Paul Delarue

'''Paul Alfred Delarue''', born 20 April 1889 in [[Saint-Didier, Nièvre]], died 25 July 1956 in [[Autun]], [[Saône-et-Loire]], was a French [[folklore|folklorist]].{{r|taylor}} A specialist in the field of folklore,{{r|arts&sci}} his crowning achievement was his {{illm|Le Conte populaire français{{!}}''Le Conte populaire français''|fr|Le Conte populaire français (livre)}}, a catalog of folktales found in France and French-speaking areas, structured and modeled on the [[Aarne-Thompson]] classification system.{{r|arts&sci}}{{r|taylor}} The first volume appeared in 1957, a few months after his death. The project, expected to run to several volumes, was continued by [[Marie-Louise Tenèze]].{{r|virolle}}

After dabbling in his interest into local flora (''Étude sur la Flore nivernaise'', published 1930), he dedicated himself to transcribing and index-carding collected folktales in the manuscripts left by [[Achille Millien]], the [[Nivernais]] folklorist.{{r|arts&sci}} Between 1933 and 1936 he launched his own field study with the inhabitants of [[Nièvre]], while teaching at [[Saint-Léger-des-Vignes]], then [[Montsauche]] and [[Varennes-Vauzelles|Vauzelles]],{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} then moving to the Paris area. He was director of the school in [[Ivry-sur-Seine]], 1939–1946.{{r|taylor}}

His articles showed interest in the origins of the mother goose tales of [[Charles Perrault]], and the relationship between oral and written literature.{{r|arts&sci}}

An anthology by Delarue was published in English translation as ''The Borzoi Book of French Folk Tales'' in 1956.{{r|alford}}

He had distinguished service in the [[First World War]], and had received the [[legion of honor]]. During [[World War II]], he was ranked Chef de bataillon ([[Major (rank)|major]]), fighting battles in [[Saarland]] and [[Ardennes]], taken prisoner in 1940, and liberated in 1941.{{r|taylor}}

Paul Delarue headed the folklore committee at the [[Ligue de l'enseignement]] (1946-1953) and subsequently at the [[Musée national des Arts et Traditions Populaires (France)|Musée national des Arts et Traditions Populaires]].{{r|taylor}} He was also vice-president of the Société d'Ethnographie Française from 1952,{{r|taylor}} and sat on the directing committee at thea Fédération Folklorique d'Île-de-France.

His son Georges Delarue (born 1926) has continued along his footsteps, publishing ''Chansons populaires du Nivernais et du Morvan'' (7 volumes).

== Works == * ''Recueil de chants populaires du Nivernais'', 1934-1947 (with Achille Milien). * ''La « Promesse » de Jean-Pierre et de la Yeyette'', 1936 * ''Écoliers, chantez nos chansons folkloriques'', 1938 * ''L'Amour des trois oranges et autres contes folkloriques des Provinces de France'', 1947 * ''La Bête de la forêt'', 1947 * ''Vieux métiers du Nivernais. Les fendeurs'', 1949 * ''Le Conte populaire français : Catalogue raisonné des versions de France et des pays de langue française d'outre-mer : Canada, Louisiane, îlots français des États-Unis, Antilles Françaises, Haiti, Île Maurice, La Réunion'', with [[Marie-Louise Ténèze]], Maisonneuve et Larose, 1957 * ''Le Conte populaire français'', with [[Marie-Louise Ténèze]], Maisonneuve et Larose, 1993 (nouv. éd.) {{ISBN|978-2706806230}}

==References== ;Citations {{Reflist|30em|refs=

<ref name=alford>{{cite journal|last=Alford |first=Violet |title=(Review) The Borzoi Book of French Folk Tales by Paul Delarue |journal=Folklore |volume=68 |number=2 |year=1957 |page=373 |doi=10.1080/0015587X.1957.9717598 |jstor=1258634}}</ref>

<ref name=arts&sci>{{cite journal|author=La Société d'ethnographie française et le Musée national des arts et traditions populaires |title=Paul Delarue (1889-1956) |journal=Arts et Traditions Populaires |volume=4 |number=3 |publisher=Presses Universitaires de France |year=1956 |pages=193–194 |jstor= 41002530 }}</ref>

<ref name=taylor>{{harvp|Taylor|1957|pp=262–263}}</ref>

<ref name=virolle>{{cite journal|last=Alford |first=Violet |title=(Review) Le Conte populaire français, tome II by Paul Delarue, Marie-Louise Tenèze, G. P. Maisonneuve |journal=Revue d'Histoire littéraire de la France |volume=66 |number=4 |year=1966 |pages=756–757 |jstor=40522930 }}</ref> }}

==Bibliography== {{refbegin}} *{{citation|last= Taylor |first=Archer |title=Paul Delarue, 1889-1956 |journal=The Journal of American Folklore |volume=70 |number=277 |year=1957 |pages=262–263 |jstor=538325}} {{refend}}

== External links == * [http://maitron-en-ligne.univ-paris1.fr/spip.php?page=articleCD&id_article=21947 Biography] * [https://le-conte-merveilleux.fr/Catalogue-Delarue-Teneze]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delarue, Paul}} [[Category:French folklorists]] [[Category:Collectors of fairy tales]] [[Category:20th-century French non-fiction writers]] [[Category:1889 births]] [[Category:1956 deaths]] [[Category:People from Nièvre]] [[Category:French literary theorists]]