Charles Étienne 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 His writings, publications, and recovery of historical documents contributed much to knowledge of the region's languages, writing, history and culture, particularly those of the Maya and Aztec. 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, just as the First French Empire was drawing to a close.
As a youth he went to Ghent in the newly independent Belgian state to study theology and philosophy. He became interested in writing during his studies there, and in 1837 aged 23 he began contributing essays to a Parisian journal. He wrote several historical accounts (using a pseudonym), including one on Jerusalem. He published several novels in a Romantic vein which was then very much in vogue. One of these, Le Sérapéon, received reviews which implied it bore 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 throughout his career.
Despite such criticisms, his reputation as a notable young writer and intellectual continued to develop. He transferred his studies and residence to Rome, where in 1845 he was ordained into the Roman Catholic priesthood, at the age of 30.
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