The
Lycée Pierre-Corneille (also known as the
Lycée Corneille) (founded 1593) is a school in
RouenRouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, France. It was founded by the
Archbishop of RouenThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the ecclesiastical province of the archdiocese comprises the majority of Normandy....
,
Charles, Cardinal de BourbonCharles de Bourbon was a French cardinal. The Catholic League considered him the rightful King of France after the death of Henry III of France in 1589.-Biography:...
and run by the Jesuits to educate the children of the aristocracy and bourgeoisie
in accordance with the purest doctrinal principles of Roman Catholicism. It adopted the name
Pierre Corneille in 1873. Today it educates students in preparation for university and
Grandes écolesThe grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the main framework of the French university system. The grandes écoles select students for admission based chiefly on national ranking in competitive written and oral exams...
.
It was classified as a historic monument in December 1985.
Origins
The
Protestant ReformationThe Protestant Reformation was a 16th-century split within Western Christianity initiated by Martin Luther, John Calvin and other early Protestants. The efforts of the self-described "reformers", who objected to the doctrines, rituals and ecclesiastical structure of the Roman Catholic Church, led...
of the 16th century led the
Archbishop of RouenThe Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen is an Archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of France, the ecclesiastical province of the archdiocese comprises the majority of Normandy....
,
Charles, Cardinal de BourbonCharles de Bourbon was a French cardinal. The Catholic League considered him the rightful King of France after the death of Henry III of France in 1589.-Biography:...
, to protect the influence of the Catholic Church by creating a school to educate the children of the
aristocracyAristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
and
bourgeoisieIn sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
in accordance with the purest doctrinal principles of Roman Catholicism. The school started teaching in 1593 run by the Jesuits and known initially as the
Collège de Bourbon.
From 1595 to 1604 teaching ceased because of Jesuit expulsions. Between 1614 and 1631 the gate-house and chapel were built. By 1662, the lycée had taught two thousand pupils.
The chapel was opened in 1631 although foundation stone had been laid in 1614 by Marie de Médicis, the widow of King Henri IV of France. The chapel blends both late gothic and classical architectural styles in its fifty-two metre nave. It became a listed building in 1908.
In 1762 the school became known as the
Collège Royal after the Jesuits had been expelled from France.
After the
French 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...
it became associated with the 'Ecole Centrale' following the ideas of the
Age of EnlightenmentThe 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...
, and reducing study of
humanitiesThe humanities are academic disciplines that study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytical, critical, or speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical approaches of the natural sciences....
in favour of a broader-based curriculum.
After 1803 it became known as the 'Lycée Impérial' and taught Humanities and mathematics following the principles and discipline of the
Napoleonic codeThe Napoleonic Code — or Code Napoléon — is the French civil code, established under Napoléon I in 1804. The code forbade privileges based on birth, allowed freedom of religion, and specified that government jobs go to the most qualified...
. Successful students were awarded the
BaccalauréatThe baccalauréat , often known in France colloquially as le bac, is an academic qualification which French and international students take at the end of the lycée . It was introduced by Napoleon I in 1808. It is the main diploma required to pursue university studies...
and subjects increased to include languages and Natural Sciences. The school then developed a 2 year 'post baccalaureate' curricullum that enabled entrance to the
Grandes écolesThe grandes écoles of France are higher education establishments outside the main framework of the French university system. The grandes écoles select students for admission based chiefly on national ranking in competitive written and oral exams...
.
In 1873, the Lycée was renamed '
Lycée Pierre-CorneillePierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
' in honour of the alumnus, the 17th century writer and academic,
Pierre CorneillePierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
. At this time the
petit lycée was added for younger pupils. In 1890 the sports club
Les Francs Joueurs was founded.
Since 1918 the school has run a Norwegian 'college' that houses typically twenty-four boys for three years each.
During
World War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
it served as a military hospital. In
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
it was commandeered by the German army, and was then bombed in September 1942 and on April 19 1944.
Alumni
- Jules Adeline, engraver
Peintre-graveur is a term probably invented and certainly popularized by the great scholar of the old master print, Adam Bartsch...
- Louis Anquetin
Louis Anquetin was a French painter.Anquetin was born in Étrépagny, France and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen....
, painterPeintre-graveur is a term probably invented and certainly popularized by the great scholar of the old master print, Adam Bartsch...
- Jean-Jacques Antier, journalist and writer
- Reynold Arnould, painter
- Nicolas Bazire, businessman
- Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre
Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre was a French writer and botanist...
- Antoine Blondin
Antoine Blondin was a French writer.He belonged to the literary group called the Hussards. He was also a sports columnist in L'Équipe. Blondin also wrote under the name Tenorio.-Biography:...
, writer
- Emile Blondel scientist
- Pierre Bourguignon
Pierre Bourguignon is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Seine-Maritime department, and is a member of the Socialiste, radical, citoyen et divers gauche.-Personal life:...
- Armand Carrel
Armand Carrel was a French journalist and political writer.-Biography:Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Armand Carrel was born at Rouen. His father was a wealthy merchant, and he received a liberal education at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen. , afterwards attending the military school at St Cyr...
- Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
- René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de LaSalle was a French explorer. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico...
- Claude Chappe
- Patrick Chesnais
- Biography :Patrick Chesnais was born in La Garenne-Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine. He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen.In 1989, he won the César Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in the film La Lectrice directed by Michel Deville...
, actor and director
- Ernest Conseil, biologist
- Pierre Corneille
Pierre Corneille was a French tragedian who was one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine...
, writer and academic
- Thomas Corneille
Thomas Corneille was a French dramatist.- Personal life :Born in Rouen nearly twenty years after his brother Pierre, the "great Corneille", Thomas's skill as a poet seems to have shown itself early. At the age of fifteen he composed a play in Latin which was performed by his fellow-pupils at the...
, writer and academic
- Camille Corot
- Léon Coutil
- Alfred Darcel
- Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school...
, painter
- André Derocque
- Descroizille scientist
- Auguste Dorchain
|
Georges Dubosc, journalist
Édouard Dujardin Édouard Dujardin was a French writer, one of the early users of the stream of consciousness literary technique, exemplified by his 1888 novel Les Lauriers sont coupés.-Biography:...
, writer
Pierre-Louis Dulong scientist
Pierre DumontPierre Dumont, born around 1650, brother-in-law of Antoine Coypel.In 1709 he won first prize in sculpture for David pardonnant à Abigaïl.His grandson François Dumont was also a sculptor....
Marcel DupréMarcel Dupré , was a French organist, pianist, composer, and pedagogue.-Biography:Marcel Dupré was born in Rouen . Born into a musical family, he was a child prodigy. His father Albert Dupré was organist in Rouen and a friend of Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, who built an organ in the family house when...
, organist
Charles Féré, Doctor of medicine
Gustave FlaubertGustave Flaubert was a French writer who is counted among the greatest Western novelists. He is known especially for his first published novel, Madame Bovary , and for his scrupulous devotion to his art and style.-Early life and education:Flaubert was born on December 12, 1821, in Rouen,...
, writer
Bernard le Bouyer de Fontenelle, writer and academic
Henri Gadeau de KervilleHenri Gadeau de Kerville was a French zoologist, entomologist , botanist and archeologist best known for his photographs of these subjects and especially for his work Les Insectes phosphorescents : notes complémentaires et bibliographie générale : avec quatre planches chromolithographiées, Rouen, L...
, naturalist
Dominique Gambier, politician
Pierre GiffardPierre Giffard was a French journalist, a pioneer of modern political reporting, a newspaper publisher and a prolific sports organiser...
, journalist, editor
Alain Lebaube , writer
Maurice LeblancMaurice Marie Émile Leblanc was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French counterpart to Arthur Conan Doyle's creation Sherlock Holmes.- Biography :Leblanc was born in...
, writer
Jean LecanuetJean Adrien François Lecanuet was a French centrist politician. He was born to a family of modest means, and gravitated towards literature during his studies. He received his diploma at the age of 22, becoming the youngest agrégé in France...
, politician
Maurice Louvrier, artist painter
André MarieAndré Marie was a French Radical politician who served as Prime Minister during the Fourth Republic in 1948.-Biography:...
, politician
Émile Masqueray, anthropologist and ethnologist
Guy de MaupassantHenri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents....
, writer
André MauroisAndré Maurois, born Emile Salomon Wilhelm Herzog was a French author.-Life:Maurois was born in Elbeuf and educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen, both in Normandy. Maurois was the son of Ernest Herzog, a Jewish textile manufacturer, and Alice Herzog...
, writer
Jean-Luc MélenchonJean-Luc Mélenchon is a French politician who served in the government of France as Minister of Vocational Education from 2000 to 2002. He was also a member of the Senate of France, representing the Essonne department...
, ancien ministre |
Paul Marie Mirouel, army officer
Théodore Monod Théodore André Monod was a French naturalist, explorer, and humanist scholar.-Exploration:...
Charles Muller (1877-1914), journalist and writer
Charles NicolleCharles Jules Henry Nicolle was a French bacteriologist who received the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his identification of lice as the transmitter of epidemic typhus.- Biography :...
, doctor physician
Marcel Nicolle
Farid Paya, Film directorMetteur en scène is a phrase that refers to the mise en scène of a particular film director. It suggests that the director has an original aesthetic style that can be detected while watching his or her films....
Thomas PesquetThomas Pesquet is French engineer and pilot who has been chosen to train as a European Space Agency astronaut....
, astronaut 2009
Robert Antoine Pinchon, artist-painter
Jean PrévostJean Prévost was a French writer , journalist, and Resistance fighter.Born in Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours, Prévost was educated at the primary school in Montivilliers. near Rouen, where his father was principal. In 1911, he moved to the prestidigious Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen...
Jean-Baptiste Prévost, President of UNEF
André Renaudin
Jacques RivetteJacques Rivette is a French film director. His most well known films include Celine and Julie Go Boating, La Belle Noiseuse and the cult film Out 1....
, Director
Jean RochefortJean Rochefort is a French actor, with a career that has spanned over five decades.Rochefort was born in Paris, France. He was educated at the Lycée Pierre Corneille in Rouen He was 19 years old when he entered the Centre d'Art Dramatique de la rue Blanche. Later he joined the Conservatoire National...
, actor
Léon de Vesly, archeologist
Karin ViardKarin Viard is a multi-award-winning French actress. She made her film debut in Tatie Danielle in 1990.Since then she has appeared in such films as Delicatessen, L'Emploi du temps , Adultère, mode d'emploi and La parenthèse enchantée.She was a member of the 2003 Cannes Film Festival...
, actress
VillonVillon may refer to:* 10140 Villon, a main belt asteroid* Villon, Yonne, Burgundy, France* Villon , a French surname* François Villon, the 15th-century poet...
, artist
Francis Yard
Étienne WolffÉtienne Wolff was a French biologist, specialising in experimental and teratological embryology...
Philippe Zacharie |
Professors
- Théodore Bachelet (1847–1873)
- Léon Brunschvicg (1895–1900)
- Camille Cé (1878–1959)
- Simone de Beauvoir
Simone-Ernestine-Lucie-Marie Bertrand de Beauvoir, often shortened to Simone de Beauvoir , was a French existentialist philosopher, public intellectual, and social theorist. She wrote novels, essays, biographies, an autobiography in several volumes, and monographs on philosophy, politics, and...
(1930–1941)
- Camille Lebossé (1934–1936)
- Émile Durand
Émile Durand was a French musical theorist, teacher and composer. He was better known for his theoretical writings than for his compositions.-Biography:...
(1937–?)
- Alain (philosopher)
- Bernard Pottier
- Jacques Bouteloup
- Gérard Simon (1964–1988)
- Mongo Beti
Alexandre Biyidi Awala , known as Mongo Beti, was a Cameroonian writer.- Life :Though he lived in exile for many decades, Beti's life reveals an unflagging commitment to improvement of his home country...
(1966–1994)