Marc Fumaroli: French historian of rhetoric and 17th-century literary culture

Marc Fumaroli, French historian and essayist, studied rhetoric and 16th–17th‑century literary culture and networks; Académie française member whose scholarship revived interest in classical eloquence.

Marc Fumaroli (10 June 1932 in Marseille – 24 June 2020 in Paris) was a French historian and essayist whose scholarship concentrated on classical French literature, rhetoric and the intellectual networks of early modern Europe. He was elected to the Académie française on 2 March 1995 and was also a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.

Academic career

After taking up a chair in Seventeenth-Century Studies at the University of Paris IV (La Sorbonne) in 1980, Fumaroli joined the Collège de France in 1986 as professor of Rhetoric and Society in Europe (16th–17th centuries). He occupied that chair until his compulsory retirement in 2002 and subsequently held the title of professor emeritus.

Research and publications

Fumaroli's work emphasized the importance of rhetoric and eloquence in the cultural and literary life of the 16th and 17th centuries. He sought to recover the centrality of rhetorical practices to the period's literary culture and to trace connections among writers across Europe. Among his best-known books is L'Âge de l'éloquence (The Age of Eloquence), which helped to renew interest in classical rhetorical traditions and their role in shaping modern literary sensibilities.

Memberships and recognition

Member of the Académie française (elected 2 March 1995).
Member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres.

Death

Marc Fumaroli died on 24 June 2020 in Paris at the age of 88. His writings continue to be cited in studies of Baroque and classical literature, rhetorical theory, and the history of European intellectual exchange.