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Literary notes about doyen (AI summary)

In literature, “doyen” is frequently used to denote a person who stands as the acknowledged senior or most respected member of a group. Authors employ the term to confer an air of authority and venerability, whether referring to a leading figure in a professional field—as with Mrs. Denton being described as the doyen of women journalists [1]—or to mark the eminence of an individual within more specialized circles, such as the artistic community [2] or the Papal Conclave [3]. In varied narratives, the word often bridges the literal and the figurative, suggesting not only age and experience but also a deep-rooted legacy that defines the identity of a community or profession.
  1. Mrs. Denton was the doyen of women journalists.
    — from All Roads Lead to Calvary by Jerome K. (Jerome Klapka) Jerome
  2. Jean Ver Vloet, the doyen of the artists of Malines, died October 27th, 1869, after a long and successful artistic career.
    — from Vanished towers and chimes of Flanders by George Wharton Edwards
  3. Cardinal Vanutelli, the doyen of the Papal Conclave, has had the misfortune to break his conclave.
    — from Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 147, September 16, 1914 by Various

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