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Arcisse de Caumont
1801-1873
Historical Figure
The father of medieval archaeology in France, Arcisse de Caumont was the first to organize the history of architecture into major periods. Born in Bayeux in 1801, he devoted his life to studying and preserving historic monuments.
In 1834, he founded the Société française d'archéologie, after having created several other learned societies in Normandy. He is credited with popularizing the term "Romanesque" as applied to medieval art.
His Cours d'antiquités monumentales, a sweeping survey covering architecture from the Gallo-Roman period to the Middle Ages, shaped generations of scholars and heritage enthusiasts.
