Jean-Louis Grillet

Jean-Louis Grillet (born December 16, 1756 in La Roche-sur-Foron , † March 11, 1812 there ) was a Savoy clergyman and historian . He is best known as the author of the Dictionnaire historique, littéraire et statistique des départements du Mont-Blanc et du Léman .

Life

After Jean-Louis Grillet had completed his theological studies with honors, he soon received a clerical office and in 1780 a canonical in his native city. He had served in this office for some time as he was preoccupied with a plan worthy of his liberal mindset and position. He wanted to found a higher education institution for Catholics, Protestants and Jews at the same time, and the small town of Carouge near Geneva seemed to him the right place for such an institute. His plan was approved and the institution was founded in 1786. As its director, Abbé Grillet also supervised the lessons, and he participated in the lessons as professor of rhetoric . However, the institution could not exist for a long time, as the French Revolution of 1789 soon began to have an impact in Switzerland . The teachers dispersed and the Catholic priests looked for a safe sanctuary in Piedmont .

Grillet also moved to Piedmont. His position as director had not alienated him from science; He had eagerly cultivated his historical and literary studies, for which the public library of Geneva offered him sufficient material. In particular, he diligently collected notes on a literary history of Savoy. As a useful textbook he published Éléments de chronologie et de geographie adaptés à l'histoire de Savoie (Chambéry 1788) and in his hometown he set Histoire de la ville de la Roche, depuis sa fondation en l'an 1000 jusqu'en with the font Histoire de la ville de la Roche 1790 (Geneva 1790) a permanent monument.

In Piedmont, Grillet was entrusted with the upbringing of two young gentlemen Provana di Collegno, with whom he went on a trip to Rome and southern Italy. In addition to interesting acquaintances, he acquired a great deal of knowledge in art and archeology on this trip . Appointed member of the Italian Academy and correspondent of the Society of Georgofili in Florence , he had the opportunity to be active in various literary fields. In addition to other contributions, he brought a remarkable Éloge de Saussure to the collection of the Academy's publications . In Florence he had the following published:

• Osservazioni economico-agrarie sulla preparazione delle canapi per tessere tele e pannelini fini , 1802
• Saggio sopra la storia degli zodiaci e degli anni dei populi antichi, per servire di regola a chi vuole giudicare le scoperte che si dicono fatte recentemente in Egitto , 1805

After 13 years of exile, Grillet returned to Savoy, where he was appointed assistant director at the secondary school in Chambéry in 1806 and professor of philosophy in 1807 . He turned down the post of censor at the Lyceum in Grenoble , which he was to take over three years later, because of his poor health. He retired to his hometown, where he died on March 11, 1812 at the age of 55.

Main work

During his exile, Grillet had brought his main work to an end with tirelessly researching diligence, so that he only had to improve it after his return. He had it published in Chambéry on subscription in 1807 in three parts with the title: Dictionnaire historique, littéraire et statistique des départements du Mont-Blanc et du Léman, contenant l'histoire ancienne et modern de la Savoie, et specialement celle des personnes qui y étant nées ou domiciliées, se sont distinguées par des actions dignes de mémoire, ou par leurs succès dans les lettres, les sciences et les arts .

The work is arranged alphabetically according to the places in Savoy and contains a short chronological description of each place with notes about the more or less strange people who were born or lived there. If their place of birth was unknown, the persons concerned are brought under the capital of the province. The entire work includes around 760 personal names, of which 119 are on Chambéry and 43 on Annecy . But it was judged very unevenly. Offensive was the number of so many unknown persons to whom the author seemed to want to attribute a certain kind of celebrity. The fact that many who were still alive were included in the work also provoked criticism. But this rebuke should not be justified. If the author wanted to arouse local interests, if he intended to preserve the memory of personalities who had rendered service to their place of birth or residence, if he tried to preserve messages whose importance for the future cannot be judged in advance, then The work deserves appreciation, even if it shows certain negligence, errors, omissions and typographical errors.

As a manuscript, Grillet left a Histoire généalogique de la maison de Sales written in 1792 and a collection of Mémoires et de titres intéressants pour servir à l'histoire du diocèse de Genève in two volumes.

literature

• F. Th. Richter: Grillet (Jean-Louis) . In: Johann Samuelersch , Johann Gottfried Gruber (Ed.): General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts , 1st section, vol. 91 (1871), p. 82 f.