date he was appointed Honorary Director of the prefecture’s two secretariats..

Literary career
His first article was on the subject of literary history, "Le Sonnet de Plantin: Curieuses imitations", published in 1920 as part of a series of essays to celebrate the quadricentennial of the birth of book printer Christophe Plantin. Mongrédien's essay discussed the sonnet's various pastiches, the first one of which was written in 1645 by Nicolas Vauquelin des Yveteaux, a 17th century libertine who was also the subject of Mongrédien's first two books, both published in 1921: Étude sur la vie et l'œuvre de Nicolas Vauquelin des Yveteaux, and an edition of Œuvres complètes de Nicolas Vauquelin which soon became a classic. This would turn out to be one of several themes Mongrédien developed during his long literary career, based on his interest in the 17th century.

He wrote extensively about the theatre and the leading playwrights and comedians of the period: Racine (1921), Monfleury (1922), Floridor (1922), Mademoiselle Du Parc (1923), Montdory (1925), Turlupin (1925), Bruscambille (1926), De Villiers (1926), Jodelet (1926), Bellerose (1926), Molière (1927, 1928), Tabarin (1929), and Maître Guillaume (1939). He likewise published books and articles about poets and other writers: Tallemant des Réaux (1922, 1932), Benserade (1923), Michel de Pure (1925) Boileau (1928), Corneille (1928), Georges and Madeleine de Scudéry (1931, 1933), La Bruyère (1932), DAssoucy (1932), Agrippa d'Aubigné (1932), and Claude Quillet (1937).

Another area of interest were the gatherings of high society and its cheerleaders: Madame de Rambouillet, Angélique Paulet (1928), the Vicomtesse d'Auchy (1931), and Mademoiselle de Scudéry (1931). His research extended into the day-to-day aspects of life at court, in The private life of Louis XIV (1938), and the love lives of courtiers and libertines: Mademoiselle Choin (1922), Ninon de Lanclos and her lover, Louis de Mornay, Marquis de Villarceaux (1926), Anne du Vigean (1928), and a 1939 article on Marion Delorme, followed by a book, in 1940. In 1930, he received the Prix d'Académie from the Académie Française for Libertines et amoureuses.

Other sources:
Georges Mongrédien at Internet Archive

Mongredien, Georges (520 results) at AbeBooks

Le bouquiniste français- n°25 (1960) Naissance des critiques littéraires par Georges Mongrédien

Les écrivains contemporains Série historique n° 186 (1972) L'énigmatique madame de Maintenon par Georges Mongredien

Literary career (cont'd)
In 1948, he founded Société d'étude du XVIIe siècle.

Works
Link to PDF at BNF; includes long list of his works.
 * Étude sur la vie et l'œuvre de Nicolas Vauquelin, seigneur des Yveteaux, précepteur de Louis XIII (1567-1649), Paris, Picard (1921)
 * Mademoiselle Du Parc (1923)
 * L'Abbé de Pure et les Précieuses (1925)
 * L'Acteur Mondory et les origines du Marais (1925)
 * Un amant de Ninon de Lanclos, le marquis de Villarceaux, Paris (1926)
 * Bibliographie des œuvres du facétieux Bruscambille, Chartres (1926)
 * Un ennemi de Molière, le comédien de Villiers (1926)
 * Jodelet, le fariné (1926)
 * Les Grands comédiens du xviie siècle, Paris (1927)
 * Les Poésies de Molière et celles qui lui ont été attribuées (essai bibliographique), Paris (1927)
 * « Le Mécène de Corneille, M. de Montauron », Revue de France, (15 November 1928)
 * « Molière et Corneille », La Revue mondiale, pp. 370-380 (15 April 1928)
 * “Athalie” de Racine, avec un index alphabétique de tous les noms cités, Paris (1929)
 * Bibliographie tabarinique, Paris (1929)
 * Le Bourreau du cardinal de Richelieu : Isaac de Laffemas, Paris (1929)
 * Le xviie siècle galant : libertins et amoureuses, Paris (1929)
 * Chavaroche, intendant de l'Hôtel de Rambouillet (1930)
 * Une rivale de la marquise de Rambouillet : la vicomtesse d'Auchy (1931)
 * La vie privée de Louis XIV, Paris (1938)
 * Marion de Lorme et ses amours, Paris (1940)
 * Madeleine de Scudéry et son salon, Paris (1946)
 * La Vie littéraire au xviie siècle, Paris (1947)
 * La Vie quotidienne sous Louis XIV, Paris (1948)
 * La Vie de société aux xviie et xviiie siècles, Paris (1950)
 * La Vie privée de Molière, Paris (1950)
 * Une aventurière au Grand Siècle : la duchesse Mazarin, Paris (1952)
 * Le Masque de fer, Paris (1952)
 * Madame de Montespan et l'affaire des poisons, Paris (1953)
 * L'Affaire Foucquet, Paris (1956)
 * Le Grand Condé, Paris (1959)
 * Dictionnaire biographique des comédiens français du xviie siècle, suivi d'un inventaire des troupes, 1590-1710, Paris, CNRS (1961)
 * La Journée des Dupes : 10 novembre 1630, Paris (1961)
 * Colbert, Paris (1963)
 * Cyrano de Bergerac, Paris, Berger-Levrault (1964)
 * La Vie quotidienne des comédiens au temps de Molière, Paris (1966)
 * Léonora Galigaï : un procès de sorcellerie sous Louis XIII, Paris (1968)
 * La Querelle de L'École des Femmes, Édition Critique, Paris (1972)
 * Recueil des textes et des documents du xviie siècle relatifs à Corneille, Paris, CNRS (1972)

Awards
Mongrédien received the following awards:
 * 1930 : Prix d’Académie for Libertines et amoureuses
 * 1935 : Prix Saintour for Historiettes de Tallemant des Réaux
 * 1952 : Prix Durchon-Louvet
 * 1962 : Grand prix littéraire du Département de Seine et Oise
 * 1967 : Prix Durchon-Louvet for La vie quotidienne des Comédiens au temps de Molière
 * 1969 : Grand prix de littérature de la SGDL
 * 1975 : Prix Sola Cabiati de la Ville de Paris.

Honours
On 7 February 1939, Mongrédien was made Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, and was promoted to Officier on 31 August 1958. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945.

Journals