André Caquot
(24 April 1923―31 August 2004)
We are sad to announce the death of André Caquot, an honorary life member of the IAHR.
Born in Épinal, André Caquot graduated from the École Normale Supérieure in 1948, subsequently spending time at the Institut français archéologique in Beirut (1949-52) and as a member of the Mission archéologique française in Ethiopia (1953-55). He returned to the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris to take up a teaching post (1955-56) before moving on to Strasbourg (faculté protestante) to a post in comparative Semitic religions (1957-60), and subsequently back to Paris, teaching Hebrew and Israelite religion at the Sorbonne (1964-68). In 1972 he was appointed to the chair of Hebrew and Aramaic at the Collège de France, where he remained until his retirement in 1994.
He was an active member of several learned societies (the Société asiatique, the Société des Études juives, the Société des Études renaniennes, and the Société française d’Histoire des Religions), holding offices in all, and becoming a member of the Institut de France (Académie des Inscriptions et Belles Lettres) in 1977. He was also the recipient of several honours: Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, Commandeur de l’Ordre national du Mérite, Commandeur de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques and Chevalier de l’Étoile d’Éthiopie.
Caquot’s publications spanned fifty-four years, ranging from the regular presentation of new Aramaic texts in Syria to a number of papers in Annales d’Éthiopie and RHPR, and discussions of the Deir Alla inscriptions, Qumran matters, and a number of thorny Ugaritic problems in various publications. He was a major contributor (collaborating with Sznycer, Herdner, de Tarragon and Cunchillos) to the two volumes of Textes ougaritiques, published by Cerf in 1974 and 1989. These remain important reference material for the translator of the Ugaritic texts. He also contributed to the History of Religions section of the Encyclopédie de la Pléiade (1970-72) and collaborated in the translation of Psalms and the 1 and 2 Samuel in the Traduction Œcuménique de la Bible (1996). His broad philological skills and intimate knowledge of a number of Semitic languages and epigraphy enabled him to offer nuanced and perceptive interpretations of many cruces across the range of materials covered by his publications.
Nicholas Wyatt
