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| Recueil général des inscriptions latines de la France | |
|---|---|
| Name | Recueil général des inscriptions latines de la France |
| Author | Société des Antiquaires de France; Édouard Champion (publisher) |
| Country | France |
| Language | Latin, French |
| Subject | Epigraphy, Roman antiquity, Latin inscriptions |
| Genre | Scholarly corpus |
| Publisher | Librairie des Archives nationales; Éditions réimprimées |
| Pub date | 1869–present (ongoing editions and supplements) |
Recueil général des inscriptions latines de la France is a monumental printed and later digital corpus collecting Latin inscriptions from the territory of France and adjacent regions. Initiated in the late 19th century, it became a central reference for scholars working on Roman Gaul, medieval epigraphy, and antiquarian collections associated with institutions such as the Société des Antiquaires de France, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Musée du Louvre, Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, and regional archives. The project integrated contributions from prominent epigraphists and archaeologists active in the contexts of Second French Empire scholarship, Third Republic antiquarianism, and international comparative projects undertaken by figures connected to the British Museum, Museo Nazionale Romano, and the German Archaeological Institute.
The corpus was conceived in the milieu of 19th-century European antiquarianism alongside enterprises like the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum, the Corpus Inscriptionum Etruscarum, and the Recueil des inscriptions grecques. Early editors coordinated with institutions such as the École française de Rome, the Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques, and provincial archaeological societies including the Société archéologique de Touraine and the Société linnéenne de Lyon. Key figures involved in compilation included members of the Société des Antiquaires de France and epigraphists who corresponded with curators at the Musée de Cluny, the Musée d'Arles antique, and university departments at Université de Paris and Université de Lyon. The editorial history reflects debates contemporary to the Paris Commune aftermath and the reconfiguration of national collections under ministries such as the Ministère de l'Instruction publique.
The Recueil général encompasses inscriptions from Roman, Late Antique, and medieval contexts found in metropolitan France, Corsica, and frontier zones touching the Rhineland, Hispania Tarraconensis, and Provincia Narbonensis. Entries record funerary epitaphs, honorific inscriptions, mile-stones, milestones associated with the Via Agrippa, dedicatory inscriptions from temples linked to deities also attested at sites like Nîmes and Aix-en-Provence, and administrative texts relating to magistracies reminiscent of offices described in sources such as the Codex Theodosianus and the Notitia Dignitatum. Supplementary material includes transcriptions of inscriptions once held in collections of the British Library, Vatican Library, and private holdings of families such as the Comte de Caylus lineage. The corpus also inventories inscriptions documented during excavations led by archaeologists affiliated with the Commission des antiquités du département.
Volumes are organized geographically by départements and archaeological provinces, paralleled by thematic fascicles on categories like funerary inscriptions, military diplomas, and municipal decrees. Publication followed a sequence comparable to the provincial ordering used in administrative atlases produced by the Institut géographique national. Editors structured entries with catalog numbers, provenance statements referencing municipal archives such as those of Marseille, Tours, and Reims, and critical apparatuses that cite earlier published notices in journals like the Bulletin monumental, Revue archéologique, and proceedings of the Société des Antiquaires de Normandie. Multiple supplement volumes and methodological appendices were issued to accommodate finds from excavations undertaken under the auspices of the Service régional de l'archéologie and university field schools tied to Université de Toulouse and Université de Montpellier.
The editorial practice adopted standard epigraphic conventions current in tandem with the Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum: diplomatic transcriptions preserving orthography, abbreviations expanded within brackets, and restorations indicated by ellipses and supplied letters. Editors followed paleographic assessments akin to those used by authorities at the École Pratique des Hautes Études and compared letter-forms with dated inscriptions from sites like Arles and Lyon to propose chronologies. Provenance claims were cross-checked against inventories of the Musée départemental Arles Antique and municipal cadastres. Conventions for citing prior editors such as Henri Lavagne, Auguste Longnon, and contributors who published in the Mémoires de la Société des Antiquaires de France are integrated into each entry's critical notes.
The Recueil général became indispensable for historians of Roman Gaul, numismatists, and medievalists investigating continuity from Late Antiquity to the Carolingian era associated with sources like the Capitulary of Herstal. Its utility was acknowledged in reviews in periodicals including the Revue des études anciennes and in comparative projects by scholars at the German Archaeological Institute and the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. The corpus influenced subsequent regional studies of urbanism in Lutetia, monumental epigraphy in Nîmes, and prosopographical research tied to dossiers preserved at the Archives nationales. Debates about editorial normalization, findspot documentation, and publication lag times have been echoed in the work of modern epigraphists connected to the École française d'Athènes and international collaborative networks.
Recent initiatives have integrated the corpus with digital projects like the Electronic Archive of Latin Epigraphy and collaborations with the Institut national de l'information géographique et forestière for georeferencing. Data exchange efforts align entries with the Clauss-Slaby Database and linked-data frameworks developed by the Pelagios project and the Digital Atlas of Roman and Medieval Civilizations. Digitized facsimiles and updated catalogues have been disseminated through portals managed by the Bibliothèque nationale de France and university consortia including Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne.
Noteworthy entries include inscriptions connected with the municipal administration of Lyon, military dedications referencing legions such as Legio I Italica and Legio VII Claudia, funerary stelae from Arles bearing long-form epitaphs comparable to texts held in the Vatican Museums, and milestones of the Via Domitia that illuminate Roman road networks documented alongside cartographic records of the Cassini maps. Discoveries published within the corpus influenced reinterpretations of provincial cult practices at sites like Vaison-la-Romaine, the chronology of urban development in Arelate, and prosopographical reconstructions involving officials attested in inscriptions now conserved in the Musée Archéologique de Dijon.
Category:Epigraphy Category:Latin inscriptions Category:French archaeology