Académie de Nîmes

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Seal of the Académie de Nîmes

The Académie de Nîmes is a learned society founded in 1682 in the French city of Nîmes . After the Académie française founded in 1635 and the Académie d'Arles founded in 1666, it is the third oldest institution of its kind in France . The Académie deals with art and monuments mainly in Nîmes, but also in the former Languedoc-Roussillon region . The aim is to protect and enhance the cultural heritage.

history

Jules César de Fayn, Marquis de Peraud, founded the Académie in 1682 as a literary society . He provided a framework for a group of literary enthusiasts from the city of Nîmes, who had been meeting for some time to discuss literature and the French language. In the same year the association received the lettres patentes from Louis XIV. , A decree in which the Sun King granted the Académie de Nîmes the same privileges as the Académie française. Jean-Jacques Séguier de La Verrière , Bishop of Nîmes and supporter of the project at the royal court, took over the protection of the Académie.

According to the lettres patentes , the task was on the one hand to study antiquity in order to deepen the understanding of the few and most humble remains of Roman works, and on the other hand to combine the flawlessness of French with knowledge of ancient history and to cultivate the language of the court, how their ancestors spoke the language of Rome.

With the repeal of the Edict of Tolerance of Nantes by Louis XIV in 1685, which hit Nîmes , which was shaped by Protestantism , the work of the Académie largely came to a standstill: many members went into exile, and meetings only took place irregularly. Regular academy operations were not resumed until 1752. In 1755 Jean-François Séguier settled in Nîmes and became a member of the Académie, which he served as permanent secretary from 1765 until his death in 1784. He made the Académie an institution and received more than 1,300 visitors between 1773 and 1783 in his house, which also became the meeting point of the Académie. Its notoriety and collections of curios made Nîmes a must-see on the Grand Tour . After his death he left his house, library and collections to the Academy.

With the final end of the Ancien Régime in 1793, all learned societies were also dissolved, including the Académie de Nîmes, whose library became the city library, whose collections were integrated into the Museum of Nîmes. In 1801 the society was re-established as the Lycée du Gard and renamed the Académie du Gard a year later . A fruitful and productive time began: between 1805 and 1860 over 1,300 works and communications were published, including the annually published memoirs and the three times a year bulletin trimestriel des séances . In 1871 Adolphe Thiers gave the Society a non-profit status, and in 1878 it took on the name Académie de Nîmes again.

After the First World War , which reduced the number of members to 47 and led to an ongoing exchange of members, the academy found its final home at 16 rue Dorée, known as the hôtel de l'Académie and since 1940 as a monument historique is registered.

Statutes

A decree signed by the President Marie François Sadi Carnot in 1888 gave the Academy new statutes, according to which it is composed of 36 residents, i.e. residents, and 24 non-resident members. The number of corresponding members is unlimited. Among the resident members, 12 must be Protestant, 12 Catholic and 12 independent.

Members (selection)

Web links

Remarks

  1. ^ Entry in the list of monuments historiques .
  2. ↑ Jacques Molénat: Les Lettres de l'Académie . In: L'Express . April 18, 2002 (accessed September 2, 2019).