Victor Chauvin
Born in 1844 and died in 1913, Victor Chauvin held the chair of Arabic at the University of Liège from 1872 to 1913. Trained as a lawyer before turning to the study of Arabic languages, he was an influential scholar of his time. In particular, he expanded the teaching of Muslim culture to include courses on law and the history of the Ancient East. An insatiable bibliophile, throughout his life he acquired a rich collection of Arab and Arab-related books and manuscripts.
From 1885 until his death, he continued to publish a Bibliographie des ouvrages arabes ou relatifs aux Arabes published in Christian Europe from 1810 to 1885. This twelve-volume bibliography, which won him international acclaim from his peers, was awarded the Prix Rouveroy and the Prix de l'Académie de Paris. He frequented orientalists all over the world and took part in several congresses (Vienna, Stockholm, London, Geneva). In addition to this considerable publication, his research interests have spanned a wide range of fields, including literature (particularly the Thousand and One Nights), Islamology, law, folklore and history.
With a keen interest in folklore as an important heritage, he also served as secretary and then vice-president of the Société liégeoise de Littérature wallonne (Liège Society for Walloon Literature), making him one of the first Walloon militants.
