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Un précurseur ? Christophe-Michel Ruffelet (11 janvier 1725-21 août 1806), chanoine et historien à l’époque des Lumières

Olivier Charles
p. 89-118

Abstracts

The chapters of the Breton cathedrals of the Ancien Régime, unlike others, only sheltered the odd erudite canon. The Saint-Brieuc figure, Christophe-Michel Ruffelet (1725-1806), author of the Annales briochines, is a precious example of this, and shows that the archetype of the canon historian of the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries can be traced back to the prebends of the 18th century. He is also a character of great interest for other reasons. He owned an imposing library containing over 4000 volumes, the biggest library belonging to a canon in Brittany. He was largely aware of the concerns of his contemporaries when it came to history, sciences, politics… Moreover, Ruffelet was a scholar who showed as much interest in the most ancient history of Brittany, as he did in latest political debate. Finally, if he shared common origins with his fellow canons, the course his career took – he became a canon late in life – was far from typical. Through studying a character like Ruffelet, we can get away from the negative image often associated with canons. He was neither a dabber, nor an ecclesiastic cut off from the changes taking place around him. Nor was he a conservative who was turned shamelessly toward the past. The refusal of social and ecclesiastical transformations brought about by the Revolution, in no way meant a refusal of modernity.

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Index terms

Noms de lieux:

Bretagne
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References

Bibliographical reference

Olivier Charles, “Un précurseur ? Christophe-Michel Ruffelet (11 janvier 1725-21 août 1806), chanoine et historien à l’époque des Lumières”Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l’Ouest, 111-2 | 2004, 89-118.

Electronic reference

Olivier Charles, “Un précurseur ? Christophe-Michel Ruffelet (11 janvier 1725-21 août 1806), chanoine et historien à l’époque des Lumières”Annales de Bretagne et des Pays de l’Ouest [Online], 111-2 | 2004, Online since 20 July 2006, connection on 28 March 2024. URL: http://journals.openedition.org/abpo/1285; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/abpo.1285

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About the author

Olivier Charles

chercheur associé au CRHISCO Université Rennes 2 – Haute-Bretagne

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Copyright

CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0

The text only may be used under licence CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. All other elements (illustrations, imported files) are “All rights reserved”, unless otherwise stated.

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