Abel Jules Maurice Lefranc is a historian of the literature French, born with Élincourt-Holy-Marguerite the July 27th 1863 and died in 1952.

Course

After studies with the School of the charters where it writes a thesis entitled Étude on the history and the organization of the commune of Boundary-line until the end of the 13th century (1886), it leaves to study with Leipzig and Berlin (1887), and writes on its return a report/ratio on the German historical teaching, which passes then for the best of the world.

Whereas he works with the Public records, he continues his historical research, turning more particularly to the 16th century. He publishes in the 30 years age a Histoire of the Collège de France since the origins until the end of the First Empire (1893), which ceases being focused on the origins to rehabilitate the more recent periods. He becomes then secretary of the Collège de France under the three administrators Gaston Boissier, Gaston Paris and Emile Levasseur, load cumulated with that of archivist and librarian of the institution. He in parallel continues his personal research on the history of the literature.

To died of Emile Deschanel, holder of the pulpit of French literature modern of the Collège de France, Abel Lefranc stands as a candidate vis-a-vis Ferdinand Brunetière. This last being considered to be doctrinary, too theologist and too defying with respect to sciences, Lefranc is elected professor (1904). It had been appointed before lecturer to the practical École of the high studies, of which he becomes director of study in 1911. He is then regarded as an important historian and philologist, whose work on Calvin, Marguerite de Navarre or François Rabelais makes authority. It founds the Company and the Revue of the studies rabelaisiennes.

Abel Lefranc is elected with the Académie of the inscriptions and the humanities in 1927. To pay homage to Abel Lefranc the commune of Lassigny (60) named its college “ Collège Abel Lefranc ”

Work of Abel Lefranc today is largely exceeded. Its research on William Shakespeare is strongly disputed as of their publication. Those on François Rabelais do not make any more authority: it nevertheless will have contributed to form a whole generation of historian of the literature of the sixteenth century, which to some extent continued its work and applied its methods.

Works

• History of the town of Boundary-line and its institutions until the end of XIIIe century , Paris: E. Bubble and E. Vieweg, 1887

• History of the Collège de France since its origins until the end of the first Empire , Paris: Hatchet, 1893
• edition of Marguerite de Navarre, last poetries , Paris: A. Hake, 1896
• religious ideas of Marguerite de Navarre according to her poetic work the Daisies and Last poetries, Paris: Fischbacher, 1898
• edition of Jean Calvin, Institution of the religion chrestienne , Paris: H. Champion, 1911,2 vol. (as a coll)
• edition of François Rabelais, Works , Paris: Champion, 1913-1931, 5 vol. (as a coll)
• French great writers of the Rebirth , Paris: Champion, 1969

Sources

• Marcel Battalion, Charles Samaran, Raymond Lebègue, Michel Francois, Fernand Desonay and Christian Fouchet, Homage to Abel Lefranc (1863-1963). Commemoration of the centenary of its birth , Paris, 1964,44 p. (with a bibliography of its work of 1936 with its death)

• Mixtures offered to Mr. Abel Lefranc by his pupils and its friends , Paris, 1936 (with a bibliography of its work until 1936)

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