It is an exceptional anniversary that has gone almost silently by the national press. And yet… Seven hundred years ago, the oldest Western literature competition was created in Toulouse. At the helm, seven bourgeois grouped within the Consistency of the Gay Saber, in other words the “Consistory of gay knowledge” (the latter expression being synonymous with poetry). Their stated objective: to restore its luster to the langue d’oc, which was experiencing a real decline at the start of the 14th century.
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History, the great one, is indeed beginning to do its work. A few decades earlier, the famous crusade against the Albigensians ended in the triumph of the king of France, allied with the pope. Philippe Auguste took advantage of his victory at the Battle of Muret in 1213 to recover the rich lands of the Count of Toulouse. Quickly, in the aptly named Languedoc, the courts that provided a living for the troubadours faded away. With this poetry competition, it is this trend that they sense is fatal for their culture that our seven bourgeois intend to oppose. And to make it clear, it is in oc – and not in Latin – that they launch their call for competition. May 3, 1324, was the big day: in front of a large crowd, a golden violet, Toulouse’s favorite flower (1), was given to the very first winner, Arnaud Vidal.
Some time later, in 1356, the Consistòri asked a Toulouse lawyer, Guilhem Molinier, to write a treatise on poetic art and rhetoric, entitled Las Leys d’amour (literally “the laws of love”, in other words the laws of language). This coding system, completely innovative for the time, offers the jury prosodic and linguistic criteria allowing it to prioritize the works presented to it. From there to seeing an equivalent of the French Academy, created three centuries later in Paris? It would be a quick job. Certainly, this treaty contributes to defining a form of “good usage”, but it does not lead to the creation of a dictionary nor to a standardization of the langue d’oc, only of its poetic translation.
Due to religious wars and epidemics, the competition was suspended on various occasions during the 16th and 17th centuries. But, in any case, it has lost its luster. It happens that the three days during which it takes place are devoted more to banqueting than to teasing the muses. Also, in 1694, Louis XIV took matters in hand. New members, new statutes, new name: here is “The Academy of Floral Games”.
From now on, French is the only one in the spotlight. “Language d’oc was not, however, formally excluded by the statutes, but, in fact, only works in French were sent to the jury,” specifies Philippe Dazet-Brun, the current permanent secretary of the Academy, co-director of a book on the incredible history of this competition (2). The explanation? At the end of the 17th century, French conquered most of the statuses formerly devolved to Latin: language of teaching, language of literature, language of administration and even, due to the Protestant Reformation, language of the sacred. The poets drew the consequences for themselves, especially since the movement had been underway since the 16th century. This explains the presence among the winners of Ronsard and, later, the young Victor Hugo. This also explains those of Chateaubriand, Voltaire or, more recently, Léopold Sédar Senghor among the “academicians” (the distant successors of the seven pioneers).
It was not until the end of the 19th century that Occitan found a place there – alongside French. A return that we owe in particular to the influence of the Provençal Frédéric Mistral – future Nobel Prize winner for literature – but also to Jean Jaurès, elected official from Toulouse and Occitan speaker himself. This will allow the jury to honor great poets in oc including Mistral himself and Bernard Manciet.
And today ? Not only does the Academy have the merit of still existing, but it is renewing itself. “We encourage young people to turn to poetry, in particular by intervening in schools, indicates Philippe Dazet-Brun. We are also opening the Academy to the French-speaking world. And of course, we remain faithful to our history by highlighting no only French, but also Occitan.” Because this language still counts in 2024 many poets and poets, among whom we can cite Franc Bardou, Eric Fraj, Paulina Kamakine, Aurélia Lassaque, Marilis Orionaa (3)…
Finally, you should know that a certain François Fabre from Carcassonne also appears on the list of honors of the venerable institution. This name means nothing to you ? It’s normal. On the other hand, if I tell you that the person concerned received as a reward not a violet, but a wild rose, you will no doubt guess who it is. It is in fact with his nickname that the author of the song “It’s raining, it’s raining, shepherdess” and the Republican calendar (Nivôse, Ventôse, Pluviôse, etc.) gained notoriety. A glory which did not prevent the poet, engaged in politics alongside Danton, from dying by guillotine on April 5, 1794. Proof that in Toulouse as in Rome, the Tarpeian rock can be close to the Capitol…
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(1) The choice of a flower refers to the Floral Games, the festivals celebrated in Rome in honor of the goddess Flora.
(2) Academy of Floral Games – 700 years of poetry, under the direction of Philippe Dazet-Brun, Amandine de Pérignon and Marie-Pierre Rey, Editions Cairn. You can also visit the exhibition Troubadours, langue d’oc and floral gameswhich is being held at the Study and Heritage Library until July 13.
(3) Forgive me to all those whom, due to lack of space, I do not have room to cite here.
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He is a distant heir of the troubadours who has just left us. Lyricist of Juliette Greco and Serge Reggiani, Henri Gougaud also became the herald of the history of Catharism and Occitan culture in his novels. He died on May 6 at the age of 88.
Mobilization against the suppression of The French-speaking bookstore on France Inter
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The new words of Robert and Larousse
“Climaticide”, “blind football”, “overtourism”, “eco-gesture”, “trottinettist”, “masculinism”… Like every year, 150 new words enter Robert and Larousse. With inevitable differences of choice. Thus, Robert accepts “tiktokeur” (person who publishes videos on TikTok) while Larousse prefers to remain cautious and check the lasting nature of this neologism. Likewise, the latter still does not admit “iel”, present in its competitor for the third year in a row.
Do we have to speak in French shrinkflation ?
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“Because there are no subhumans, there are no sublanguages”
This is one of the convictions of the artist Claude Sicre (Fabulous Trobadors, in particular), who is organizing this May 26 at Place Saint-Sernin in Toulouse his traditional “Forom of world languages”, dedicated to cultural diversity. An event which will focus in particular on the languages of France, but also on the French language and ancient languages.
An international conference on the linguistic rights of minorities
The 18th conference of the International Academy of Linguistic Law will be held from June 3 to 5, 2024 at the Faculty of Law on the University of Sherbrooke campus (Canada). Its theme will be “Law, languages, indigenous peoples, minorities, fragile majorities and governance”.
Do you know about Minority Language Eurovision?
No ? All the more reason to follow the 2024 edition which will take place on November 22 in Bastia and will be broadcast on France 3 Corse ViaStella. 13 artists, speaking in one of Europe’s minority languages, will participate. Applications must be submitted before July 1.
High school students from Aurillac have just developed a version of the famous board game in Occitan. An initiative which illustrates the dynamism of the Institute of Occitan Studies in Cantal, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
Acadia in the spotlight in Calvados
Several towns in Calvados will celebrate the 19th edition of “La Semaine Acadian” from August 7 to 15. A festival created to pay tribute to the Acadian soldiers who landed on June 6, 1944 on the beaches of Normandy. Various concerts and shows will be given by Acadian artists.
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Do emojis threaten the French language?
A laughing or crying face, a sun or an umbrella, a cat or a dog… Billions of emojis are exchanged every day via text messages. How are they designed? Who uses them? Do they constitute a language in their own right or do they threaten the French language? It is these questions – and a few others – that the France Inter program is interested in. Great good for us.
TO WATCH
These city names with Gallic origins
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