Henri Édouard Prosper Breuil (28 February 1877 – 14 August 1961), often referred to as Abbé Breuil ( French pronunciation: [abe bʁœj] ), was a French Catholic priest , archaeologist , anthropologist , ethnologist and geologist . He is noted for his studies of cave art in the Somme and Dordogne valleys as well as in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, China with Teilhard de Chardin , Ethiopia , British Somali Coast Protectorate , and especially southern Africa.
15-505: Breuil was born at Mortain , Manche , France , and was the son of Albert Breuil, magistrate, and Lucie Morio De L'Isle. He received his education at the Seminary of St. Sulpice and the Sorbonne and was ordained in 1900, and was also given permission to pursue his research interests. He was devoutly religious. In 1904 Breuil had recognised that a pair of 13,000-year-old carvings of reindeer at
30-597: A local archeologist, Kosie Marais . In 1953 he announced his discovery of a painting about 6,000 years old, subsequently dubbed The White Lady , under a rock overhang in Brandberg Mountain . Breuil returned to France in 1952 and produced a series of publications sponsored by the government of South Africa. Breuil's books contain valuable photographs and sketches of the art works at the sites he visited but are marred by official South African racism. Breuil developed elaborate scenarios to attribute Caucasian authorship to
45-644: Is a former commune in the Manche department in Normandy in north-western France . On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Mortain-Bocage . Mortain is situated on a rocky hill rising above the gorge of the Cance , a tributary of the Sélune . Mortain is the seat of the canton of Le Mortainais . It is a former subprefecture of the Manche department and the seat of
60-622: Is the Abbaye Blanche , founded as a Benedictine convent in 1105 and soon afterwards affiliated to Cîteaux . The church is a perfect example of a Cistercian monastic church of the late 12th century, and portions of the 12th-century cloisters also survive. The ruins of a castle was once the home of the cruel Sir Guillaume de Mortain and the site of the Gap of Goeblin. Mortain was the birthplace of Ferdinand André Fouqué (1828–1904), geologist and petrologist . Émigrés from Mortain are remembered in
75-805: The British Museum were in fact one composition . He assumed a post as lecturer at the University of Fribourg in 1905, and in 1910 became professor of prehistoric ethnology in Paris and at the Collège de France from 1925. Breuil was a competent draughtsman, reproducing faithfully the cave paintings he encountered. In 1924 he was awarded the Daniel Giraud Elliot Medal from the National Academy of Sciences . He published many books and monographs, introducing
90-553: The Conquest (1066) gave name to "the small fees of Mortain," which owed less feudal service than others. Robert was succeeded as count by his son William, Count of Mortain , who rebelled against Henry I , was captured at the battle of Tinchebrai (1106) and forfeited his possessions. Some years later, Henry bestowed the comtéship on his nephew Stephen , who became king in 1135. On Stephen's death (1154) his surviving son William became count of Mortain, but when William died childless in 1159
105-524: The caves of Lascaux and Altamira to the general public and becoming a member of the Institut de France in 1938. Breuil visited the excavations associated with Peking Man at Zhoukoudian , China in 1931 and confirmed the presence of stone tools at the site. In 1929, when already a recognised authority on North African and European Stone Age art, he attended a congress on prehistory in South Africa. At
120-680: The former arrondissement of Mortain, which existed from 1800 to 1926. In the Middle Ages Mortain was the head of an important county ( comté ), reserved for the reigning house of Normandy . Around 1027 it was established for Robert, who was probably an illegitimate son of Richard I of Normandy . He was succeeded by William Warlenc ("the waning") who was probably his son. In or about 1049 Duke William took it from William Warlenc and bestowed it on his half-brother, Robert , thenceforth known as "count of Mortain," whose vast possessions in England after
135-599: The invitation of premier Jan Smuts he returned there in 1942 and began a professorship at Witwatersrand University from 1944 to 1951. During his South African stay he studied rock art in Lesotho , the eastern Free State and in the Natal Drakensberg . He performed three expeditions to South West Africa and Rhodesia between 1947 and 1950. He described this period as "the most thrilling years of my research life". He had excursions to South West Africa and Bechuanaland with
150-703: The lifestyle of) the Bushmen and other native peoples of southern Africa. His contributions to European and African archaeology were considerable and recognised by the award of honorary doctorates from no fewer than six universities. He was President of the PanAfrican Archaeological Association from 1947 to 1955. He died at L'Isle-Adam, Val-d'Oise , France. His works in English include: Mortain Mortain ( French pronunciation: [mɔʁtɛ̃] )
165-742: The name of the village of Marston Moretaine in England. Mortain is twinned with: Canton of Le Mortainais The canton of Le Mortainais is an administrative division of the Manche department , northwestern France . It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Mortain-Bocage . It consists of the following communes: 48°39′N 0°56′W / 48.65°N 0.94°W / 48.65; -0.94 This Manche geographical article
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#1733094039304180-463: The paintings he studied. For example, he had a theory that the beautiful painting known as "The White Lady of the Brandberg" had been painted by Egyptians (or some other Mediterranean people), who had improbably made their way thousands of miles southwest into the wilds of southern Africa, rather than accepting the logical and fairly obvious fact that the paintings were the product of (and clearly represent
195-466: The title was resumed by Henry II. On the accession of Richard I (1189) he granted it to his brother John , who was thenceforth known as count of Mortain until he ascended the throne (1199). With his loss of Normandy the comté was lost, but after the recapture of the province by the House of Lancaster, Edmund Beaufort, a grandson of John of Gaunt , was created count of Mortain and so styled till 1441, when he
210-504: The town but could not hold it owing to developments along the front. The famed American author J.D. Salinger , who wrote The Catcher in the Rye , fought alongside the American forces, an experience that his daughter claims led to his post-traumatic syndrome . The parish church of St Evroult is a magnificent example of the transitional style of the early 13th century. Close to the town
225-612: Was made earl of Dorset . In August 1944, Mortain was the site of an important battle between the German and American forces. Over a period of six nights the 30th Infantry Division fought (with one radio with dying batteries) against the German Panzer counter-attack of Operation Lüttich , to preserve the breakout established in Operation Cobra . The defence failed and the Germans recaptured
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