Roland Mortier Explained

Roland Mortier (21 December 1920 – 31 March 2015) was a prominent Belgian scholar, philosopher and academic,[1] [2] known for his contributions to linguistics and literature.[3] Mortier obtained his PhD in Philology, specialisting in 18th century literature and Franco-German reports,[4] [5] from the Université Libre de Bruxelles in 1946. He was a member of the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique and the Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques. In 1965, he was awarded the Francqui Prize on Human Sciences.[6]

Background

Mortier was born on the 21 December 1920 in Ghent, Belgium.[7] His family spoke primarily French, and he studied in Dutch at the Royal Athenaeum in Antwerp. Mortier extended his language skills further, learning German, when holidaying with his maternal grandmother in Luxembourg.[8]

In 1938, he enrolled at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. However, in November 1941, the institution was forced to close its doors due to the occupier's ukase. Mortier then chose to attend a university in his hometown, Gent. In 1942, he successfully completed his degree in philosophy and literature, graduating with the highest distinction.

His dissertation was on the Archives littéraires de l'Europe, a German-language journal of the First Empire. This work was later published in 1957. On the advice of his teacher Gustave Charlier, Mortier was struck by the fact that one of the editors of the journal, Charles Vanderbourg, had been unjustly forgotten. Mortier dedicated his doctoral thesis, which was defended in 1950 at the Université libre de Bruxelles, to Vanderbourg. The thesis was published in 1955 and titles Un précurseur de Madame de Staël: Charles Vanderbourg (1765-1827).

In addition to his teaching careers at Athénée Royal de Malines from 1944 and his assistantship at the University of Brussels, Mortier also participated in a research project headed by Charlier. The project, which was published in 1952, focused on the Journal Encyclopédique and its role in popularising the ideas of Diderot and d'Alembert's Encyclopédie.[9] Mortier went on to succeed Charlier and took a tenure as a professor at the University of Brussels.[10] Four years later, Mortier wrote a groundbreaking dissertation on Diderot's influence on German thought and literature, which was later published as Diderot en Allemagne (1750-1850). This work was recognised as a fundamental and influential contribution to the field and was translated to German in 1967, with an updated edition released in 1986.

In 1965, Mortier's outstanding work was recognised by the Fondation Francqui as they awarded him with their triennial prize.

Throughout his career, Mortier taught at various universities including the Université Libre de Bruxelles, the Katholieke Universiteir Leuven, and the Université de Liège. He was also invited to be a visiting professor at universities in Canada (including Toronto), the United States (including Yale, Princeton, Standford, Cleveland, Maryland), the United Kingdom (including Exeter and London), Paris-Sorbonne, Montpellier, Cologne, Pisa, Duisburg,[11] and Japan.[12]

On March 31, 2015, Mortier passed away at the age of 94 in Brüssel.[13]

Awards and Memberships

In recognition of his contributions to academia, Mortier received numerous honours and awards, including the Francqui Prize, the highest scientific award in Belgium. He was a member of several prestigious academic organisations including the Royal Academy of Flemish Language and Literature.

Awards

Francqui Prize (1965)

Prix Montaigne (1983)

Prix Counson of the Académie royale de langue et littérature françaises de Bruxelles (1985)

Prix de l'Union rationaliste (1992)

Prix du Rayonnement de la langue et de la littéeature françaises (2001)

Grand Prix de la Francophonie (2006)

Memberships

Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises (1969)

President of l'Association Internationale de littérature comparée (1976-1979)[14]

Member and Honorary President of l'Association Internationale des Études Françaises (1976)[15]

President of the Société internationale d'étude du XVIIIe siècle (1983-1987)

Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy (1984)[16]

President of the Comité d'honneur des Études staëliennes

Member of the Comité directeur des Œuvres complètes de Diderot

Member of the Conseil consultatif des Œuvres complètes de Voltaire

Foreign associate of the Académie des Sciences morales et politiques (1993)

Honorary member of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences

Member of the Academia Europaea

Professor Emeritus of the University of Brussels

Vice-President of the Institut des hautes études de Belgique

President of the Honorary Committee of Stalinist Studies (Paris)

Honorary Member of The Japan Academy (2012)[17]

Honorary Doctorates

He held honorary doctorates from the Universities of Montpellier, Göttingen and Jerusalem.

Works

In addition to his linguistic research, Mortier was a well-respected literary critic and author.[18] [19] [20] He wrote extensively - the result of fifty years of teaching and research concluded in publication of Le Coeur et la raison (The Heart and Reason), in 1990, by the Voltaire Foundation[21] in Oxford. The publication brought together thirty-five of the two hundred and thirty articles Mortier published by that time. In 2006 a further book was published, presenting twenty-four texts written by Mortier on the subject of the Enlightenment, to mark his eightieth anniversary.[22] The publication was entitled Les Combats des Lumières: Recueil d'études sur le dix-huitième siècle.[23]

Written works

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kalliope Verbundkatalog für Archiv- und archivähnliche Bestände und nationales Nachweisinstrument für Nachlässe und Autographen . 2023-09-22 . kalliope-verbund.info.
  2. Web site: Roland Mortier - Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek . 2023-09-22 . www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de.
  3. Mortier, R. (1920-2015) Mortier, Roland Fabien Jules (1920-2015)
  4. Web site: giantchair.com . Roland Mortier - EUB . 2023-09-22 . www.editions-ulb.be . en.
  5. Web site: Roland Mortier . 2023-09-22 . Babelio . fr.
  6. Web site: Academy of Europe: Mortier Roland . 2023-09-22 . www.ae-info.org.
  7. Web site: Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique : Roland Mortier . 2023-09-21 . www.arllfb.be.
  8. Chartier . Pierre . 2015-11-25 . Roland Mortier . Recherches sur Diderot et sur l'Encyclopédie . fr . 50 . 7–13 . 10.4000/rde.5281 . 0769-0886.
  9. [PDF] Le journal encyclopedique, 1756-1793 by Gustave Charlier, Roland Mortier · 623173810 · OA.mg ].
  10. Web site: Roland MORTIER Académie française . 2023-09-22 . www.academie-francaise.fr.
  11. Web site: 2019-06-20 . Roland Mortier . 2023-09-22 . Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques . fr-FR.
  12. Web site: Roland Mortier客員の逝去について 日本学士院 . 2023-09-22 . www.japan-acad.go.jp.
  13. Web site: Roland Mortier – Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften . 2023-09-22 . www.bbaw.de.
  14. Web site: CTHS - Association internationale de littérature comparée (AILC) - PARIS . 2023-09-22 . cths.fr.
  15. 1976 . Liste des membres de l'Association Internationale des Études Françaises . Cahiers de l'AIEF . 28 . 1 . 422.
  16. Web site: Professor Roland Mortier FBA . 2023-09-22 . The British Academy . en.
  17. Web site: Deceased Honorary Members (Alphabetical Order) The Japan Academy . 2023-09-22 . www.japan-acad.go.jp.
  18. Book: Swaffield, Bruce Carl . Rising from the Ruins: Roman Antiquities in Neoclassic Literature . Cambridge Scholars . 2009 . 9781443815857.
  19. Book: Macfarlane, Robert . Original Copy: Plagiarism and Originality in Nineteenth-Century Literature . OUP Oxford . 2007 . 9780199296507.
  20. Book: Matytsin, Anton M. . Let there be enlightenment: the religious and mystical sources of rationality . Edelstein . Dan . 2018 . Johns Hopkins University Press . Stanford university . 978-1-4214-2601-3 . Baltimore (Md.).
  21. Book: Mortier, Roland . Le cœur et la raison: recueil d'études sur le dix-huitième siècle . Pomeau . René . 1990 . Voltaire Foundation [u.a.] . 978-0-7294-0395-5 . Oxford.
  22. Web site: Centre International d'étude du XVIII siècle: Roland Mortier, Les Combats des Lumières . 2023-09-22 . c18.net.
  23. Book: Mortier, Roland . Les combats des Lumières: recueil d'études sur le dix-huitième siècle . Darnton . Robert . 2000 . Centre International d'Étude du XVIIIe Siècle . 978-2-84559-005-2 . Publications du Centre International d'Étude du XVIIIe Siècle . Ferney-Voltaire.
  24. Book: Mortier, Roland . Diderot en Allemagne, 1750-1850 . Presses Universitaires De France . 1954 . B01MRUXGTE.
  25. Book: Mortier, Roland . Un précurseur de Madame de Staël : Charles Vanderbourg : 1765-1827, sa contribution aux échanges intellectuels à l'aube du XIXe siècle . M. Didier ; Impr. de Groeninghe . 1955 . Paris.
  26. Book: Mortier, Roland . Les "Archives littéraires de l'Europe" (1804-1808) et le cosmopolitisme littéraire sous le Premier Empire . 1957 . J. Duculot . Gembloux, Belgique.
  27. Book: Mortier, Roland . Le "Hochepot, ou, Salmigondi des Folz" (1596): étude historique et linguistique suivie d'une édition du texte . Académie Royale de Belgique . 1959.
  28. Book: Meijer, Annemieke . The pure language of the heart: sentimentalism in the Netherlands 1775-1800 . 1998 . Rodopi . 978-90-420-0370-5 . Textxet . Amsterdam . 32.
  29. Book: Mortier, Roland . Clartés et ombres du siècle des lumières: Études sur le 18e siècle littéraire . Droz . 1969 . 9782600034951.
  30. Book: American Philosophical Society . Proceedings, American Philosophical Society (vol. 118, No 3, 1974) . American Philosophical Society . 1974 . 9781422371114.
  31. Book: Mortier, Roland . Diderot in Deutschland: 1750 - 1850 . Mortier . Roland . 1972 . Metzler . 978-3-476-00120-7 . Textl. unveränd. Studienausg . Metzler Studienausgabe . Stuttgart.
  32. Book: Ligne, Charles Joseph de . Mes écarts . 1990 . Éd. Labor . 978-2-8040-0524-5 . Mortier . Roland . Espace nord . Bruxelles.
  33. Book: Le XVIIIe siècle français au quotidien: textes tirés des mémoires, des journaux et des correspondances de l'époque . 2002 . Éd. Complexe . 978-2-87027-879-6 . Mortier . Roland . Bibliothèque Complexe . Bruxelles.

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