Claude Favre de Vaugelas

For more information on Claude Favre lord de Vaugelas, visit Britannica.com.

Vaugelas, Claude Favre de (1585-1650). Son of the famous jurisconsult, Antoine Favre, Vaugelas spent his early life in Savoy. On moving to Paris in 1607 he was employed in the households of, first, the duc de Nemours, then the king, and later Gaston d'Orléans. As a member of the newly founded Académie Française, Vaugelas presented it with his observations on French in 1637 and from 1639 worked on the compilation of its dictionary until his death. He also frequented the salons and cabinets, where linguistic problems were much discussed. Plagued by poverty at the end of his life, he led a miserable existence as the governor of Prince Thomas de Savoie-Carignan's sons.

Vaugelas is best known for his influential Remarques sur la langue française (1647), a collection of randomly ordered observations discussing aspects of good French usage, defined in élitist terms as that of the soundest part (‘la plus saine partie’) of the court and of contemporary authors. Good usage is subdivided into declared and doubtful usage, the latter furnishing the subject-matter of the observations, since his is not a systematic grammar, but a discussion of areas of uncertainty on the part of the best speakers. Whilst in theory Vaugelas claims merely to record good usage, in practice he may resolve a doubt through recourse to etymology, regularity, euphony, or analogy, defined as a type of general usage applied to doubtful cases. Vaugelas also admits that reason plays a role in language behaviour, since, for example, most grammatical constructions are ‘reasonable’; it must not, however, be allowed to regularize or question usage. Purity, clarity, an appropriateness of usage of word or phrase are deemed paramount. Syntactic ambiguity is abhorred, and neologism discouraged, since these might cause hesitation and therefore displeasure in listeners or readers. At a time of rapid social mobility, the Remarques—like a courtesy book—warned honnêtes gens seeking promotion at court against offending fellow courtiers through incorrect or awkward usage, and preached a sort of linguistic conformism [see Honnêteté]. As for the Nouvelles remarques, published in 1690 by Louis-Augustin Alemand, these are not fresh observations, but mainly those rejected in 1647.

For Vaugelas and his contemporaries, grammar and translation went hand-in-hand. His translation from Spanish of Fonseca's Lenten Sermons (1615) is perhaps a juvenile exercise. More important is his translation of Quintus Curtius, on which he worked for some 30 years and which was published posthumously, edited first by Conrart and Chapelain (1653) and then by Patru (1659). Considered a model of classical style, it was deemed worthy of annotation by the Academy in the early 1720s.

[<auth>Wendy Ayres-Bennett]

Bibliography

• W. Ayres-Bennett, Vaugelas and the Development of the French Language (1987)

Claude Favre de Vaugelas

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Claude Favre de Vaugelas (6 January 1585 – February 1650) was a French grammarian and man of letters. Although a life-long courtier, Claude Favre was widely known by the name of one of the landed estates he owned as seigneur of Vaugelas and baron of Peroges.^[1]

Born at Meximieux, in the Ain département of France, he became gentleman-in-waiting to Gaston, Duke of Orleans, and continued faithful to this prince in his disgrace, although his fidelity cost him a pension from the crown on which he was largely dependent.

His thorough knowledge of the French language and the correctness of his speech won him a place among the original members of the Académie française in 1634. On the representation of his colleagues his pension was restored so that he might have leisure to pursue his Remarques sur la langue française (1647). In this work he maintained that words and expressions were to be judged by the current usage of the best society, of which, as a regular of the Hotel de Rambouillet, Vaugelas was a competent judge. He shares with François de Malherbe the credit of having purified French diction. His book fixed the current usage, and the classical writers of the 17th century regulated their practice by it.

Protests against the academical doctrine were not lacking. Scipion Dupleix in his Liberté de la langue française dans sa pureté (1651) pleaded for the richer and freer language of the 16th century, and François de La Mothe-Le-Vayer took a similar standpoint in his Lettres à Gabriel Naudé tombant les Remarques sur la langue française.

Towards the end of his life Vaugelas became tutor to the sons of Thomas Francis of Savoy, Prince of Carignano. He died in Paris in February 1650.

His translation from Quintus Curtius, La Vie d'Alexandre (posthumously published in 1653) deserves notice as an application of the author's own rules.

References

1. ^ "Vaugelas, Claude Favre, Seigneur de, Baron de Peroges". Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition. 1911. http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Claude_Favre,_seigneur_de_Vaugelas,_baron_de_Peroges. Retrieved 2008-03-30. 

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

Cultural offices
Preceded by First member	Seat 32 Académie française 1634-1650	Succeeded by Georges de Scudéry

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