Pierre Vilar facts for kids
Pierre Vilar (born May 3, 1906, and died August 7, 2003) was a famous French historian. He was an expert in the history of Catalonia and Spain. He was especially good at what is called Hispanism, which means studying the history, culture, and language of Spain and Spanish-speaking countries. Many people think he was one of the most important historians of Spain in the 20th century. He studied both old history, like the time before the French Revolution (called the Ancien Régime), and more recent history. He and another historian, Jaume Vicens Vives, greatly influenced how people understood Catalonia's past.
In 1947, Pierre Vilar wrote a short but very important book called Histoire de l'Espagne (which means History of Spain). Even though the book was not allowed to be sold in Spain during the time of Francisco Franco's rule (a period called Francoism), it became very popular. After Franco died, the book was often used by people who wanted new ideas and for teaching in schools. By 2009, it had been printed 22 times!
Pierre Vilar's Collection
The Pierre Vilar Collection is a special library of books that belonged to the historian himself. His family gave these books to the Universitat de Girona (UdG) in 2006. This collection has more than 6,500 books from the 19th and 20th centuries. It also includes 331 different series of journals. Some of these books are extra special because their authors signed them and wrote messages to Pierre Vilar. You can find this collection at the UdG Library on the Barri Vell campus.
The university finished organizing and listing all the books in the collection in 2006. This was done to celebrate 100 years since Pierre Vilar was born. This collection, along with others from famous historians like Jaume Vicens Vives, Joan Reglà, Ramon Garrabou, Jordi Nadal, Joaquim Nadal, and Lluís Maria de Puig, makes the UdG a very important place for studying history in Catalonia.
See also
In Spanish: Pierre Vilar para niños
