The French-Canadian Heritage in New England

Gerard J. Brault, 90, Edwin Erle Sparks Professor Emeritus of French and Medieval Studies at the Pennsylvania State University, died at Foxdale Village in State College February 5, 2020. Born in Chicopee Falls, Mass., on November 7, 1929, he was the son of the late Philias J. and Aline (Rémillard) Brault. His parents were immigrants of modest means from Lacolle, Quebec, in 1921.

He was a graduate of Assumption Prep and College in Worcester, Mass. He always believed that his ethnicity and education exerted a very positive influence on his life. He earned a master’s degree in French cum laude from Laval University, Quebec City, in 1952. He played varsity basketball in college and graduate school. In 1958 he was awarded a Ph.D. in romance languages from the University of Pennsylvania under the direction of Dr. William Roach.

In June 1948, while he was still in college, he joined the Massachusetts National Guard and, on Dec. 31, 1951, during the Korean War, he enlisted in the U.S. Army. During basic training at Fort Dix, N.J., he was awarded the Expert Shooting Badge in rifle. After 14 weeks schooling at Fort Holabird, Md., he proudly served 11 months in Europe as a special agent in the 66th Counter Intelligence Corps, mostly in its field office in La Rochelle, France. For his Army service he received the National Defense Service and the Good Conduct medals.

On Jan. 23, 1954, he married Jeanne L. Pepin in Assumption Catholic Church, Chicopee, Mass. They celebrated every day of their 66 years as a married couple.

Gerard taught French at Bowdoin College, then at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he also was vice dean of the graduate school. In 1965, he was appointed professor and head of the Department of French at Penn State, where he enjoyed the rest of his career. He was named Distinguished Professor of French and Medieval Studies in 1990, then Sparks Professor later the same year. He retired from Penn State on Dec. 31, 1997.

He wrote numerous books and articles about medieval French literature and, from 1985 to 1988, served as president of the Société Rencevals, an international organization for the advancement of romance epic studies. Among his most important works were his two-volume edition of the Song of Roland (1978), a landmark literary analysis and modern English translation of the poem; Early Blazon, (1972); and his 1997 The Rolls of Arms of Edward I (1272-1207). The latter earned him the Riquer Prize of the Académie Internationale d’Héraldique and the Bickersteth Medal of the Institute of Heraldic and Genealogical Studies. His book, The French-Canadian Heritage in New England (1986), demonstrated his great interest in his forebears and their descendants in the Northeast, and is treasured by his family.

He was awarded France’s Ordre des Palmes Académiques and Ordre National du Mérite, both with the rank of officer. In 1976, Assumption College conferred an honorary degree on him, and at Penn State, he was elected a Fellow of the Institute for the Arts and Humanities in 1976.