Barante, Prosper-Brugière, baron de

(1782-1866)

   historian and political figure

   Born in Riom, Prosper-Brugière, baron de Barante was an intimate friend of both Mme de staël and Mme récamier. He had a brilliant administrative career, and while maintaining liberal views, held high posts under the first empire and during the restoration. Named a peer of France in 1819, he was appointed ambassador to Russia in 1835 (Souvenirs de Russie, 1859). He left the diplomatic service in 1848. Already known for his Tableau de la littérature française au XlIIe siècle (1808), Barante acquired more literary notoriety with his dozen volumes of Histoire des ducs de Bourgogne de la maison de Valois (1824-26). In these texts, relying on accurate sources, he wrote a colorful chronicle, free of any political doctrine or rhetoric. His other works include Études historiques et biographiques (1857), Études littéraires et historiques (1858), and eight volumes of Souvenirs (posthumous, 1889-1901). He was elected to the Académie Française in 1828.