Occitan is a Romance language which developed from Vulgar Latin, a term which covers the vernacular dialects spoken in the western provinces of the Roman empire. Its first documented use was in the the ninth century. Although Occitan like modern-day French developed from the same Latin source, the two languages are not the same. It is important to note that historically, at the height of Occitan’s prominence, the region was larger than any traditional French- speaking area, containing within it many different dialects.
In his little known work, "On the Eloquence of Vernacular", the great Italian poet Dante distinguished three vernacular languages: lingua d’oil (French) lingua d’oc (Occitan), and lingua de si (Italian). These were distinct from Latin which at the time was the language of the educated elite and heavily reliant on rules and structure. In contrast, vernacular discourse is the spoken form of the language used everyday or by the common people. It may include slang, idioms and non-standard forms. For Dante these vernacular languages had their own unique appeal and should be celebrated, linguistic variety being the spice-of-life. Nowadays, dialects of Occitan remain in isolated pockets of southern France, Occitanie, and Catalonia. The more famous Catalalonian language, centred around Barcelona in Spain, is a sister dialect of Occitan.
When Rome ruled over western Europe, France was named Gallia Lugdunensis, in the north, and Gallia Narbonensis in the south. From 200 AD, the communities of south-western Gallia were referred to as Aquitani by the Romans. Occitania was referred to as Gullia Aquitania, as one of seven southern French provinces, including Limousin, Auergne, Provence, Languedoc and Gascony. There were six regional varieties of the written and spoken language, one of these being Provençal. This resulted in the divergence of similar but distinct dialects. Although the whole region as a kingdom or country was never again unified, a common culture prevailed. From this region, a language and culture permeated out from its territorial borders across the continent and spread eventually across the world. This was the music and lyric poetry of the troubabours.
Who were the troubadours?
They were poet-musicians who created the high lyric tradition that remains with us today. They wrote independant compositions of words set to music in their own vernacular. In an age before the publishing industry, or even organised public theatre, many troubadours travelled from court to court, putting on performances of lavish spectacle and music and poetic entertainment. Among their ranks and associates were not just singer-songwriters, but Kings (Richard Cœur de Lion), castellans (governors of castles), noblemen and women, commoners, minstrels and merchants.
The famous American poet, Ezra Pound, had a particular fascination with the work of the troubadours and his translations give you a flavour of their lyric style:
Per amor del belh temps suau
E quar fin amor men somo
(For love of the fair time and soft
And because fine love calls me to it)
(Trans by Ezra Pound)
The troubadours had a performance circuit throughout Languedoc, Provence and Auvergne. Like the modern-day rock stars on tour, they turned up at one particular venue and were then on to the next. It is said that specially chosen troubadours accompanied Eleanor of Aquitaine on frequent journeys to the courts of her children in northern France. They even journeyed over the Pyrenees to the Iberian kingdoms and across the Alps to northern Italy. So the network stretched from the River Loire, to Spain, down to the Mediterranean sea. As a result, their style of music and song spread throughout the rest of medieval Europe and influenced generations of writers.
Longa saison ai estat vas amor
Humils e francs, y ai faich son coman.
(For a long time have I stood toward love
Humble and frank, and have done his commands)
(Trans by Ezra Pound)
Fin'Amor
The troubadours gave expression to the medieval cult of courtly love, known in Occitan as fin'amor, the most refined and valued type of love. The troubadours rarified romantic musings sat alongside moral and satirical verse, with mimircry and gestures thrown in the manner of modern-day actors, or spoken-word artists. Their music and lyrics were fresh and innovatory and had a profound influence on the mainstream literature of the day.
The great Florentine poet Guido Cavalcanti, a friend and influence on Dante, emulated the troubadour style in his own Italian lyric poetry. For his part, Dante honoured the Occitan language by including it in The Divine Comedy. This great Christian epic, one of the great masterpieces of world literature, was written in Italian. Apart from Latin, Occitan is the only other language which appears in it - a measure of Dante's regard for the language. On the Iberian peninsula, the troubadour tradition flourished in Portugal and Galicia; in Catalonia, troubadours continued to write in the Provençal language well into the 14th century. In France, the lyric poetry of the troubadours influenced the trouvères, poet-musicians who worked in the north of the country and wrote in French. It is fair to say that the Occitan language, in all its dialectal varieties, had a profound effect on medieval literature, society and culture.
Alba
An alba, (Provençal: “dawn”) is a song of lament for lovers forced to part at dawn to the accompanient of a nightingale's song. Sorrow at parting is blended with a large dose fear - there is the possibility of discovery by a father or husband or even a jealous love-rival. Luckily, however, a helpful guard is on hand to warn the lovers that the hour to depart has come.
Quan lo rosinhols escria
ab sa part la nueg e.l dia,
yeu suy ab ma bell'amia
jos la flor,
tro la gaita de la tor
escria: "Drutz, al levar!
Qu'ieu vey l'alba e.l jorn clar.
(When the nightingale to his mate
Sings day-long and night late
My love and I keep state
In bower,
In flower,
‘til the watchman on the tower
Cry: “Up thou Rascal, Rise,
I see the white
Light,
And the night,
Flies."
(Trans by Ezra Pound
The influence of the alba can be detected in Shakespeare. After spending the night together, Romeo and Juliet are forced to part by the coming dawn. It is the song of the lark, the herald of the morning, who warns them that it is time to be going:
Juliet : Wilt thou be gone? It is not yet near day.
It was the nightingale, and not the lark,
That pierced the fearful hollow of thine ear;
Nightly she sings on yon pomegranate tree;
Believe me love it was the nightingale.
Romeo: It was the lark, the herald of the morn
No nightingale: look, love, what envious streaks
Do lace the severing clouds in yonder east
Nights candles are burnt out, and jocund day
Stands tiptoe on the misty mountain tops:
I must be gone and live, or stay and die.
It is one of the most beautiful and romantic scenes in the whole of Shakespeare, and echoing through those lines are the thoughts and sentiments of the troubadour tradition.
If you want to learn more about Dante and Occitan language then follow this link: