Lejay, Guy-Michel (Guido Michael Lejay)

Guy-Michel Lejay (1588 – July 10, 1674) was a French lawyer, scholar, philologist, and ecclesiastic best known for financing and overseeing the publication of the monumental Paris Polyglot Bible (1628 - 1645), also known as the Lejay Bible. Born in 1588, Lejay trained in law and developed an interest in ancient and Oriental languages, although his own linguistic abilities were reportedly limited. A wealthy advocate, he revived an ambitious project originally conceived by Cardinal Jacques Davy du Perron, the historian Jacques-Auguste de Thou, and the Orientalist François Savary de Brèves to produce a multilingual edition of the Bible. Beginning in 1628, Lejay assembled a distinguished team of scholars, including the Oratorian Jean Morin, the converted Jewish scholar Philippe d'Aquin, Godefroi Hermant, and several Maronite scholars from Lebanon. He engaged the royal printer Antoine Vitré to undertake production, employing specially cast Hebrew, Samaritan, Syriac, and Arabic types, some produced by the celebrated typefounder Jacques Sanlecque. Despite repeated delays arising from ecclesiastical opposition, scholarly disagreements, and disputes among his collaborators, the magnificent nine-volume work, bound in ten enormous folio volumes, was completed in 1645. Celebrated as a masterpiece of seventeenth-century typography, the Paris Polyglot included the first printed edition of the Syriac Old Testament and represented one of the most ambitious scholarly publishing enterprises of its age. Its extraordinary production costs, however, consumed much of Lejay's fortune and left him heavily indebted. Cardinal Richelieu reportedly offered to reimburse his expenses in exchange for having the work associated with his own name, but Lejay refused. He likewise declined an opportunity to sell a substantial number of copies to English buyers at a discount, inadvertently encouraging the publication of Brian Walton's competing London Polyglot (1654 - 1657), which further undermined the commercial prospects of his edition. In recognition of his achievement, Lejay received confirmation of his nobility and was appointed a royal councilor in 1646. Having subsequently entered the priesthood, he was appointed dean of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine at Vézelay in Burgundy in 1647. He lost his position on the Council of State during its reorganization in 1657, although Cardinal Mazarin reportedly granted him financial assistance. Lejay died on July 10, 1674, aged 86, having devoted much of his fortune and seventeen years of his life to a publishing achievement that secured his scholarly reputation but brought him financial ruin.