Anchored in Ink: Pierre-Philippe Potier’s Elementa Grammaticae Huronicae (1745), a Jesuit grammar of Wendat

The French Jesuit Pierre-Philippe Potier (1708–1781) dedicated many hours in New France mission settlements to writing notes in various prebound books, a number of which recorded information about the Wendat language. Following in the footsteps of his predecessors, he aimed to teach religious doctrine to Native Wendat people and to pass on linguistic key information to his successors. These manuscripts have survived, making them particularly interesting study objects to learn more about early modern missionary linguistics in New France. Potier produced a Wendat grammar, which he entitled Elementa Grammaticae Huronicae, and of which two similar autograph copies in folio are extant. This roundtable presents an annotated transcription of the Elementa, accompanied by a number of explanatory chapters zooming in on the historical context, the language and the structure of the grammar.