Necrologe de la Mort des Sçavans

Antoine Galland (1646-1715), French orientalist and numismatist, was born at Rollot, Picardy, and studied at Noyon and Paris. He learnt modern Greek, Turkish, Perisan and Arabic on travels to the East during the 1670s and 1680s, first as secretary of the ambassador de Nointel, and then as Louis XIV's agent to collect manuscripts and medals. He was appointed to the chair of Arabic at the College of France in 1709. Gallard wrote on coins and inscriptions of Greek and Latin antiquity. He also translated the tales of The Arabian nights (1704-1717). He died in Paris in 1715.

279 folios. A collection of obituary notices of scholars who died between 1500 and 1701, arranged in order of the days of the year. Each entry comprises a biographical note and states the year of death. On fos 3-61 is an alphabetical index of the 2,619 names occurring in the obituary, which occupies fos 63-279. Inside the front cover is the bookplate with arms of Jacques Bernard Durey de Noinville, 1736, and 'Phillipps MS 11722 & 13821' (also on fo. 2). On fo. 1 is 'Payne 1838', in pencil. On fo. 1v is 'J'ai donne Notte de ce singulier Manuscrit pour la Bibliotheq. historique de la France. Voyez to. iv page 78. No. 45653'. Attached to fo. 1v is an extract from what appears to be a library or bookseller's catalogue of the 18th century, comprising a notice of this manuscript.

Purchased 1915.

Please cite as Cambridge University Library, Department of Manuscripts and University Archives, Necrologe de la Mort des Sçavans, MS Add.5947