Creole Medievalism: Colonial France and Joseph Bédier’s Middle Ages

Acknowledgments

· vii · Acknowledgments This book began with a seemingly small question: why did Joseph Bédier dedicate his edition of the Chanson de Roland to an island named Bourbon? The search for answers led me far afield in more ways than one, and I have been fortunate to benefit from the generosity and expertiseofnumerousfriends ,colleagues,strangers,librarians,andarchivists. I could not have imagined this project without the indulgence and encouragement of my colleagues and students at the University of Miami, especially in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures. In formative moments, my department nurtured adventurous thinking in a supportive collegial environment, sharing ideas across languages and disparate fields of specialization. In the final stages of the project, I found a new and welcoming home at Dartmouth College. On Réunion, I spent many productive hours at the Bibliothèque de l’Université de la Réunion, especially in the Salle de l’Océan Indien. At the Archives Départementales, Nadine Rouayroux (director), Emmanuelle Vidal, Corinne Hivanhoé, and others provided invaluable assistance. At the Musée Léon Dierx, Laurence Lecieux led me to discover the fascinating work of Sarkis, while Nathalie Gonthier and Maryse Duchêne provided copies of materials from inaccessible archives. Administrators of the Coll ège de Bourbon and the Lycée de Leconte de Lisle graciously answered my inquiries about long-disappeared archives. Alain Vauthier, director of the Bibliothèque Départementale, shared his personal interest in Joseph Bédier and introduced me to Adrien Bédier. Adrien and Lillian Bédier welcomed me most kindly into their home, sharing photographs, newspaper clippings, and thoughts on family history. Y. Chan Kam Lon, director of the National Library of Mauritius, sent precious photocopies of rare newspaper articles. In Paris, I followed in the archival footsteps of Alain Corbellari, whose bibliography of manuscript sources guided me through my early searches forBédier’scolonialmemories.Corbellarihasbeenagenialcorrespondent viii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS throughout this project, generously providing an electronic typescript of his forthcoming edition of Bédier’s letters. At the Collège de France, Mme Maury graciously shared her cramped archival quarters for long days at a time. Dominique Parcollet, director of the Archives d’Histoire Contemporaine , helped me to resolve several obscure biographical points. Librarians at the Bibliothèque de l’Institut and Archives de l’Académie Française pointed me toward new materials. Finally, Christophe Bédier generously made time, on short notice, to discuss family history and to share valuable documents. In the United States, I benefited enormously from the resources of university libraries and their interlibrary loan departments. At the University of Miami, Cecilia Leathem offered material and personal support over the years; at Dartmouth College, Miguel Valladares has shown more enthusiasm for my research than I imagined possible. I spent productive time at the New York Public Library (especially the Schomberg Center for Research in Black Culture) and the Wolfsonian Museum and Library in Miami Beach (whose entire staff made work both enjoyable and efficient). Student research assistants consistently lightened the labors of research and propelled me to read faster: my enduring thanks to Khaleem Mohammed-Ali, Oona O’Connell, and Gabrielle Rapke (at the University of Miami), and to Maria-Bethlehem Pal-Laya (at Dartmouth College), who wrestled valiantly with the technicalities of digital imaging. My research was generously supported by several institutions. Early on, I spent a glorious semester at the Camargo Foundation in Cassis, France. The University of Miami subsequently provided a number of travel and researchgrants that made possible trips to Paris and Réunion, research assistance , and a highly productive semester of leave. More recently, I spent enjoyable and stimulating time in residence at the University of Melbourne (thanks to Stephanie Trigg) and the Wolfsonian Museum of Florida International University. Dartmouth College’s John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding awarded support for further travel to Réunion as well as a phenomenal seminar discussion of a complete draft of the manuscript. For their insightful participation on that occasion, and ongoing encouragement, I am deeply indebted to Peggy McCracken and Herman Lebovics, and to my Dartmouth colleagues Margaret Darrow, Mary Jean Green, Monika Otter, Andrea Tarnowski, and Keith Walker. I profited immensely from their critical challenges as well as from their collective incitement to “say more.” ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix I have been most fortunate to receive incisive commentary on manuscript drafts from Jean-Claude Carpanin Marimoutou, Andrew Cowell, Margaret Burland, Bed...