Emmanuel-Henri-Dieudonne Domain ( French Emmanuel-Henri-Dieudonné Domenech ; November 4, 1826 - c. 1903 or 1904 ) [4] - French abbot, missionary and author of several books. Born in Lyon (France), studied at a theological seminary , but, not having completed it, twenty years old chose missionary work for himself in Texas .
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For the next two years, he lived in St. Louis , where he completed his education, studied English and German (as it turned out later, he knew the second quite superficially), and finally, in 1848 began his missionary service in Castroville ( English Castroville ), a town founded by German colonists, then moved from there to Brownsville . Despite the difficulties associated with the fact that after the recently ended war with Mexico, the country was flooded with deserters from both armies, gangs engaged in robbery and murder, as well as hostile Indian tribes, and in addition, the cholera epidemic began, the abbot steadfastly carried out missionary service, earning respect and authority among the people of South Texas.
In 1850, he briefly returned to Europe, in particular, received an audience with Pius IX . Returning to Texas, he continued his missionary service until 1852 , when, finally undermining his health, he was forced to return to France, where he got a canon in Montpellier .
In 1861, he again visited the American continent as a distributor of alms and chaplain of Emperor Maximillian . Finally settling in France, he devoted the rest of his life to the fulfillment of his priestly functions, as well as his travels and literary work. [five]
In 1882 - 1883 he visited America for the last time. He died at the end of 1903 (or at the beginning of 1904 ) from an apoplexy strike . He was buried in Lyon with military honors. [6]
Deciphering the Book of Savages
The so-called Book of Savages, a manuscript consisting of 114 in quarto sheets, scribbled on both sides with silver and red pencils, originally belonged to the Marquise family of Polmy. Its origin remained unknown, however, according to Canadian-made paper, it was suggested that the "Book ..." was handed over to Polmy by one of the Canadian missionaries as a curiosity. In 1785, Antoine-René de Polmi d'Argentinson, among other books of his library, sold it to the Arsenal of France . The true origin of the Book of Savages has remained unknown, however, the Arsenal Library superintendent suggested that it was a chronicle of a tribe of Canadian Indians . In this capacity, he proposed a notebook for examination and translation to Emmanuel Domain, who was considered a connoisseur of Indian languages and scripts.
The abbot set to work and about a year later published the book Manuscrit pictographique Américain précédé d'une Notice sur l'Ideographie des Peaux-Rouges par l'Abbé Em. Domenech, Membre de la Societé Géographique de Paris etc. Ouvrage publié sous les auspices de M. le Ministre d'État et de la Maison l'Empereur "(Illustrated description of America, first accompanied by notes relating to the pictography of the redskins, written by Abbot Em. Domain, member of the Paris Geographic Society, etc. The work was published and agreed with the Minister of State and the Minister of the Imperial Court ", Paris, 1860 ). [7]
A little later, the abbot’s book fell into the hands of German scholars, after which it finally became clear that it was only a student’s notebook of a schoolboy, a German by origin, who probably lived in one of the Canadian or American villages. The signs accepted by the Domain for Native American syllabic writing were just German Gothic letters , which the abbot could not recognize because this type of font was completely not used in France. The drawings, "deciphered" by him as a "chronicle of three tribes", were just childhood fantasies. After the publication of J. Petzoldt’s pamphlet “Das Buch der Wilden“ im Lichte franzosischer Civilization ”(“ The Book of Savages in the Light of French Civilization ”) [8] , which did not leave a stone unturned by the work of the Domain, the decoder, as well as the Foreign Minister The contributing publication was ridiculed.
Nevertheless, the Abbot tried to defend himself, having released in 1861 another publication - “The Truth about the Book of Savages”. Dedicated to researchers English , German and Belgian " [9] , but no one listened to him.
From this blow, Domain was no longer able to recover. After the scandal calmed down somewhat, he, finally returning to his native Lyon , began to lead an almost hermit life, completely surrendering to the duties of the parish priest, to the extent that he was considered dead in Paris. The error became clear many years later.
Bibliography
The main works:
- Journal d'un missionnaire au Texas et au Mexique (Missionary Notes on Texas and Mexico), Paris , 1857
- Voyage dans les solitudes américaines (Traveling the American Deserts), Paris, 1858
- Histoire du jansénisme (History of Jansenism), Paris, 1868
- Histoire du Mexique (History of Mexico) in three volumes, Paris, 1868
- Souvenirs d'outre-mer (Memoirs of Life Overseas), Paris, 1884
Notes
- ↑ BNF ID : 2011 Open Data Platform .
- ↑ 1 2 Léonore database - ministère de la Culture .
- ↑ SNAC - 2010.
- ↑ Léon Léjeal. Nécrologie. Emmanuel Domenech . - 1905.
- ↑ Emmanuel-Henri-Dieudonne Domenech // Catholic Encyclopedia. - Rep Rev edition, 1990 .-- S. 176-177 .
- ↑ Domenech, Emmanuel-Henri-Diedonné // Handbook of Texas Online.
- ↑ Emmanuel Domenech. Manuscrit pictographique américain: précédé d'une notice sur l'idéographie des Peaux-Rouges . - Paris: Gide, 1860. - 119 p.
- ↑ J. Petzholdt. "Das Buch der Wilden" im Lichte französischer Civilization . - Dresden: G. Schönfeld's Buchhandlung, 1861 .-- 16 p.
- ↑ Emmanuel Domenech. La veríté sur le Livre des sauvages . - Paris: E. Dentu, 1861. - 54 p.