Valentin Conrart
Valentin Conrart , (* 1603 in Paris , † September 23, 1675 ), was a French writer and founding member of the Académie française .
Life
Conrart was the son of a wealthy Parisian businessman from the Protestant minority in France and initially completed a commercial training. In 1627 he acquired the office of royal councilor and secretary, with which little trouble but a nobility-like status was connected. After that he devoted himself, living on his fortune, mainly to his literary and social interests.
Generally recognized thanks to his committed and integrative personality, he was a frequent guest in the salons of the Marquise de Rambouillet , Madame de Sablés and Mademoiselle de Scudérys , who portrayed him in her novel Le Grand Cyrus under the name “Théodame”. He himself assembled his own group of writers in his house. a. Jean Chapelain , Claude Favre de Vaugelas , Antoine Godeau , Jean Desmarets de Saint-Sorlin , Jean-Louis Guez de Balzac (1597-1654) and Vincent Voiture counted.
From this association, the Académie française emerged in 1634 through an initiative of the almighty minister Cardinal de Richelieu , whose first permanent secretary was Conrart and remained until his death.
In the early stages of the Académie, he played an important role in drawing up its statutes and in negotiations with Richelieu for their approval and with the King for their confirmation. He also won the Minister of Justice (chancelier) Pierre Séguier as a member and patron, with whom the meetings took place from then on, and took care of the registration of the royal decree of confirmation by the Parlement of Paris. Later he kept the minutes and files of the Académie, represented them with skill and dignity and made a great contribution to the fact that it quickly became a respected institution.
Conrart wrote very little, publishes even less, hence the often quoted verse by Nicolas Boileau : "J'imite de Conrart le silence prudent" (I take an example from C's cautious silence). Apart from a few poems, he only has a collection of letters printed posthumously (1681) and a report on the Fronde riots ( Mémoires sur l'histoire de son temps , printed in 1825 in the Mémoires pour servir à l'histoire de France by Louis Jean Nicolas Monmerqué). The Paris Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal has other manuscripts left behind.
See also
literature
- Nicolas Schapira: Un professionnel des lettres au XVIIe siècle. Valentin Conrart, une histoire sociale . ISBN 2-87673-374-9 .
Web links
- Publications by and about Valentin Conrart in VD 17 .
- Short biography and list of works of the Académie française (French)
- G. Pinkernell: Names, Titles and Dates of French Literature (main source)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Conrart, Valentin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French writer and founding member of the Académie française |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1603 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Paris |
| DATE OF DEATH | September 23, 1675 |