Brasseur de Bourbourg
| Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg | |
|---|---|
Abbé Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg. Lithograph from J. Windsor's 19th-century publication, Aboriginal America.
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| Born |
September 8, 1814 Bourbourg, France |
| Died | January 8, 1874 (aged 59) Nice, France |
| Occupation | Catholic priest; writer, ethnographer, historian and archaeologist. |
| Subject | Mesoamerican studies |
Abbé Charles-Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg (8 September 1814 – 8 January 1874) was a noted French writer, ethnographer, historian and archaeologist. He became a specialist in Mesoamerican studies, travelling extensively in the region. His writings, publications, and recovery of historical documents contributed much to knowledge of the region's languages, writing, history and culture, particularly those of the Maya and Aztec civilizations. However, his speculations concerning relationships between the ancient Maya and the lost continent of Atlantis inspired Ignatius L. Donnelly and encouraged the pseudo-science of Mayanism.
He was born in Bourbourg, a small town with many Flemish influences near Dunkirk, France, as the First French Empire was ending.
As a youth he went to Ghent in newly independent Belgium to study theology and philosophy. He became interested in writing during his studies there, and during 1837 aged 23 he began contributing essays to a Parisian journal. He wrote several historical accounts (using a pseudonym), including one concerning Jerusalem. He published several novels of Romantic style which was then very much in vogue. One of these, Le Sérapéon, received reviews which implied it had a very close resemblance to François-René de Chateaubriand's 1809 novel Les Martyrs. Such near-allegations of plagiarism and inaccuracies in his works were to be made several times during his career.
Despite such criticisms, his reputation as a notable young writer and intellectual continued to develop. He transferred his studies and residence to Roma, where during 1845 he was ordained into the Roman Catholic priesthood, at the age of 30.
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