20 August 2014

François-Xavier Garneau in Québec city

A major figure in the history of the literature of Québec, François-Xavier Garneau (1809–66) is most noted for his colossal three-volume Histoire du Canada depuis sa découverte jusqu'à nos jours (1845–48). He was also a poet and a journalist.


Just off the Grande Allée is an impressive statue of him, quill pen in hand, and in the heart of Vieux Québec:


'MAISON
FRANÇOIS-XAVIER GARNEAU
1862
MONUMENT HISTORIQUE'

'EN CETTE MAISON
RÉSIDA PLUSIEURS
ANNÉES, ET MOURUT, LE
3 FÉVRIER 1866,
FRANÇOIS-XAVIER
GARNEAU, L'HISTORIEN
DU CANADA.'
––––––––––
IN THIS HOUSE,
FRANÇOIS-XAVIER
GARNEAU, THE HISTORIAN
OF CANADA, LIVED FOR
SEVERAL YEARS AND HERE
HE DIED ON THE 3rd. OF
FEBRUARY, 1866.'

The town of Québec granted Garneau a pension in 1863, and he died overwhelmed by epilepsy three years later.

ADDENDUM: A representation of Garneau on La Fresque des Québécois:

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