EMILE THEODORE LEON GAUTIER (1832-1897), French literary historian, was born at Havre on the 8th of August 1832. He was educated at the Ecole des Chartes, and became successively keeper of the archives of the department of Haute-Marne and of the imperial archives at Paris under the empire. In 1871 he became professor of palaeography at the Ecole des Chartes. He was elected member of the Academy of Inscriptions in 1887, and became chief of the historical section of the national archives in 1893. Leon Gautier rendered great services to the study of early French literature, the most important of his numerous works on medieval subjects being a critical text (Tours, 1872) with translation and introduction of the Chanson de Roland, and Les Epopees franraises (3 vols., 1866-1867; 2nd ed., 5 vols., 1878-1897, including a Bibliographic des chansons de geste). He died in Paris on the 25th of August 1897.