Fénelon, François (1651–1715)
Fénelon, François (1651–1715)
French archbishop, theologian, writer, and royal tutor François de Salignac de La Mothe Fénelon played many diverse intellectual roles; among these, posterity has celebrated him as a philosopher with extraordinary views of education.
Fénelon was born in 1651 into an established noble family that had long served the French Church and Crown. After completing his theological studies, he was ordained a priest in 1676; in 1678 he was appointed director of the Nouvelles Catholiques, a college that converted young women from French Protestantism. Here he wrote his first important work, Traité de l'éducation des filles (1687; Treatise on the education of girls). The same year, he published his Réfutationde Malebranche.
In 1689 his noble birth, combined with his remarkable pedagogical skills, landed Fénelon the influential job of tutor to Louis, the duke of Bourgogne and grandson and heir to Louis XIV. Several honors resulted from this privileged position at court, including Fénelon's election to the French Academy in 1693. His greatest success, however, was his Les Aventures de Télémaque, fils d'Ulysse (1699; Telemachus, son of Ulysses), a poetic rewriting of Ulysses composed for the political education of the prince.
At the same time, however, Fénelon's support of Madame Guyou, the leader of the quietist movement in France, had given rise to the so-called Quarrel of Quietism (the Christian doctrine in which human passivity is supposed to generate divine activity). Actually, by arguing for the "disinterested" and "pure" love of God in his Explication des maximes dessaints sur la vie intérieure (1697; Explanation of the sayings of the saints on the interior life), Fénelon generated much consternation within the authoritarian Church. His selection as archbishop of Cambrai the year before had been a disappointment for a man whose accomplishments and reputation legitimately could have been expected to earn him the bishopric of Paris. His disgrace became official in 1699, when first Louis XIV, and later Rome, banned Fénelon's Explication.
Exiled to his diocese, Fénelon remained a vigilant observer of political matters, although he did despair upon the death of his pupil the duke of Bourgogne in 1712. Three years later, he himself died in Cambrai.
In a century with few childhood and educational theorists Fénelon was indeed an exception–as his countrymen Michel Montaigne and François Rabelais had been in the previous century. Fénelon's first pedagogical work explored the neglected field of girls' education. Although France had several nuns' schools, and the Saint-Cyr girls' school had been founded in 1686 near Versailles, Fénelon pointed to the necessity of educating, from a global moral perspective, all French girls for their roles as future mothers and housewives. The pedagogical counsel and rules given in Fénelon's Treatise, however, included not only girls' instruction, but also education in general; he encouraged recognition of the child as a child. The schoolmaster was to follow the child's nature, preparing her for education even before she could speak, never forcing her to study when not absolutely necessary, and eliminating her fear and submission by teachingusing play, joy, and amusing stories.
Because of this educational philosophy, Fénelon did not write scholarly treatises or discourses, as the other royal tutors had done before him. Instead, he invented pleasant dialogues, fables, and a less predictable format: the didactic novel Telemachus, originally conceived as an insertion into Ulysses.
Telemachus, in search of his father, is guided by the wise Mentor, alias Minerva, on his perilous travels through various civilizations throughout the Mediterranean. By telling such an adventurous story, Fénelon not only initiated his royal pupil into Greek mythology, but he also awakened the prince's interest in politics, religion, and virtue. Furthermore, by helping his pupil to identify with the future king of Ithaca, Fénelon hoped to teach him the art of good government. When Telemachus considers the countries he visits– comparing their laws, manners, and customs– he is actually preaching humanity and peace in contrast to the violence and despotism characteristic of Louis XIV's reign. Nevertheless, Telemachus is basically a pedagogical work for the use of young people and their teachers. Fénelon's genius was to incorporate traditional topics into a new dynamic process of teaching and learning.
Entirely organized around the fundamental coupling of the master and the disciple, Telemachus is in fact as much a didactic method as an edifying narrative. If mentor (meaning a good master) has become an ordinary word, it is because Fénelon's creation, in accordance with the Jesuits' pedagogical ideal, transforms the act of instruction into a relationship–one full of love. The master must help the child acquire her own experiences, kindly and step-by-step, "arranging" pedagogical situations, and sometimes even leaving the child alone when necessary.
Advocating for an entirely experimental education, Fénelon's writings had enormous influence on the Enlightenment, directly affecting two of the era's leading philosophers, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. From the eighteenth until the mid-twentieth century, Telemachus was required reading in French schools, mainly as a means of imparting knowledge of Greek culture to the pupils.
See also: Education, Europe; Girls' Schools.
bibliography
Carcassonne, Elie. 1946. Fénelon, l'homme et l'oeuvre. Paris, Boivin.
Chérel, Albert. 1970. Fénelon au XVIIIe siècle en France, son prestige, son influence. Geneva: Slatkine.
Dédéyan, Charles. 1991. Télémaque ou la Liberté de l'Esprit. Paris: Librairie Nizet.
Goré, Jeanne-Lydie. 1968. "Introduction." In Les aventures de Télémaque, by François Fénelon. Paris: Garnier-Flammarion.
Granderoute, Robert. 1985. Le roman pédagogique de Fénelon à Rousseau. Geneva and Paris: Editions Slatkine.
Anne Elisabeth Sejten
Cite this article
Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography.
|
James Graham-Campbell, Richard Hall, Judith Jesch, and David N. Parsons, eds. Vikings and the Danelaw: Select Papers from the Proceedings of the Thirteenth Viking Congress, Nottingham and York, 21-30 August 1997.(Book Review)
Magazine article from: Scandinavian Studies; 12/22/2002; ; 700+ words
; ...Viking Congress chose to focus on the Danelaw, an obvious choice since, beginning...linguistic, artistic, and documentary--Danelaw studies are by nature interdisciplinary...the volume stands at the cutting edge of Danelaw studies. Two other features unique to...
|
|
Uganda: Hambleside Danelaw s Carbon Offsets Benefit Sustainable Land Use in Uganda.
News Wire article from: TendersInfo; 3/19/2008; 574 words
; Byline: Mamta03 Hambleside Danelaw has been presented with a Plan Vivo...environment strategy operated by Hambleside Danelaw which involves the careful design and...Plan Vivo project attracted Hambleside Danelaw because as well as making a contribution...
|
|
|
Uganda : Hambleside Danelaw s Carbon Offsets Benefit Sustainable Land Use in Uganda.
News Wire article from: TendersInfo; 3/20/2008; 576 words
; Byline: Mamta03 Hambleside Danelaw has been presented with a Plan Vivo...environment strategy operated by Hambleside Danelaw which involves the careful design and...Plan Vivo project attracted Hambleside Danelaw because as well as making a contribution...
|
|
The Scandinavian element beyond the Danelaw.(LINGUISTICS)(Report)
Magazine article from: Studia Anglica Posnaniensia: international review of English Studies; 1/1/2007; ; 700+ words
; ...settlers was the highest, i.e. the Danelaw, inhabited by the Danes and the northern...settlement was the highest, i.e. the Danelaw, inhabited mostly by the Danes, and...present in English in the area beyond the Danelaw, i.e. in the West Midlands and Southern...
|
|
Convergence Technologies Group Inc. UK Subsidiary Completes 2 New Multi-Site Contracts Worth $162,000.
PR Newswire; 8/28/2007; 700+ words
; ...Communications systems for Hambleside Danelaw, part of the Hambleside International...state of the art Daventry Hambleside Danelaw facility was completed this week with...scheduled in the next three weeks. Hambleside Danelaw received the 2006 Queens Award. The Hambleside...
|
|
Convergence Technologies Group UK Subsidiary Completes 2 New Contracts
Newspaper article from: Wireless News; 9/3/2007; 398 words
; ...Communications systems for Hambleside Danelaw, part of the Hambleside International...state of the art Daventry Hambleside Danelaw facility was completed this week with...scheduled in the next three weeks. Hambleside Danelaw received the 2006 Queens Award. The Hambleside...
|
 "The Daily Mail (London, England)")
|
Is this old wives' tale fair? Answers to Correspondents.
Newspaper article from: The Daily Mail (London, England); 10/12/2005; 700+ words
; ...Wessex in the south-west and the Danelaw north of a line from St Albans to Chester. Most towns in the Danelaw were of Danish or other Scandinavian...shops and stalls. In the west of the Danelaw, the equivalent is often The Wiend...
|
|
I love the smell of chip fat at teatime ; Pies and Prejudice: In search of the North By Stuart Maconie EBURY [pound]10.99
Newspaper article from: The Independent on Sunday; 1/28/2007; ; 700+ words
; ...Atlas, but back then it was called the Danelaw: the Danish Viking kingdom which ran...Despite what the history books may say, the Danelaw never really ended and god's own county...the South Eastern boundaries of the Danelaw have retreated further northwards - to...
|
 "The Mirror (London, England)")
|
For the record.(Features)
Newspaper article from: The Mirror (London, England); 8/27/2002; 276 words
; ...Guthrum to accept the division of England into two parts (Wessex and the Danelaw) and he captured London and rolled back Danish occupation. But the conquest of the Danelaw was continued by his son, Edward The Elder, and unification was completed...
|
|
PRODUCTS IN PRACTICE / TRANSPORT AND INDUSTRIAL
Magazine article from: The Architects' Journal; 8/1/2007; ; 625 words
; ...ENQUIRY NO 1208 CLADDING Corus Panels and Profiles BUILDING Hambleslde Danelaw's manufacturing facility and warehouse, Daventry ARCHITECT G4 Design CLIENT Hambleside Danelaw PRODUCT Confidex Sustain CHARACTERISTICS The client specialises in providing...
|
|
Danelaw
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to British History
Danelaw. When during the 10th cent. the Viking settlers of eastern England recognized...follow their traditional laws. By the 11th cent. the term ‘Danelaw’ was being used to indicate the area in which customary law was...
|
|
DANELAW
Book article from: Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language
DANELAW, also Danelagh , Danelaga . The system of law in the part of England ceded to Danish invaders in 878, and the area itself, roughly...
|
|
Alfred
Book article from: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
...treaty with Guthrum that marked off the Danelaw E and N of the Thames, Lea, and Ouse...forces were joined by settlers from the Danelaw. He received strong support from his...896 the Danes slowly dispersed to the Danelaw or overseas, and Alfred's new long...
|
|
|
Viking
Book article from: The Oxford Companion to British History
...x2013;Chester line emerged with the establishment of Danelaw c. 886. Alfred's successors in the early years of the 10th...long bearing the mark of its Scandinavian settlement. The Danelaw Scandinavians in eastern England were largely of Danish origin...
|
|
Canute I the Great
Encyclopedia entry from: Encyclopedia of World Biography
...England. Inhabitants called the northeast section of England the Danelaw. This was the largest Viking settlement, a region occupied...unfortunate hostages. By his hasty retreat, Canute lost the Danelaw. He arrived in Denmark to find his brother in firm command...
|
