The son of a merchant from the Ostrobothnian coastal town of Rauma, Arthur Långfors orientated himself to French culture through his university studies both in Helsinki and Paris. His mentor in Finland was Werner Söderhjelm. In his doctoral thesis, he tackled mediaeval French with a focus on the works of one Huon, a thirteenth-century nobleman from Cambrai in northern France:  Li Regrés Nostre Dame, par Huon le Roi de Cambrai, publié d'après tous les manuscrits connus was published in 1907. Having completed his doctorate, he continued with his manuscript studies.

Långfors developed his own editorial methods for classifying the mediaeval manuscripts under consideration; this meant that an authentic edition could only be arrived at by trusting the scholar’s own instincts and critical acumen. Långfors emerged as a significant international interpreter and publisher of mediaeval manuscripts. He was invited to join various European learned societies and academies.

It is above all thanks to Långfors that the French poet Gautier de Coincy was raised from certain obscurity. The task of publishing Gautier’s oeuvre was carried on by Långfors’ students and colleagues in Finland and abroad. Besides separate text editions, the French periodical Romania and the Finnish journal Neuphilologische Mitteilungen served as means to publish Gautier’s manuscripts. And a community of scholars formed around Gautier de Coincy, with Långfors as primus motor, not least in his active role within the Helsinki-based Uusfiloginen yhdistys (‘Modern Language society’) and his lengthy tenure as editor of the Neuphilologische Mitteilungen.

With Finnish independence Långfors carried out diplomatic duties in both Madrid and Paris. He was also the Finnish representative at numerous congressional sessions abroad. He served as professor of Romance Language Philology between 1925 and 1951.

Långfors did not shy away from academic administration. He was dean of the Division for History and Language Sciences at the University between 1932 and 1943, then vice-rector for the following two years before becoming rector in 1945. A defender of tolerance and critic of nationalism, he was a particularly valued authority figure in the postwar years. As rector he was particularly mindful of the need to retain the posts of his colleagues amidst the deteriorating prospects for scholarship during the war years and after. Långfors retired in 1951. His last years were somewhat overshadowed by illness, which prevented him continuing with his scholarly work.

References and further information

• Matti Klinge, Rainer Knapas, Anto Leikola & John Strömberg: Helsingin yliopisto 1640–1990, osa III: Helsingin yliopisto 1917–1990. Otava 1990.
• H. K. Riikonen, Långfors, Arthur (1881–1959). National Biography of Finland online. Suomalaisen Kirjallisuuden Seura. Accessed April 9, 2015.(available gratis via Nelli)
• Arthur Långfors, ’Une paraphrase anonyme de l’Ave Maria en ancien français’, Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 6/1905. Accessed April 10, 2015
• Wikipedia, Arthur Långfors. Accessed April 10, 2015