BERTRAND, François-Marie, l’abbé. Fontainebleau (Seine-et-Marne) 26.10. 1807 — Versailles 30.1.1881. French Indologist (Hindi scholar) and Catholic priest. Studies at Seminaire St.Sulpice in Versailles. Served long time as minister in Herblay, 1837-56, then canon in Versailles. His opinions were heavily criticized by the conservatives, and he was generally wary of letting them out. In 1864 he nevertheless published under the pseudonym Sophronius letters on the liturgy controversy with the result that the book was put into index and the author was for a time deprived the right to officiate. As a scholar of Hindi/Urdu he was a student of Garçin de Tassy. He was also a Biblical scholar.
Publications: “Histoire du règne des Pandavas dans l’Indoustan, trad. du texte hindoustani de l’Araïch-i-Maḥfil de Mir Cher-i-Alî Afsos”, JA 3:14, 1842, 71-107; “Histoire des Rois de l’Hindoustan après les Pandavas…”, JA 4:3, 1844, 104-123, 229-257, 354-377.
– Translated: Séances de Haïdari, récits historiques et élégiaques sur la Vie et la Mort des principaux Martyrs musulmanes. 342 p. P. 1846.
– Garçin de Tassy assisté par l’abbé B. et Th. Pavie: Chrestomathie hindoustani. 104+128 p. P. 1847 (Urdu & Dakhni).
– Les Aventures de Kamrup, texte hindoustani romanisé, d’après l’édition de M. Garçin de Tassy. 68 p. P. 1859 (Qissa-e Kâmrûpô Kalâ of Tahsînu’d-dîn); Vocabulaire hindoustani-français pour le texte des “Aventures de Kamrup” éd. par M. Garçin de Tassy. 58 p. P. 1858.
– Dictionnaire universel, historique et comparatif de toutes les religions du monde. 1-4. Éncyclop. théologique 24-27. 1848-50; Précis de Indoctrine catholique. 1860.
Sources: Larousse, Grand Dict. Universel 2 & Suppl. 2; works in the N.U.C. and Bibl. Nat. Cat. Several sources in Arch. biogr. fr.
Last Updated on 8 months by Admin
