GIRY, ARTHUR

born Feb. 28/29, 1848, Trvoux, Fr. died Nov. 13, 1899, Paris in full Jean-marie-joseph-arthur Giry French historian noted for his studies of the French Middle Ages. After a brief career in administrative services and journalism, Giry devoted himself to scholarship. His first major work was Histoire de la ville de Saint-Omer et de ses institutions jusqu'au XIVe sicle (1877). The type of research involved in this work led him to similar studies on a larger scale: Les tablissements de Rouen, 2 vol. (188385); Documents sur les relations de la royaut avec les villes de France de 1180 1314 (1885); and tudes sur les origines de la commune de Saint-Quentin (1887). His Manuel de diplomatique (1894), a guide to the study of ancient documents and charts, formed the basis for later studies of the documentary history of the French Middle Ages, particularly the Carolingian period, written by Giry and his students. He also wrote articles on medieval sciences, contributed to historical encyclopaedias, and edited collections of medieval texts.