Achille Millien
Achille Millien (4 September 1838 – 12 January 1927) was a French poet and folklorist. His poetic work includes a dozen collections of rustic inspiration: La Moisson, Chants agrestes, Musettes et clairons, Chez nous, Aux champs et au foyer, L'Heure du couvre-feu..
Achille Millien

Paul Adolphe Rajon · Recueil de poésies Premières poésies (1859-1863) d'Achille Millien, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 1877 · Public domain
- Birth Name
- Jean-Etienne-Achille Millien
- Born
- 4 September 1838
- Birthplace
- Beaumont-la-Ferrière, Nièvre, France
- Died
- 12 January 1927
- Place of death
- Beaumont-la-Ferrière, France
- Occupation
- Poet Folklorist
- Nationality
- France
- Honours
- Knight of the Legion of Honour
- Languages
- French
VALÉORINE Encyclopedia
VALÉORINE documentary reading
Documentary summary
Achille Millien (4 September 1838 – 12 January 1927) was a French poet and folklorist. His poetic work includes a dozen collections of rustic inspiration: La Moisson, Chants agrestes, Musettes et clairons, Chez nous, Aux champs et au foyer, L'Heure du couvre-feu..
Admitted source layer · organised and presented by VALÉORINE
Reference Check
Propose documentary evidence for Achille Millien. A contribution is never written directly as fact: identity, source, rights and evidence gates still decide.
Sign in to contribute
World of VALÉORINE
Documentary connections
Only confirmed graph relationships appear here. Images are shown only when their identity and reuse rights both pass the documentary gate.
Documentary evidence
Documentary basis
Authority files
wikidata · Q340235 · wikipedia · Achille Millien
In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Birth Name — Jean-Etienne-Achille Millien • Born — 4 September 1838 • Birthplace — Beaumont-la-Ferrière, Nièvre, France • Died — 12 January 1927 • Place of death — Beaumont-la-Ferrière, France • Occupation — Poet Folklorist
Biography
Biography
As soon as 1877, Millien began the systematic collection of folk tales, legends and folk songs of the Nivernais region. This considerable work, the results of which are still largely unpublished, makes Achille Millien "an exemplary reference in the world of contemporary ethnology". In 1896, he established the Revue du Nivernais, a monthly publication which appeared until 1910. • Illustration — Achille Millien's house at Beaumont-la-Ferrière
Works
Works
• 1860: La Moisson, Paris, C. Vanier, 302 p. • 1862: Chants agrestes, Paris, E. Dentu, 298 p. • 1862: La Leçon rustique, Nevers, I.-M. Fay, 7 p. • 1863–1864: Les Poèmes de la nuit. humoristiques, Paris, E. Dentu, 183 p. • 1865–1867: Musettes et clairons, Paris, J. Tardieu, 136 p. • 1870: Légendes d’aujourd’hui, poèmes suivis de lieds et sonnets, Paris, Garnier, 228 p. • 1874: Voix des ruines. Légendes évangéliques. Paysages d’hiver, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 174 p. • 1875: Nouvelles poésies (1864–1873), Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, VIII-404 p. • 1877: Premières poésies (1859–1863), Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 392 p. • 1879: Poèmes et sonnets, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 172 p. • 1891: Chants populaires de la Grèce, de la Serbie et du Monténégro, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 184 p. • 1892–1893: Fleurs de poésie: poètes portugais, morceaux des poètes étrangers contemporains traduits en vers par Alphonse Millien, Nevers, G. Vallière, 16 p. • 1893: Les chants oraux du peuple russe, Paris, H. Champion, 255 p. • 1894: Ballades et chansons populaires tchèques et bulgares, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 121 p. • 1894: Petits contes du Nivernais, Nevers, G. Vallière, 12 p. • 1895–1896: Étrennes nivernaises, Nevers, G. Vallière. • 1896: Chez nous, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 212 p. • 1900: Aux champs et au foyer. Plein air. Intérieur. Rêves et souvenirs..., Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 176 p. • 1904: Le Parnasse du XIX: poètes néerlandais, hollandais et flamands, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre. • 1906-1910: Chants et chansons populaires, Paris, E. Leroux, in 2 books and 3 volumes: • Book I (1906): Complaintes. Chants historiques (1 volume) • Book II (1908 and 1910): Chansons anecdotiques (2 volumes) • 1910: L’Heure du couvre-feu. Genêts et bruyères. En Morvan. Chants de Noël. Ballades noires et chansons roses. Épaves, Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 292 p. • 1913: Choix de poésies, édition populaire, Nevers, T. Ropiteau, 56 p. • 1915: Sous l’étoile. Petits poèmes de guerre, Nevers, T. Ropiteau. • 1924: Roses de Noël. Derniers chants (1916-1924), Paris, Alphonse Lemerre, 142 p.
Distinctions
Distinctions
• Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur by decree taken on 24 February 1921.
Filmography
Filmography
• Daniel Hénard and Jacques Tréfouël, Achille Millien: Passeur de mémoire, France 3 Bourgogne Franche-Comté and "Les films du lieu-dit", 2005, DVD de 160 min + livre de 150 p.
Music
Music
• Discography: Harmonia Mundi, Le Pommier doux: Chansons traditionnelles de Nivernais Centre-France (with arrangements by Alain Gibert, Frédéric Paris, Évelyne Girardon, Trio Achille), Fédération des Associations de Musiques et Danses Traditionnelles (FAMDT), 2001 • French composer Angèle Ravizé used Millien’s text for her song “Chant de Labour.”
Identity
Identity
Achille Millien is recorded with the occupation collector of fairy tales. Recorded as poet, writer, folklorist, collector of fairy tales and ethnologist. Established in Library of Congress under n84119574. Established in FAST under 138652.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1838
Achille Millien was born on 4 September 1838.
1927
Achille Millien died at Beaumont-la-Ferrière.
Primary material
Documents and archives
reference work
- “Achille Millien”, English Wikipedia, consulted as further reading
Reputable secondary · Wikipedia
authority record
- Wikidata, structured authority record Q340235: Achille Millien
General reference · Wikidata
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Daniel Hénard and Jacques Tréfouël, Achille Millien, Nivernais passeur de mémoire, France 3 Bourgogne Franche-Comté & « Les films du lieu-dit », 2005, DVD 160 min + 150 pages book
- 2.Base Léonore, Census of Legion of Honor recipients (died before 1977), on the site of the Ministry of Culture
- 3.Angèle Ravizé Song Texts LiederNet. www.lieder.net.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 13
- Léon Rogier, Les Poètes contemporains : Achille Millien, 1860, Paris, Vanier
- Clément Dubourg, Chez Achille Millien. Notes intimes pour servir à la bio-bibliographie du poète, 1900, Nevers, G. Vallière
- Marius Gerin, Anthologie du poète nivernais Achille Millien, 1924, Nevers/Paris, Fortin, 268 p.
- Maurice Mignon, Achille Millien. Poèmes choisis, 1924, Aix-en-Provence, éd. De la Revue Le Feu, 112 p.
- Paul Delarue, Renseignements divers sur la correspondance et les manuscrits d’Achille Millien in Mémoires de la Société académique du Nivernais, (pp. 123–129)
- Bernard Guineau, Chez nous, en terre nivernaise.., 1981, preface of the exhibition organised by les Amis de La Charité-sur-Loire.
- Charles Gardette, Achille Millien, folkloriste européen in Mémoires de la Société académique du Nivernais, 1983, No 65, (pp. 95–105)
- , Contes et chansons populaires du Nivernais-Morvan, 1993, Nevers, exhibition brochure
- Jean-François Counillon, Achille Millien, du poète de chez nous au chasseur de légendes in Bulletin de la Société nivernaise, 1998, No 47, (pp. 157–180)
- Pierre Marcotte, Achille Millien (1838–1927) : le folkloriste et son œuvre in Bulletin de of the , (pp. 95–111), 2011, Nevers
- Françoise Morvan, Achille Millien : Contes de Bourgogne, Éditions Ouest-France, Rennes, 2008 (edition of the tales published by Achille Millien during his lifetime)
- Alain Jolivet, Rimes et Reflets du Nivernais : Regards d'Achille Millien, Éditions de l'Armançon, 2010, 237 p.
- Achille Millien, Jacques Branchu (éd.) Contes inédits du Nivernais et du Morvan, Éditions José Corti, Paris, 2015 "Collection Merveilleux", Preface by Nicole Belmont. Postface by Jacques Branchu (Edition and classification by Jacques Branchu of a selection of unpublished folk tales, extracted from the totality of the archives concerning the tales collected by Achille Millien, classified and commented by J. Branchu).
References
Citations
References
Each reference names the institution holding it, so a reader may go to the document itself.
reference work
Secondary witnessauthority record
General reference
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
Elsewhere in Books
38,988 published records in this field, each with its sources named.
- Achille BocchiAuthor
- Achille Bonito OlivaAuthor
- Achille EssebacAuthor
- Achille Maffre de BaugéAuthor
- Achille TorelliAuthor
- Achilles StatiusAuthor
- Achilles TatiusAuthor
- Achintya Kumar SenguptaAuthor
Best supported in this field
For owners
Own a work by Achille Millien?
A specialist will read what you send and tell you what the house can establish, what it cannot, and whether the object is suited to sale. There is no charge and no obligation. The object stays with you throughout; nothing is shipped to us unless it is arranged in writing beforehand.