Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison facts for kids
Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison (born March 5, 1750, died April 25, 1805) was a famous French scholar. He studied ancient Greek and Latin texts. He was born in Corbeil-sur-Seine, France. He came from a noble family with Spanish roots.
Contents
Early Life and First Works
Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison was born in 1750. He was a very talented student. In 1773, he published an important book. It was called the Homeric Lexicon by Apollonius the Sophist. He found the original manuscript for this book in an old abbey library. In 1778, he also published a new edition of Daphnis and Chloë by Longus.
Discovering Ancient Texts in Venice
In 1781, the French government sent Villoison to Venice, Italy. He spent three years there. His job was to explore the city's famous libraries. He made a very important discovery. He found a 10th-century manuscript of the Iliad. This famous book is called Venetus A.
What is Venetus A?
The Venetus A manuscript is special. It contains the Iliad along with ancient notes. These notes are called scholia. They were written in the margins of the text. These notes helped scholars understand the original poem better. They showed where verses might have been changed or moved.
Travels and Later Work
After leaving Venice, Villoison visited the duke of Saxe-Weimar. He studied the library there. He wrote about his findings in a book called Epistolae Vinarienses (1783). He hoped to find more treasures like the Homer manuscript. So, he planned a trip to the East.
Journey to Greece
Villoison returned to Paris to get ready for his journey. He visited Constantinople, Smyrna, and the Greek islands. He also went to Mount Athos. However, he did not find as many important texts as he had hoped.
Return to Paris and Professorship
In 1786, Villoison came back to Paris. In 1788, he finally published the Venetus A of Homer. This publication caused a lot of excitement among scholars. When the French Revolution began, he left Paris. He lived quietly in Orléans for a while. He spent his time copying notes from another famous library.
After things settled down, Villoison returned to Paris. He became a professor of modern Greek. Later, this role moved to the Collège de France. He taught both ancient and modern Greek languages. He died in 1805, shortly after taking on this new position.
Other Important Works
Villoison also wrote another important book. It was called Anecdota Graeca (1781). This book contained texts from libraries in Paris and Venice. It included the Ionia (violet garden) by Empress Eudocia. It also had parts of works by Neoplatonist philosophers like Iamblichus and Porphyry. There were also writings by Procopius of Gaza and Choricius. He also included texts from Greek grammarians.
Villoison had plans for a huge work about ancient and modern Greece. His notes for this project are kept in the royal library in Paris.
See also
In Spanish: Jean-Baptiste-Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison para niños
