{"id":766,"date":"2016-12-10T20:00:23","date_gmt":"2016-12-10T20:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/yvonneseale.org\/?p=766"},"modified":"2016-12-10T23:29:11","modified_gmt":"2016-12-10T23:29:11","slug":"prioux","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yvonneseale.org\/blog\/2016\/12\/10\/prioux\/","title":{"rendered":"The Paper-Maker and the Premonstratensians"},"content":{"rendered":"

Header image: http:\/\/gallica.bnf.fr\/ark:\/12148\/btv1b53084786q<\/em><\/p>\n

As an ambitious young man, Stanislas Prioux did something quite common for ambitious young men in\u00a0 mid-nineteenth century France. He left behind his birthplace\u2014the small village of Lim\u00e9, near Soissons in the quiet Vesle river valley\u2014for the bustle and opportunity of Paris. There, Prioux established a paper wholesale business in a prime city centre spot: 47 quai des Grands Augustins, just across the river from Notre Dame Cathedral. (The company survives today, though thanks to a series of mergers and acquisitions the Papeteries Prioux now goes by the decidedly un-French name of ArjoWiggins).<\/p>\n

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View of Notre Dame from the Quai des Grands Augustins, 1900s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Although Stanislas Prioux became a successful businessman and settled down to raise a family in the city, he maintained strong links back to his home region and was keenly interested in its history. That’s why I first encountered him, when I was researching the history of the Premonstratensian abbey of Saint-Yved-et-Sainte-Marie de Braine, the main religious foundation in a town near his birthplace. Prioux wrote extensively about the medieval abbey, and about the surrounding area and its prominent figures. It was only by getting to know a little more about Prioux that I could better understand how he and his particular interests have shaped some of our understanding of the development of the Premonstratensian Order, and the role women played in that development.<\/p>\n

Stanislas Prioux was active in the local historical society at Soissons<\/a>, was a regular visitor to archaeological digs in the Soissonais, and produced a number of articles, pamphlets, and books on regional history\u2014at quite an astounding rate, given that he neither had much by way of training as a historian nor much free time given the demands of his job. In 1846, when he was just thirty years old, he published his Histoire de Braine et de ses environs<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

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Crowdfunding 19thC style; links history of Braine & #Premonstratensian<\/a> abbey to monarchy: https:\/\/t.co\/aeDLYNWscN<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/bhJ82O1mHt<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Yvonne Seale (@yvonneseale) January 24, 2016<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n