![Leys d'amor, initial](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/47/Leys_d%27amor%2C_initial.jpg)
The Consistori del Gay Saber (; "Consistory of the Gay Science") was a poetic academy founded at
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
in 1323 to revive and perpetuate the
lyric poetry of the troubadours.
Also known as the Acadèmia dels Jòcs Florals or Académie des Jeux Floraux ("Academy of the Floral Games"), it is the most ancient literary institution of the Western world. It was founded in 1323 in
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
[M. de Ponsan, ''Histoire de l' Académie des Jeux floraux'' (Toulouse, 1764), p. 4, French.] and later restored by
Clémence Isaure
Clémence Isaure is a quasi-legendary French medieval figure credited with founding or restoring the Acadèmia dels Jòcs Florals or Academy of the Floral Games. She is supposed to have left a legacy to fund awards in the form of gold and silver ...
as the Consistori del Gay Saber with the goal of encouraging
Occitan Occitan may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain.
* Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France.
* Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...
poetry. The best verses were given prizes at the
floral games
Floral Games were any of a series of historically related poetry contests with floral prizes. In Occitan, their original language, and Catalan they are known as '' Jocs florals'' (; modern Occitan: ''Jòcs florals'' , or ''floraus'' ). In French ...
in the form of different flowers, made of gold or silver, such as
violets
Violet identifies various plant taxa, particularly species in the genus ''Viola'', within which the common violet is the best known member in Eurasia and the common blue violet and common purple violet are the best known members in North America ...
,
rose hips
The rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep, is the accessory fruit of the various species of rose plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips begin to form after pollinat ...
,
marigolds,
amaranths or
lilies
''Lilium'' () is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants growing from bulbs, all with large prominent flowers. They are the true lilies. Lilies are a group of flowering plants which are important in culture and literature in much of the world. M ...
. The Consistori eventually became gallicised. It was renewed by
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
in 1694 and still exists today. The has had such prestigious members as
Ronsard
Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a "prince of poets".
Early life
Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of ...
,
Marmontel,
Chateaubriand,
Voltaire
François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...
,
Alfred de Vigny
Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare.
Biography
Vigny was born in Loches (a town to which he never r ...
,
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
and
Frédéric Mistral
Joseph Étienne Frédéric Mistral (; oc, Josèp Estève Frederic Mistral, 8 September 1830 – 25 March 1914) was a French writer of Occitan literature and lexicographer of the Provençal form of the language. He received the 1904 Nobel ...
.
Foundation
The Consistori was founded by seven literary men of the
bourgeoisie, who composed a
manifesto, in
Old Occitan
Old Occitan ( oc, occitan ancian, label= Modern Occitan, ca, occità antic), also called Old Provençal, was the earliest form of the Occitano-Romance languages, as attested in writings dating from the eighth through the fourteenth centuries. Old ...
verse, pledging to award prizes to poetry in the troubadouresque style and emulating the language of classical period of the troubadours (roughly 1160–1220). The academy was originally called the ("Consistory of the Seven Troubadours") or ("Overjoyed Company of the seven troubadours of Toulouse"). In its efforts to promote an extinct literary ''
koiné'' over the evolving dialects of the fourteenth century, the Consistori went a long way to preserving the troubadours' memory for posterity as well as bequeathing to later scholarship an encyclopaedic terminology for the analysis and historiography of Occitan lyric poetry. Chaytor believed that the Consistori "arose out of informal meetings of poets held in earlier years".
The Consistori was governed by a
chancellor and seven judges or (maintainers). In 1390
John I of Aragon
John I (27 December 1350 – 19 May 1396), called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance, but the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the King of Aragon from 1387 until his death.
Biography
John was the eldest son of Peter IV and his third ...
, one of the earliest Renaissance humanists to sit on a European throne, established the
Consistori de Barcelona The Consistori (de la Gaya Sciència) de Barcelona (, ; "Academy of the Gay Science of Barcelona") was a literary academy founded in Barcelona by John the Hunter, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona, in 1393 in imitation of the Consistori del Gay ...
in imitation of the Toulousain academy.
Activities
![Clemence Isaure](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/03/Clemence_Isaure.jpg)
The Consistori held an annual poetry contest at which one contestant, the "most excellent poet" (), would receive the (golden violet) for the poem or ''
cançó'' judged the best. The other prizes, awarded for particular poetic forms, were similarly floral, leading later scholars to label the competitions the ''
Jocs Florals
Floral Games were any of a series of historically related poetry contests with floral prizes. In Occitan, their original language, and Catalan they are known as '' Jocs florals'' (; modern Occitan: ''Jòcs florals'' , or ''floraus'' ). In French ...
''. The best ''
dança'' earned its creator a (a fine silver marigold), and the best ''
sirventés'', ''
pastorèla'' or ''
vergièra'' garnered a (a silver dog rose).
The first prize was rewarded on May 3, 1324 to
Arnaut Vidal de Castelnou d'Ari for a ''
sirventes
The ''sirventes'' or ''serventes'' (), sometimes translated as "service song", was a genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry practiced by the troubadours.
The name comes from ''sirvent'' ('serviceman'), from whose perspective the song is allegedly wr ...
'' in praise of the
Virgin Mary
Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...
. The contests were held intermittently until 1484, when the last prize was awarded to
Arnaut Bernart de Tarascon
Arnaut ( ota, ارناود) is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. ''Arvanid'' (), ''Arnavud'' (), plural: ''Arnavudlar'' (): modern Turkish: ''Arnavut'', plural: ''Arnavutlar''; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman and contempor ...
. From this period of 160 years survive the record of around a hundred prizes. During that century and a half, the Consistori saw participants from both south of the Pyrenees and north of Occitania, both men and women. In an unknown year, possibly 1385, an anonymous Catalan woman submitted a ''
planh
A genre of the troubadours, the or (; "lament") is a funeral lament for "a great personage, a protector, a friend or relative, or a lady."Elisabeth Schulze-Busacker, "Topoi", in F. R. P. Akehurst and Judith M. Davis, eds., ''A Handbook of the T ...
'' to the seven maintainers for judgement. The (lament) is that of a faithful woman for her lover, who has been absent several years.
It was in order to judge these contests that the Consistori first commissioned an Occitan grammar, including the laws of poetry, be written up. The first compiler was
Guilhem Molinier
Guilhem Molinier or Moulinier ( 1330–50) was a medieval Occitan poet from Toulouse. His most notable work is ''Leys d'amors'' ("Laws of Love"), a treatise on rhetoric and grammar that achieved great notoriety and, beyond the Occitan, influenced ...
, whose ''
Leys d'amor
Guilhem Molinier or Moulinier ( 1330–50) was a medieval Occitan poet from Toulouse. His most notable work is ''Leys d'amors'' ("Laws of Love"), a treatise on rhetoric and grammar that achieved great notoriety and, beyond the Occitan, influence ...
'' was completed between 1328 and 1337. It went through two subsequent redactions. Several other grammatical treatises and glosses were produced by poets associated with the Consistori.
By 1471 the Consistori was losing its Occitan character. It awarded the golden violet to
Peire de Janilhac : notwithstanding that he was French, because he composed in the language of Toulouse. In 1513 the Consistori was transformed into the : the College of French Rhetoric and Poetry. In 1554 the College awarded a silver
eglantine rose to none other than
Pierre de Ronsard
Pierre de Ronsard (; 11 September 1524 – 27 December 1585) was a French poet or, as his own generation in France called him, a " prince of poets".
Early life
Pierre de Ronsard was born at the Manoir de la Possonnière, in the village of ...
, the greatest French poet of his generation, for his . During the
Enlightenment,
Fabre d'Églantine
Philippe François Nazaire Fabre d'Églantine (, 28 July 1750 – 5 April 1794), commonly known as Fabre d'Églantine, was a French actor, dramatist, poet, and politician of the French Revolution.
He is best known for having invented the names of ...
received his name from the
dog rose the academy bestowed on him at the (floral games). In 1694 the Consistori was reborn as the , founded by
Louis XIV
, house = Bourbon
, father = Louis XIII
, mother = Anne of Austria
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France
, death_date =
, death_place = Palace of Ver ...
. Later,
Victor Hugo
Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
received a prize at the . It still exists today.
Character and legacy
![Toulouse France Silver Medal 1819 Clémence Isaure, obverse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/86/Toulouse_France_Silver_Medal_1819_Cl%C3%A9mence_Isaure%2C_obverse.jpg)
The Consistori, in its nostalgic attempt to preserve what had gone out of style, is often credited with fostering a monotonous form of poetry devoid of vibrance and feeling. Partly, however, this can be blamed on the
Inquisition
The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
and the fear of being labelled immoral or, worse, a heretic.
Courtly love, with all its adulterous and extramarital connotations, was a rarer theme with troubadours associated with Toulouse than religious themes, especially
Marian
Marian may refer to:
People
* Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia
* Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name
* Marian (surname), a list of people so named
Places
* Marian, Iran (disambiguation)
* Marian, Queenslan ...
. Even on religious themes, however, their work lacks the "force" of the last troubadours of the thirteenth century, like
Cerverí de Girona
Cerverí de Girona (; fl. 1259 – 1285) was a Catalan troubadour born Guillem de Cervera in Girona. He was the most prolific troubadour, leaving behind some 114 lyric poems among other works, including an ''ensenhamen'' of proverbs for his s ...
, who wrote much on such themes. The Toulousains lacked originality and for that reason their accomplishments have been undervalued by later generations. Their isolation and their classicism cut them off from the literary movements giving life to other vernaculars, such as the ''
dolce stil novo
''Dolce Stil Novo'' (), Italian for "sweet new style," is the name given to a literary movement in 13th and 14th century Italy. Influenced by the Sicilian School and Tuscan poetry, its main theme is Divine Love. The name ''Dolce Stil Novo'' w ...
'' and the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
in
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
and the work of
Ausiàs March
Ausiàs March (Catalan and ; 1400March 3, 1459) was a medieval Valencian poet and knight from Gandia, Valencia. He is considered one of the most important poets of the "Golden Century" (''Segle d'or'') of Catalan/Valencian literature.
Biog ...
in
Catalan
Catalan may refer to:
Catalonia
From, or related to Catalonia:
* Catalan language, a Romance language
* Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia
Places
* 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...
.
Martí de Riquer is highly critical of the ''escòla poetica de Tolosa'', which he charges with a thematically severely limited, weighed down by a narrow conception of art and imposing strictures governing poetic form and content, negatively influencing Catalan poetry by exporting occitanisms (until Italian trends wafted over the western Mediterranean sea routes to rejuvenate it), and sustaining an outmoded literary language. He compares it to
French neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is a movement in architecture, design and the arts which was dominant in France between about 1760 to 1830. It emerged as a reaction to the frivolity and excessive ornament of the baroque and rococo styles. In architecture it featu ...
and its "tyranny of the monotonous
alexandrine
Alexandrine is a name used for several distinct types of verse line with related metrical structures, most of which are ultimately derived from the classical French alexandrine. The line's name derives from its use in the Medieval French ''Roman ...
".
It is the inspiration for
Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
's ''
The Gay Science
''The Gay Science'' (german: Die fröhliche Wissenschaft), sometimes translated as ''The Joyful Wisdom'' or ''The Joyous Science'', is a book by Friedrich Nietzsche published in 1882, and followed by a second edition in 1887 after the completio ...
'', 1882. It is the namesake of the Italian folk group ''
Gai Saber''.
Associated troubadours
*
Arnaut Bernart de Tarascon
Arnaut ( ota, ارناود) is a Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. ''Arvanid'' (), ''Arnavud'' (), plural: ''Arnavudlar'' (): modern Turkish: ''Arnavut'', plural: ''Arnavutlar''; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman and contempor ...
, won the violet in 1484
*
Arnaut Vidal de Castelnou d'Ari, won the violet in 1324
*
Bernart de Panassac, founding member
*
Bernat de Palaol, lost a debate with Rovira in 1386
*
Bertran del Falgar, "crowned" winner in unknown year
*
Bertran de Payna, "crowned" winner in unknown year
*
Bertran de Sant Roscha, "crowned" winner thrice
*
Gaston III of Foix, won the "joia" unknown year
*
Germà de Gontaut, maintainer in 1355 and 1386
*
Guilhem Molinier
Guilhem Molinier or Moulinier ( 1330–50) was a medieval Occitan poet from Toulouse. His most notable work is ''Leys d'amors'' ("Laws of Love"), a treatise on rhetoric and grammar that achieved great notoriety and, beyond the Occitan, influenced ...
, first chancellor, wrote up the rules (''Leys'')
*
Guillem Bossatz d'Aorlayachs, won the eglantine and was "crowned"
*
Guillem Vetzinas, "sealed" winner in unknown year
*
Jacme Rovira, won a debate with Palaol in 1386
*
Jaume de Tolosa, "crowned" winner unknown year
*
Johan Blanch, won the violet c. 1360
*
Joan de Castellnou
Joan de Castellnou (; floruit, fl. 1341–1355) was a troubadour of the Consistori del Gay Saber active in Toulouse. He left behind five or six ''Canso (song), cansos'', three ''Verse (poetry), vers'', a ''dansa'', a ''conselh'', and a ''sirven ...
, completed the final version of the ''Leys'' around 1355
*
Lorenç Mallol Lorenç Mallol (, older spelling ''Lorenz''; fl. 1350) was a Catalan poet of the fourteenth century, the first Petrarchan of his country and one of the last troubadours. His two surviving pieces are composed in Old Occitan. His first name is also sp ...
, submitted a figured verse for competition
*
Luys Ycart, participant in unknown year
*
Peire Duran de Limoux, won the violet in 1373
*
Peire de Ladils, collaborator with Raimon de Cornet
*
Peire de Monlasur, collaborator with Peire Duran
*
Raimon de Cornet
Raimon de Cornet (, also spelled ''Ramon de Cornet''; fl. 1324–1340) was a fourteenth-century Toulousain priest, friar, grammarian, poet, and troubadour. He was a prolific author of verse; more than forty of his poems survive, most in Occ ...
, called (the most brilliant spirit) of the Consistori
*
Ramenat Montaut, won the "joia" unknown year
*
Ramon Galbarra, maintainer in 1355 and 1386
Notes
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
External links
websiteHérodote.net.
{{Authority control
1323 establishments in Europe
1320s establishments in France
1513 disestablishments in France
French poetry
Organizations based in Toulouse