Jacques Cambry
Encyclopedia
Jacques Cambry was a Breton
writer and expert in Celtic France. An early proponent of what came to be called Celtomania
, he was the founder of the Celtic Academy, the forerunner of the Societé des Antiquaires de France
. In addition, he is still honored as the "inventor" of the Oise
département and praised for his contributions to the regional Breton identity as well as the national identity of post-Revolutionary France
.
. He embraced the French Revolution
, and was appointed to various governmental positions, including district attorney for the Lorient commune
in 1792. In 1794 he became Commissioner for Science and Arts and embarked upon a journey in Brittany
to visit the depots of confiscated nobility properties and the monasteries, which he published a report about in 1799. In 1799 he was appointed administrator of the Department of the Seine. On 2 March 1800, he was installed as prefect of the newly established département the Oise
by Napoleon, and engaged himself deeply not just in administrative but also in cultural, archeological, and historical matters; when he left office, on 16 May 1802, he had given the new département a sense of unity and had convinced its inhabitants that they had a history they should be proud of. He was the first president of the académie celtique which he cofounded in 1804 with the philologist Éloi Johanneau and the diplomat Michel-Ange Mangourit. The académie held its inaugural session on the 30th March 1805 and subsequently reinvented itself as the Société des Antiquaires. He remained president until his death in 1807. Considered a true Enlightenment
man, he is praised as well for his service to the national construction of France.
, as well as foreshadowing the movement in the nineteenth century that came to be known as Celtomania
. It contains an early description of the Finistère
département in Brittany, and was "hugely influential," and the book's heavily romantic and idealized description of, for instance, the Pointe du Raz
became the inspiration for other writers describing the place in the following years. The book likewise greatly promoted travel to the area. While the book was originally intended as little more than an inventory of art objects that had escaped vandalism, it became much more than that; French historian Alain Corbin
qualified Cambry's prose as an "emotional mapping of the sea-shore" and refers to Cambry's jubilant evocations of moments of sublimity as "in the manner of Ossian's disciples."
His Monumens celtiques, ou recherches sur le culte des pierres (1805) is especially notable as an important work on Celtic monuments and megaliths in France and on druidism
in general; Cambry dedicated the book to Napoleon, and "promoted a nationalist view of Breton megalithic monuments."
Cambry also wrote on art, and published an essay on the painter Nicolas Poussin
.
As the former administrator of the Seine, he submitted a proposal to turn the quarries of Montmartre
into a cemetery, a plan which was never executed. His 1799 Rapport sur les sépultures accompanied the design by architect Jacques Molinos, and was inspired by an essay competition proposed a few years before by the National Institute of Sciences and Arts on how to deal with burial in post-Revolutionary France. The cemetery was designed as a circle, with a central temple containing a crematorium and a repository for urns.
Breton people
The Bretons are an ethnic group located in the region of Brittany in France. They trace much of their heritage to groups of Brythonic speakers who emigrated from southwestern Great Britain in waves from the 3rd to 6th century into the Armorican peninsula, subsequently named Brittany after them.The...
writer and expert in Celtic France. An early proponent of what came to be called Celtomania
Celtomania
Celtomania is the name given to the rise in popularity of Celtic literature and culture in the early nineteenth century. Important causes of this popularity were James Macpherson's publication of the Ossian poems, and sublime descriptions of Celtic landscape such as found in the works of Jacques...
, he was the founder of the Celtic Academy, the forerunner of the Societé des Antiquaires de France
Societé des Antiquaires de France
The Société des Antiquaires de France is a Parisian historical and archaeological society, founded in 1804 under the name of the Académie celtique...
. In addition, he is still honored as the "inventor" of the Oise
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
département and praised for his contributions to the regional Breton identity as well as the national identity of post-Revolutionary France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Biography
Cambry, the son of a naval engineer, was born in Lorient, BrittanyBrittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. He embraced the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, and was appointed to various governmental positions, including district attorney for the Lorient commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in 1792. In 1794 he became Commissioner for Science and Arts and embarked upon a journey in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
to visit the depots of confiscated nobility properties and the monasteries, which he published a report about in 1799. In 1799 he was appointed administrator of the Department of the Seine. On 2 March 1800, he was installed as prefect of the newly established département the Oise
Oise
Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
by Napoleon, and engaged himself deeply not just in administrative but also in cultural, archeological, and historical matters; when he left office, on 16 May 1802, he had given the new département a sense of unity and had convinced its inhabitants that they had a history they should be proud of. He was the first president of the académie celtique which he cofounded in 1804 with the philologist Éloi Johanneau and the diplomat Michel-Ange Mangourit. The académie held its inaugural session on the 30th March 1805 and subsequently reinvented itself as the Société des Antiquaires. He remained president until his death in 1807. Considered a true Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
man, he is praised as well for his service to the national construction of France.
Publications and interests
Cambry published on historical and archeological topics. His Voyage dans le Finistère (1799) proved to be an important late-eighteenth century text exemplifying the concept of the sublimeSublime (literary)
The sublime is a form of expression in literature in which the author refers to things in nature or art that affect the mind with a sense of overwhelming grandeur or irresistible power. It is calculated to inspire awe, deep reverence, or lofty emotion, by reason of its beauty, vastness, or grandeur...
, as well as foreshadowing the movement in the nineteenth century that came to be known as Celtomania
Celtomania
Celtomania is the name given to the rise in popularity of Celtic literature and culture in the early nineteenth century. Important causes of this popularity were James Macpherson's publication of the Ossian poems, and sublime descriptions of Celtic landscape such as found in the works of Jacques...
. It contains an early description of the Finistère
Finistère
Finistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
département in Brittany, and was "hugely influential," and the book's heavily romantic and idealized description of, for instance, the Pointe du Raz
Pointe du Raz
The Pointe du Raz is a promontory that extends into the Atlantic from western Brittany, in France. The local Breton name is Beg ar Raz. It is the western point of the commune of Plogoff, Finistère....
became the inspiration for other writers describing the place in the following years. The book likewise greatly promoted travel to the area. While the book was originally intended as little more than an inventory of art objects that had escaped vandalism, it became much more than that; French historian Alain Corbin
Alain Corbin
Alain Corbin is a French historian, specialist of the 19th century in France.Trained in the Annales School, Corbin's work has moved away from the large-scale collective structures studied by Fernand Braudel towards a history of sensibilities which is closer to Lucien Febvre's history of mentalités...
qualified Cambry's prose as an "emotional mapping of the sea-shore" and refers to Cambry's jubilant evocations of moments of sublimity as "in the manner of Ossian's disciples."
His Monumens celtiques, ou recherches sur le culte des pierres (1805) is especially notable as an important work on Celtic monuments and megaliths in France and on druidism
Druid
A druid was a member of the priestly class in Britain, Ireland, and Gaul, and possibly other parts of Celtic western Europe, during the Iron Age....
in general; Cambry dedicated the book to Napoleon, and "promoted a nationalist view of Breton megalithic monuments."
Cambry also wrote on art, and published an essay on the painter Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin
Nicolas Poussin was a French painter in the classical style. His work predominantly features clarity, logic, and order, and favors line over color. His work serves as an alternative to the dominant Baroque style of the 17th century...
.
As the former administrator of the Seine, he submitted a proposal to turn the quarries of Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
into a cemetery, a plan which was never executed. His 1799 Rapport sur les sépultures accompanied the design by architect Jacques Molinos, and was inspired by an essay competition proposed a few years before by the National Institute of Sciences and Arts on how to deal with burial in post-Revolutionary France. The cemetery was designed as a circle, with a central temple containing a crematorium and a repository for urns.
Publications
- Traces du Magnétisme. The Hague: 1784.
- Contes et proverbes, suivis d'une notice sur les troubadours. Amsterdam: 1784 (repr. 1787).
- Small collection of anecdotes drawn from Claude FauchetClaude Fauchet (historian)Claude Fauchet was a French historian and antiquary.He was born at Paris; of his early life few particulars are known. He applied himself to the study of the early French chroniclers, and proposed to publish extracts which would throw light on the first periods of the monarchy...
, Étienne PasquierÉtienne PasquierÉtienne Pasquier , French lawyer and man of letters, was born at Paris, on 7 June 1529 by his own account, according to others a year earlier. He was called to the Paris bar in 1549....
, NostradamusNostradamusMichel de Nostredame , usually Latinised to Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become famous worldwide. He is best known for his book Les Propheties , the first edition of which appeared in 1555...
, Jean-Baptiste de La Curne de Sainte-PalayeJean-Baptiste de La Curne de Sainte-PalayeJean-Baptiste de La Curne de Sainte-Palaye was a French historian, classicist, philologist and lexicographer.-Life:...
, and others.
- Small collection of anecdotes drawn from Claude Fauchet
- Promenades d'Automne en Angleterre. 1787.
- Catalogue des objets échappés au vandalisme. 1795.
- Rapport sur les sépultures, présenté à l'administration centrale du département de la Seine, par le citoyen Cambry. Paris: Pierre Didot l'Aîné, an VII 1799.
- Remarking on the disastrous condition of many cemeteries at the end of the French RevolutionFrench RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, Cambry proposes a far-reaching effort to renew the way in which burials take place: "Respect for the dead, much more than one thinks, contributes to social well-being."
- Remarking on the disastrous condition of many cemeteries at the end of the French Revolution
- Essai sur la vie et sur les tableaux du Poussin, Pierre Didot l'Aîné, an VII. 1799.
- Voyage dans le Finistère ou État de ce département en 1794 et 1795. Imprimerie-Librairie du Cercle Social, an VII 1799.
- Originally conceived as a report on the state of the département, it describes its condition shortly after the French Revolution.
- Voyage Pittoresque en Suisse et en Italie. Paris: Jansen, an IX (1801).
- Description du département de l'Oise en deux volumes. Imprimerie de P. Didot L'ainé, an XI. 1803.
- Monumens celtiques, ou recherches sur le culte des pierres, Précédées d'une Notice sur les Celtes et sur les Druites, et suivies d'Étymologies celtiques, Paris: chez Mad. Johanneau, Libraire, Palais du Tribunat, an XIII 1805.