La Villemarqué, THÉODORE-CLAUDE-HENRI HERSART, VICOMTE DE, Celtic antiquary and scholar, was born of an ancient Breton family at Quimperlé, 6th July 1815, and became in due time a member of the Institute, and a corresponding member of the Berlin Academy. His first important work was Barzaz-Breiz (2 vols. 1839; Eng. trans. by Tom Taylor, 1865), a collection of popular Breton songs and melodies, with a French translation and notes. Unfortunately the scientific value of this work was seriously impaired by the embellishments added to the ballads by the editor, and the composite product of artificially-made history and affected archaisms can be accepted neither as sound literature nor as safe philology. The author was inspired by glowing patriotism and a too facile imagination, but his conscience failed to teach him the respect that is due to the grave dignity of history. But Brittany is not the Scottish Highlands of Macpherson's day, and Breton scholars are too learned for such impositions. An admirable exposure of the defects of M. de la Villemarqué's work is Luzel's paper, Les Chants du Barzaz-Breiz (1872). He died 9th December 1895.
Later works are Contes populaires des Anciens Bretons (2 vols. 1842), Poèmes des Bardes Bretons (1850), Notices des Principaux Manuscrits des Anciens Bretons (1856), Le Grand Mystère de Jésus (1865), La Légende Celtique en Irlande, en Cambrie et en Bretagne (1859), Myrddinn ou l'Enchanteur Merlin (1861), Les Romans de la Table ronde (3d ed. 1860), and Poèmes Bretons du Moyen-âge (1879). He also edited Le Gonidec's Dictionnaire Français-Breton (Saint-Brieuc, 1857).