Charles Péguy

Péguy was killed in World War I at age 41 by German invading forces near Villeroy, Seine-et-Marne.

Charles Péguy studied at École Normale Supérieure, Lycée Lakanal and Collège Sainte-Barbe. The recorded working language is French. The field of work recorded is literature. Work by Charles Péguy is recorded in the collections of Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Distinctions recorded are mort pour la France, Concours général, Estrade-Delcros award and Broquette-Gonin prize in poetry.

• Name — Charles Péguy • Birth Name — Charles-Pierre Péguy • Born — 7 January 1873 • Birthplace — Orléans, France • Died — 5 September 1914 • Place of death — Villeroy, France • Education — École Normale Supérieure • Occupation — Writer

Péguy was born into poverty in Orléans. His mother Cécile, widowed when he was an infant, mended chairs for a living. His father Désiré Péguy was a cabinet maker, and had died in 1874 as a result of combat wounds. Péguy studied at the Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, winning a scholarship to the École normale supérieure (Paris). There he attended notably the lectures of Henri Bergson and Romain Rolland, whom he befriended. He formally left without graduating, in 1897, though he continued attending some lectures in 1898. Influenced by Lucien Herr, librarian of the École Normale Supérieure, he became an ardent Dreyfusard. In 1897, Péguy married Charlotte-Françoise Baudoin. They had one daughter and three sons, one of whom was born after Péguy's death. Around 1910 he fell deeply in love with Blanche Raphael, a young Jewish friend; however, he was faithful to his wife. From his earliest years, he was influenced by socialism. He joined the Socialist Party in 1895. From 1900 until his death in 1914, he was the main contributor to and editor of the literary magazine Les Cahiers de la Quinzaine, which at first supported the Socialist Party director Jean Jaurès. However, Péguy ultimately ended this support after he began viewing Jaurès as a traitor to the nation and to socialism. In the Cahiers, Péguy published not only his own essays and poetry, but also works by such important contemporary authors as Romain Rolland. His free-verse poem, "Portico of the Mystery of the Second Virtue", has gone through more than 60 editions in France. It was a favourite book of Charles de Gaulle. When the First World War broke out, Péguy became a lieutenant in the 19th company of the French 276th Infantry Regiment.

Péguy died in battle, shot in the forehead, near Villeroy, Seine-et-Marne on the day before the beginning of the First Battle of the Marne. He is recognised as Mort pour la France. There is a memorial to Péguy near the field where he was killed.

Essays • (1901). De la Raison. • (1902). De Jean Coste. • (1905). Notre Patrie. • (1907–08). Situations. • (1910). Notre Jeunesse. • (1910). Victor-Marie, Comte Hugo. • (1911). Un Nouveau Théologien. • (1913). L'Argent. • (1913). L'Argent Suite. • (1914). Note sur M. Bergson et la Philosophie Bergsonienne. • (1914). Note Conjointe sur M. Descartes et la Philosophie Cartésienne (posth.) • (1931). Clio. Dialogue de l'Histoire et de l'âme Païenne (posth.) • (1972). Véronique. Dialogue de l'Histoire et de l'âme Charnelle. Paris: Gallimard (posth.) Poetry • (1912). Le Porche du Mystère de la Deuxième Vertu. • (1913). La Tapisserie de Sainte Geneviève et de Jeanne d'Arc. • (1913). La Tapisserie de Notre-Dame. • (1913). Ève. Plays • (1897). Jeanne d'Arc. Paris: Librairie de la Revue Socialiste. • (1910). Le Mystère de la Charité de Jeanne d'Arc. • (1912). Le Mystère des Saints Innocents. Miscellany • (1927). Lettres et Entretiens (posth.) • (1980). Correspondance, 1905–1914: Charles Péguy – Pierre Marcel. Paris: Minard (posth.) Collected works • (1916–55). Œuvres Complètes de Charles-Péguy. Paris: Gallimard (20 vols.) • (1941). Œuvres Poétiques Complètes. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade: Gallimard. • (1987–92). Œuvres en Prose Complètes: • Tome I. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade: Gallimard, 1987. • Tome II. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade: Gallimard, 1988. • Tome III. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade: Gallimard, 1992.

• (1943). "Freedom," Commonweal, 8 January, p. 293. • (1943). Basic Verities. Prose and Poetry, Trans. by Ann and Julien Green. New York: Pantheon Books Inc. • (1944). Man and Saints. Prose and Poetry, Trans. by Ann and Julien Green. New York: Pantheon Books Inc. • (1950). The Mystery of the Charity of Joan of Arc, Trans. by Julien Green. New York: Pantheon Books Inc. [London: Hollis & Carter, 1950; Carcanet, 1986]. • (1956). The Mystery of the Holy Innocents, Trans. by Pansy Pakenham. London: The Harvill Press [New York: Harper, 1956]. • (1999). "The Mystery of the Holy Innocents," Communio 26 (2). • (1958). Temporal and Eternal, Tran. by Alexander Dru. London: The Harvill Press [New York: Harper, 1958; Liberty Fund, 2001]. • (1964). A Vision of Prayer. Mount Saint Bernard Abbey: Saint Bernard Press. • (1965). God Speaks. New York: Pantheon Books Inc. • (1970). The Portico of the Mystery of the Second Virtue, Trans. by Dorothy Brown Aspinwall. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. • (1994). "On the Mystery of Hope," Communio 21 (3). • (1996). The Portal of the Mystery of Hope, Trans. by David Louis Schindler Jr. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark [Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2003; Continuum, 2005]. • (2009). "On Money," Communio 36 (3). • (2019). Notes on Bergson and Descartes. Eugene: Veritas [Cascade Books].

Charles Péguy was recorded at birth as Charles-Pierre Péguy. He also worked under the names Pierre Deloire and Pierre Baudouin. The authorities additionally record the headings Pierre Deloire and Pierre Baudouin.

Charles Péguy is recorded as having studied at École Normale Supérieure, Lycée Lakanal and Collège Sainte-Barbe.