Raymond Mentzer, the Daniel J. Krumm Family Chair in Reformation Studies at the University of Iowa, has spent decades poring over difficult-to-read manuscripts dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries as part of his pioneering research into French Protestantism. His dedicated work has not gone unnoticed in France.

The French government has named Mentzer a knight in the Order of Academic Palms for his service and contributions to French education and culture. He will be decorated as a Chevalier de l’Ordre des Palmes académiques on June 12 in Paris at the École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE), one of France’s most respected research institutions. Bernard Roussel, a retired professor at the EPHE, originally submitted Mentzer’s name for the honor, and current EPHE faculty advocated on Mentzer’s behalf during the French Ministry of Education’s selection process.

The Order of Academic Palms was founded by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1808 to honor French university professors for their accomplishments in teaching, scholarship, and research. In 1866, the award also was extended to non-educators. In 1955, three ranks were established within the order: Chevalier (knight), Officier, and Commandeur, with appointment extended to non-French nationals for their contributions. It is the oldest non-military decoration France bestows.

Mentzer joins at least four other UI faculty and alumni to have received this prestigious distinction, including Downing Thomas, current associate provost and dean of international programs, who was appointed to the order in 2005. Bryan Watkins (BA French ’91, teaching certificate ’92) was knighted in 2004, and emeritus professors Jacques Bourgeacq and Rick Altman were decorated by the French government in 1999 and 1984, respectively.

Iowa Now caught up with Mentzer shortly after he learned of his appointment by the French Ministry of Education.

What were your thoughts upon receiving the notification that you had been appointed?

I was thrilled. It is an honor to be in the company of those previously afforded this distinction. For me to be recognized by my French colleagues, who shepherded my candidacy through the Ministry of Education’s selection process, is to know I have earned their respect over the years. It is deeply gratifying.

What initially inspired you to study French reformation?

When I was in college as an undergraduate, I spent a year in Paris studying at Sciences Po (Paris Institute of Political Studies) and enjoyed it thoroughly. I fell in love with France and French culture.

When I went to graduate school, I was interested in doing something with French history. At that same time, the Ecumenical movement (promoting unity among the world’s Christian churches) was prominent. It seemed to me that if we were trying to bring these divergent groups back together again, it might be interesting to know how they split in the first place. That led me to study French Protestantism.

My doctoral research was on the arrest, trial, and execution of protestants by the French crown in the first half of the 16th century. From that I moved to the study of the Huguenots themselves. I’ve studied their family structures and their strategies for survival in a very hostile environment.

How have you conducted your research, and what have you been able to learn?

For the last roughly 20 years, I have specialized in the investigation of manuscripts that have to do with social discipline and Reformed consistories in France. Consistories were in some ways moral courts presided over by pastors and elders.

These manuscripts provide great insights into people’s behavior. It’s about as close as you’re going to get to people who, for the most part, could neither read nor write and whose voice has otherwise been lost. It’s filtered through the educated pastor and elders, but it allows us to glimpse ordinary people’s lives, what their problems were, and how they dealt with those problems.

Considering the French government views this work as a significant contribution to their education and culture, why does this research stand out?

I’ve been working with these manuscripts now for a number of decades, and a lot of what I work with very few other scholars have ever looked at.

These manuscripts are not easy to read. It’s the handwriting, which is much different than you would have today. It takes years of practice. We don’t always have that luxury in the academic world. The UI has given me a wonderful opportunity to pursue this, and I will be forever grateful to the university for it.

In what other ways has the UI supported your research?

The kind of research I do would be almost impossible to undertake in the United States. You have to go to France where the manuscripts are located. I have tried over the years to use microfilms or to take digital images. Those work, but not as well as being there and working your way through the documents. You need to be able to go to France on a regular basis, and the university has afforded that opportunity.

In addition, I have wonderful colleagues here in Religious Studies, in History, in the French department, and across the campus. They are interested in the sort of research in which I am engaged, and we have wonderful intellectual exchanges. It takes a major research institution to have those kinds of people as your colleagues.

How do you use your research in the classroom?

The UI has allowed me to specialize in teaching exactly the thing that I want to teach. It gives me focus. It has been helpful for me to be able to pique my students’ interest by suggesting the things that I’ve discovered in looking at the historical past through church documents.

Altogether, I have had or currently have about a dozen PhD students, and about half of them have studied French topics. A number of them have actually undertaken the close, archival manuscript research that I’ve engaged in. They’ve done some remarkable things. To pass this on to the next generation is very rewarding.