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Biography of Romain Rolland

His life

1866
January 29: Birth of Romain Edme Paul-Émile Rolland at 4 Rue de l’Hospice, Clamecy, France. He was the son of Émile Rolland, a notary, and Antoinette Marie Courot.
1868
Birth of Madeleine, Romain’s first sister of that name.
1871
June: Death of Madeleine, a loss that deeply affected his mother.
1872
Birth of Madeleine, Romain’s second sister of that name.
1873–1880
Excellent studies at the College of Clamecy through the equivalent of secondary school.
September: Sale of his father's notarial office. The family moves to Paris, first to 16 Rue de Tournon, then to 31 Rue Monge.
1881–1882
Studies at Lycée Saint-Louis (literature and philosophy).
1882
September: Stay in Allevard, Switzerland, and first contact with the country that would later play a major role in his life.
1882–1886
Studies at Lycée Louis-le-Grand in preparation for the entrance examination to the École Normale Supérieure.
Discovers Spinoza, Shakespeare, and Victor Hugo. Music becomes increasingly important, especially Mozart, Beethoven, Berlioz, and Wagner, whom he discovers through Paul Claudel.
1885
The Rolland family moves to 13 Rue Michelet.
Death of his paternal grandmother.
May 22: Death of Victor Hugo. Rolland attends the funeral on June 1.
1886
March: Discovers Tolstoy through reading War and Peace.
July: Admitted to the École Normale Supérieure.
1886–1889
Student at the École Normale Supérieure.
Forms friendships with André Suarès and Georges Mille. Frequently attends concerts with Paul Claudel and Suarès. Reads extensively and prepares degrees in literature and history.
December 26: Visits Ernest Renan.
1887
Begins a correspondence with Leo Tolstoy.
1889
August: Places eighth in the national history examination and becomes a member of the French School at Rome.
1889–1891
His “Roman Spring.”
Lives in Rome, where he befriends Malwida von Meysenbug and meets Sofia Guerrieri-Gonzaga. Works in the Vatican Archives.
Discovers the masterpieces of Leonardo da Vinci, Fra Angelico, Botticelli, Raphael, and Michelangelo.
1890
March: Experiences what he later calls the “Illumination of the Janiculum” and conceives the idea of a major novel.
August 10: Develops his theory of the “musical novel” in a letter to Malwida von Meysenbug.
1891
July: Travels to Bayreuth with Malwida von Meysenbug.
1892
April 11: Meets Clotilde Bréal.
October 31: Marries her. The couple settles at 76 Rue Notre-Dame-des-Champs in Paris.
November: Returns to Rome to gather material for his doctoral theses.
1893–1895
Works on his doctoral dissertations while teaching at Lycée Henri-IV and Lycée Louis-le-Grand.
1895
April: Travels through Belgium and the Netherlands, discovering Flemish painting, including Van Eyck, Rubens, and Rembrandt.
June 19: Receives his doctorate in literature.
Develops an interest in socialism.
October: Appointed lecturer in Art History at the École Normale Supérieure.
1896
A year marked by discouragement.
July–September: Travels in Germany.
1897
Travels to Italy.
1898
Begins collaborating with the Revue d’Art Dramatique.
1900
July: Organizes, with Jules Combarieu, the First International Congress of Music History in Paris.
1901
January: Co-founds the Revue d’Histoire et de Critique Musicale, which later becomes La Revue Musicale.
February: Divorces Clotilde Bréal and returns to live with his parents.
April: Travels to Mainz for a Beethoven festival.
August–September: Visits St. Moritz and reunites with Sofia Guerrieri-Gonzaga.
1902
Teaches music history and lectures at the School of Social Studies.
Travels to Italy and Switzerland.
1903
Spends most of his summer in Switzerland, where he writes extensively.
1904
Begins teaching Music History at the Sorbonne.
1905
Conflict with Charles Péguy concerning the publication of Jean-Christophe.
December 1: Receives the Prix de la Vie Heureuse.
1906
Travels to Germany and England.
Meets Alphonse de Châteaubriant, beginning a lifelong friendship.
1907
Travels through Italy, Spain, and Alsace.
1910
Another year of discouragement.
October 27: Injured in a traffic accident.
November 20: Death of Tolstoy.
During his recovery he rereads Tolstoy and plans a major study of his work.
1911
Convalescence in Italy.
1912
Travels in Italy.
Resigns from the Sorbonne.
1913
Corresponds with Helena Van Brugh de Kay (“Thalie”).
Receives the Grand Literary Prize of the Académie Française.
Visits Clamecy and the Morvan region.
1914
Develops a deep attachment to Thalie.
June: In Switzerland.
August: Outbreak of World War I.
October: Settles in Geneva and works for the International Prisoners-of-War Agency.
1915
Thalie returns to America.
Breaks with Louis Gillet.
1916
Collaborates with Henri Guilbeaux’s review Demain.
November 13: Awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for 1915. He donates the prize money to charitable causes.
1917
Receives his first letter from Maxim Gorky.
1919
Returns to France shortly before the death of his mother.
1920
Witnesses the political split between French socialists and communists at the Congress of Tours.
1921
Begins a lasting friendship and correspondence with Panait Istrati.
Meets Rabindranath Tagore.
1922
Moves to Villa Olga in Villeneuve, Switzerland.
Develops a growing interest in India and non-violence.
1923
Begins corresponding with Maria Koudacheva.
Supports the creation of the review Europe.
Visits Stefan Zweig in Salzburg.
1924
Travels through Austria and Prague.
Visits Sigmund Freud.
Publicly denounces Mussolini’s fascism.
1925
Travels in Germany.
Refuses to support Count Coudenhove-Kalergi’s Pan-European movement.
1926
Celebrates his sixtieth birthday with international tributes.
Meets Jawaharlal Nehru.
Holds extensive discussions with Rabindranath Tagore.
1927
Supports Henri Barbusse’s anti-fascist appeal.
Attends the Beethoven centenary celebrations in Vienna.
1929
Maria Koudacheva joins him in Villeneuve to prepare a Russian edition of his works.
1930
Increasingly defends Soviet Russia.
Breaks with Panait Istrati.
Has his final meeting with Tagore.
1931
Death of his father.
December: Holds important conversations with Mahatma Gandhi.
1932
Co-organizes the World Congress Against Imperialist War in Amsterdam.
Elected honorary member of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.
1933
Strongly denounces Hitler’s fascism.
Refuses the Goethe Medal awarded by Germany.
Becomes honorary president of the International Anti-Fascist Committee.
1934
April 28: Marries Maria Koudacheva.
1935
Travels to Moscow.
Meets Joseph Stalin and stays with Maxim Gorky.
1936
National celebrations mark his seventieth birthday.
Deeply affected by Gorky’s death.
Supports the Spanish Republicans during the Spanish Civil War.
1937
Purchases a house in Vézelay.
Opposes André Gide’s criticism of the Soviet Union.
1938
Settles permanently in Vézelay.
Protests against the Munich Agreement.
1939
Condemns the German invasion of Czechoslovakia.
Resigns from the Association of Friends of the Soviet Union after the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
1940
Completes his Memoirs and The Inner Journey.
Renews contact with Paul Claudel.
1942
Reconciles with Louis Gillet.
1943
Suffers a serious illness.
Receives visits from Paul Claudel and close friends.
1944
Despite illness, rereads and meditates on the Gospels.
November 7: Attends a reception at the Soviet Embassy commemorating the October Revolution.
December 30: Death of Romain Rolland.
1945
January 2: Religious funeral service held in Clamecy.
Sources
J.-P. Beaumarchais, Danielle Couty, Alain Rey, Dictionnaire des littératures de langue française, Vol. 3, Bordas, 1984.
Bernard Duchatelet, “Romain Rolland”, pp. 1958–1968.

His works

1877–1879

Writes several novels, which he later destroys, and a three-act verse tragedy, The Wedding of Attila (Les Noces d’Attila), of which only a few fragments survive.

1882

Begins keeping his Journal (Diary).

1887–1888

Develops his Credo quia verum (“I believe because it is true”).

1888

August–October: Writes several fictional works, including Artists (Artistes, fragments, unpublished) and Children’s Love(Amour d’enfants, unpublished novella).

1890

May: Writes Roman Spring (Mai romain), of which fragments survive.

During his holidays in Paris, he works on his first plays:

  • Empedocles (Empédocle) (August–December)

  • Orsino (September–December)

Both remained unpublished.

1891

October: Works on The Baglioni (Les Baglioni), an unpublished play.

Also works on Niobe (Niobé), which remains unpublished.

1892

Publishes The Last Trial of Louis Berquin (Le Dernier Procès de Louis Berquin) in the Mélanges d’archéologie et d’histoire of the French School at Rome.

1893–1895

Attempts unsuccessfully to stage several plays:

  • Caligula (written 1892–1893)

  • The Siege of Mantua (Le Siège de Mantoue) (written January–June 1894)

  • Saint Louis (written September 1894–August 1895)

1895

Publishes his two doctoral theses with E. Thorin:

  • The Origins of Modern Lyric Theatre: History of Opera before Lully and Scarlatti

  • Cur ars picturae apud Italos XVI saeculi deciderit (On the Decline of Italian Painting in the Sixteenth Century)

1896

Works on Savonarola (fragments published in Europe in January 1955) and Jeanne de Piennes (unpublished).

August: Begins work on Aërt.

1897

Continues writing Aërt and starts The Vanquished (Les Vaincus), which remains unfinished.

Saint Louis is published in the Revue de Paris.

1898

March: Writes The Wolves (Les Loups).

May 3: Aërt is performed at the Théâtre de l’Œuvre and published in the Revue d’Art Dramatique.

May 18: The Wolves is staged under the title Morituri at the Théâtre de l’Œuvre and published under the pseudonym Saint-Just by Georges Bellais.

October: Writes The Triumph of Reason (Le Triomphe de la Raison).

November: Writes Danton.

1899

Works on several plays typical of the period:

  • Madame de Montespan (La Montespan)

  • The Three Lovers (Les Trois Amoureuses)

June 21: The Triumph of Reason is performed at the Théâtre de l’Œuvre and published in the Revue d’Art Dramatique.

1899–1900

Danton is published in the Revue d’Art Dramatique.

1900

Begins work on the “Cycle of the Revolution” and writes The Fourteenth of July (Le Quatorze-Juillet) between May and October.

July: Publishes “The Idealist Poison” (Le Poison idéaliste) in the Revue d’Art Dramatique.

December: Danton is performed at the Cercle des Escholiers.

1901

May 15: Publishes “Beethoven Festivals in Mainz” in the Revue de Paris.

1902

March 21: The Fourteenth of July is staged at the Théâtre de la Renaissance and published in Les Cahiers de la Quinzaine.

Publication in London by Duckworth of François Millet (in English).

1903

January 24: Life of Beethoven (Vie de Beethoven) published in Les Cahiers de la Quinzaine.

March 10: The Time Will Come (Le Temps viendra) published.

November 16: The People's Theatre (Le Théâtre du peuple) published.

1903–1912

Writes Jean-Christophe and develops the project for a cycle entitled Lives of Illustrious Men.

1904

Begins research on Michelangelo.

Publishes Madame de Montespan in the Revue d’Art Dramatique.

Publishes Dawn (L’Aube) and Morning (Le Matin), first in Les Cahiers de la Quinzaine, then with Ollendorff.

1905

Publishes Michelangelo.

Publishes The Three Lovers.

Publishes The Adolescent (L’Adolescent).

1906

Publishes The Life of Michelangelo and The Revolt (La Révolte).

1908

Publishes:

  • Musicians of Today (Musiciens d’aujourd’hui)

  • Musicians of Yesterday (Musiciens d’autrefois)

  • Antoinette

  • The Fair in the Square (La Foire sur la place)

1909

Publishes The Theatre of the Revolution, including:

  • The Fourteenth of July

  • Danton

  • The Wolves

Publishes In the House (Dans la maison).

1910

Publishes Handel (Haendel) and Friends (Les Amies).

1911

Publishes The Life of Tolstoy (Vie de Tolstoï) and The Burning Bush (Le Buisson ardent).

1912

Begins his regular column in the Bibliothèque universelle et Revue suisse.

Publishes The Humble Heroic Life (L’Humble Vie héroïque).

Publishes the final volume of Jean-Christophe: The New Dawn (La Nouvelle Journée).

1913

Works on Colas Breugnon.

1914

Completes the manuscript of Colas Breugnon.

Publishes several articles in the Journal de Genève, including:

  • “Open Letter to Gerhart Hauptmann”

  • “Inter Arma Caritas”

  • “Above the Battle” (Au-dessus de la mêlée)

  • “The Idols”

1915

Publishes Above the Battle.

1916

Publishes:

  • “To the Eternal Antigone”

  • “To the Murdered Peoples”

in the journal Demain.

1917

Publishes “To Free and Liberating Russia.”

1918

Works on Liluli and Clérambault.

Publishes “For the International of the Mind.”

Publishes Empedocles of Agrigentum and the Age of Hatred.

1919

Publishes the “Declaration of the Independence of the Mind.”

Publishes:

  • Colas Breugnon

  • Liluli

  • Musical Journey into the Land of the Past

  • The Precursors (Les Précurseurs)

1920

Publishes:

  • Clérambault: The Story of a Free Conscience During the War

  • Pierre and Luce

  • Selected Pages of Romain Rolland

1921

Publishes The Revolt of the Machines.

Begins work on The Enchanted Soul (L’Âme enchantée).

1922

Publishes Annette and Sylvie and The Vanquished.

1923

Publishes the article series “Mahatma Gandhi” in the journal Europe.

1924

Publishes:

  • Mahatma Gandhi

  • Summer (L’Été)

Begins writing parts of The Inner Journey (Le Voyage intérieur).

1925

Publishes The Game of Love and Death (Le Jeu de l’amour et de la mort).

1926

Publishes Flowering Easter (Pâques fleuries).

1927

Publishes Mother and Son (Mère et fils).

1928

January 29: The Game of Love and Death is performed at the Odéon Theatre.

Publishes:

  • The Leonids (Les Léonides)

  • From the Heroic to the Appassionata (De l’Héroïque à l’Appassionata)

1929

Publishes Essay on the Mysticism of Action and Living India: The Life of Ramakrishna.

1930

Publishes:

  • The Life of Vivekananda and the Universal Gospel

  • Goethe and Beethoven

1931

Publishes:

  • “Europe, Enlarge Yourself or Perish!”

  • “Farewell to the Past”

1933

Publishes The Annunciator (L’Annonciatrice).

1935

Publishes:

  • Fifteen Years of Struggle (Quinze ans de combat)

  • Through Revolution, Peace (Par la Révolution, la Paix)

1936

Publishes Fellow Travellers (Compagnons de route).

1937

Publishes The Song of Resurrection (Le Chant de la Résurrection).

1938

Publishes:

  • Valmy

  • The Immortal Pages of Rousseau

1939

Publishes “Mourning over Europe” (Deuil sur l’Europe).

July 5: The Game of Love and Death is performed at the Comédie-Française.

Publishes Robespierre.

1942

Publishes The Inner Journey (Le Voyage intérieur).

Works on Péguy.

1943

Publishes Volumes I and II of The Interrupted Cathedral (La Cathédrale interrompue).

November: Completes Péguy.

1945

Posthumous publication of:

  • Péguy (Albin Michel)

  • The Interrupted Cathedral, Volume III (La Cathédrale interrompue III)

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