Claude Favre de Vaugelas

• Born: January 6, 1585
• Birthplace: Meximieux, France
• Died: February 26, 1650
• Place of death: Paris, France

Biography

Claude Favre de Vaugelas, who established a new standard for both written and spoken French, was born on January 6, 1585, at Meximieux, France. He was the son of Antoine Favre, baron of Péroges, who in 1610 became the first president of the Sénat de Savoie at Chambéry. Antoine Favre had an illustrious career in law and diplomatic service. Well-versed in law and letters, he provided his son with an exceptional education. Not only did Vaugelas attend the best schools, he also was introduced to the world of law and diplomatic service at an early age. When he was twenty-two, Vaugelas, having opted for a career at the court of King Louis XIII, went to Paris in the service of the duc de Nemours. He would eventually become gentleman-in-waiting and then chamberlain to Gaston, duke of Orleans.

Fluent in French, Italian, and Spanish, Vaugelas became well known for his skills in translation and served as interpreter at the court. His first publication was a French translation of the Spanish-language sermons of Pedro da Fonseca, which appeared in 1615. His best-known translation was Quintus Curtius Rufus’s history of Alexander the Great, published posthumously in 1653. The work is especially significant as an example of the high standard that Vaugelas set for the French language.

Vaugelas made his most important contributions as a grammarian. He devoted his life to perfecting and regularizing the French language. He was admitted to the Académie française on November 27, 1634, and as a member he collaborated on the Dictionnaire de l’Académie and on a French grammar book. The Dictionnaire was not published until 1694, forty-four years after his death. He devoted fifteen years to writing the sections of Dictionnaire that dealt with the letters A through I. In addition to participating in the work of the Académie française, Vaugelas was a member and collaborator in the Académie florimontane.

Vaugelas published his major work, Remarques sur la langue française, utiles à ceux qui veulent bien parler et bien écrire, in 1647. In this text, he sought to establish a definition of proper French based upon the words, expressions, and grammar used by the best society members of his day. Since he had long been a regular at the Hôtel Rambouillet, he had many opportunities to observe and familiarize himself with the language and usage of the aristocracy who congregated there, and he was consequently an authority on such usage. As a grammarian, Vaugelas was a perfectionist, and he and François Malherbe made the greatest contribution to the purification of French diction. His book became the standard for correct usage during his time.

Vaugelas spent the later years of his life as a tutor to the sons of Thomas Francis of Savoy. He died in Paris on February 26, 1650.