GIRY, JEAN-MARIE-JOSEPH-ARTHUR. — French historian and diplomatist, born at Trévoux (Ain) on 29 Feb. 1848, died in Paris on 13 Nov. 1899. After taking part in the Franco-Prussian War of ’70, he became an archivist in the national archives (1871) and soon distinguished himself through various studies on the juridical and economic institutions of the Middle Ages, later becoming professor at the École des Chartes (1885).
Among his works are to be noted the *Histoire de la ville de St-Omer et de ses institutions jusqu’au XIVe siècle* (Paris 1877); *Documents sur les relations de la royauté avec les villes en France de 1180 à 1314* (2 vols., ibid. 1883–85); and the *Manuel de diplomatique* (ibid. 1894, reprinted ibid. 1925), which remains a standard work to this day. He compiled two series of publications relating to the Carolingians.
He died of grief and anxiety following the Dreyfus Affair.