05.01.01 Siepee’s Monastery
46th Clip - Title: Finding Monks - (04:03 mins - 4:18:20 hours)
This first clip of chapter 5 is posted to give more recognition to Etienne de Fay, one of the earliest deaf teacher of the deaf in history. Even though the history of deaf education began in Spain in the 1500’s, barring more discoveries might be made, the world’s first deaf teacher of the deaf was probably Etienne de Fay from France. More on him below.
Enjoy the first clip of Siepee’s Monastery where VisMa, flying westward, sought help to raise the Deaf Child.
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Deaf History Commentary: In this clip VisMa observed one monastery, convinently put together as one in the myth, which actually are several monasteries, first in Spain and then in France (possibly other places).
The world knew that the first teacher of the Deaf was Abbe de l’ Epee, partly the namesake of the title of this chapter. As Bernard Truffaut reported in his research, Etienne de Fay actually taught deaf students some 40 years before Epee started teaching the deaf (focus of the next clip, 05.02). Here is what we know of our first deaf teacher.
Etienne de Fay was born deaf around 1669, apparently from a noble family. At the age of 5, he was placed in the Abbey of Saint-Jean d’ Amiens where he stayed for the rest of his life. In the abbey (or monastery) de Fay learned reading, writing, arithmetic, mechanic drawing, architecture, a remarkable feat for a deaf person at that time. There are written testimonies that he was skilled in communicating with sign language (remember that was some 50 years before Epee in Paris). When the abbey expanded, he drew architectural plans on which portions were built. The walls and the plans survived today.
Several deaf children were placed under the tutelage of Etienne de Fay. The first glimmer of deaf history began when a famous deaf person, Azy d’Etavigny, was first taught by de Fay before going on to become the pupil of the famous French oralist, Jacob Periere. The venerated Abbe de l’ Epee knew of Periere and his famous pupil and started the world’s first public school for the deaf around the same time (the main focus of chapter 5 - Siepee’s Monastery).
There is a deaf history organization based in Orleans, France named Association Etienne de Fay. Click here to go to their website.
Bibliography:
Truffaut, Bernard. (1993) Etienne de Fay and the History of the Deaf. From Fischer and Lane (editors) Looking Back: A Reader of Deaf Communities and Their Sign language. Hamburg: Germany. Signum Press. pages 13 - 24.