The ''Félibrige'' (; in classical

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 ...

, in Mistralian spelling, ) is a literary and cultural association founded in 1854 by Frédéric Mistral and other Provençal writers to defend and promote the

Occitan language Occitan (; ), also known by its native speakers as (; ), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, ...

(also called the ) and literature. It is presided over by a (classical norm: ). The name possibly derives from an apocryphal Provençal story of Christ disputing in the temple with the seven doctors ét félibreof law.

Etymology

The word '' félibrige'' is derived from '' félibre'', word of unclear origin.

Origins

Le Félibrige was founded at the Château de Font-Ségugne (located in Châteauneuf-de-Gadagne,

Vaucluse Vaucluse (; or ) is a department in the southeastern French region of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. It had a population of 561,469 as of 2019.

) on 21 May 1854 ( Saint Estelle's day), by seven young Provençal poets: Théodore Aubanel, Jean Brunet, Paul Giéra, Anselme Mathieu, Frédéric Mistral, Joseph Roumanille and Alphonse Tavan. Together, they aimed to restore the Provençal language and codify its

orthography An orthography is a set of convention (norm), conventions for writing a language, including norms of spelling, punctuation, Word#Word boundaries, word boundaries, capitalization, hyphenation, and Emphasis (typography), emphasis. Most national ...

. Its symbol is a seven-pointed star which, as Frederic Mistral writes in ''Lou tresor dóu Felibrige'', is "a tribute to its seven founders". The movement was launched in Provence but quickly reached the entire

Occitania Occitania is the historical region in Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses much of the southern third of France (except ...

. It spread among Occitanian writers such as Michel Camélat and Simin Palay (from

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

and

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

), Albert Arnavielle, Justin Bessou, Jacques and Gabriel Azaïs and Achille Mir (

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

), Arsène Vermenouze ( Auvergne), Joseph Roux (

Limousin Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...

), José Mange (Provence), Brémonde de Tarascon (

Bouches-du-Rhône Bouches-du-Rhône ( ; , ; ; "the Mouths of the Rhône") is a Departments of France, department in southern France. It borders Vaucluse to the north, Gard to the west and Var (department), Var to the east. The Mediterranean Sea lies to the sout ...

), Batisto Bonnet (

Gard Gard () is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019;Charles Maurras Charles-Marie-Photius Maurras (; ; 20 April 1868 – 16 November 1952) was a French author, politician, poet and critic. He was an organiser and principal philosopher of ''Action Française'', a political movement that was monarchist, corporatis ...

. The Félibrige is an organisation focussed on protecting and promoting Occitan language and culture, fighting for recognition of cultural diversity both within France and across the wider world. It is also one of the two organisations represented across Occitania since 1945, along with the Institut d'Estudis Occitans (IEO).

Felebrigian festivals

There is a yearly meeting, ''Santo Estello'', held in a different town in the Pays d'Oc. The traditional banquet is ended with the ritual of the '' Copa Santa''. There are also other ''Fêtes Félibréennes'': * Since 1323, the Jeux floraux of

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, considered as the model * Jeux floraux of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

* Orange * In 1868 at

Saint-Rémy-de-Provence Saint-Rémy-de-Provence (; "Saint-Rémy of Provence"; Provençal dialect, Provençal: ''Sant Romieg de Provença'' and ''Sant Roumié de Prouvènço'' ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Bouches-du-Rhône Departments of France, department ...

* In 1895 at Vic-en-Carladès, with a programme of music and dance ( Cabrette) * In 1900 at the Château de Ventadour, under the name ''Fête de l'églantine'' * In 1902 at

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

* In June 1903 and in 2009 at Sceaux * In 1907 at Mauvezin, in the

Hautes-Pyrénées Hautes-Pyrénées (; Gascon/ Occitan: ''Nauts Pirenèus / Hauts Pirenèus'' awts piɾeˈnɛʊs ; alts piɾiˈneʊs ) is a department in the region of Occitania, southwestern France. The department is bordered by Pyrénées-Atlantiques to t ...

* In August 1914, at

Sauveterre-de-Béarn Sauveterre-de-Béarn (, literally ''Sauveterre of Béarn''; ; ) is a medieval village perched above the Gave d'Oloron and facing the Pyrenees in south-western France. It is a Communes of France, commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques Departments ...

* At Puy-en-Velay * In 1935 at Monistrol-sur-Loire * Perhaps Argentat, after 1935 with the ''Chorale des gabariers de la Dordogne''Fête son soixante-dixième anniversaire en 2005, avec la participation de L’École Ventadour de Tulle, La Bourrée Limousine de Brive, Les Vergnassous de St Germain Les Vergnes, Lou Gerbassous d’Ambazac, Les Pastourelles de Brive la Gaillarde, L’Eicola dau Barbichet de Limoges, L’Eiscola Dau Mont-Gargan de La Croisille-sur-Brillance, L’Églantino Dau Lémouzi de Limoges, Les Pastoureaux de la Valoine de Feytiat, Les Réveillés de Saintet-Fortunade, Les Amis de la Bourrée de Saint-Privat, Les Ranchos de Tulle

The ''Jardin des Félibres'' in Sceaux

In 1950

Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine Sceaux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris. In 2019, Sceaux had a population of 20,004. Scea ...

(one of the Parisien

banlieue In France, a banlieue (; ) is a suburb of a large city, or all its suburbs taken collectively. Banlieues are divided into autonomous administrative entities and do not constitute part of the city proper. For instance, 80percent of the inhabitant ...

) was named ''Cité Félibréenne''. A memorial garden for this event was created around the tomb of

Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian (6 March 1755, near Sauve, Gard, France – 13 September 1794, Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, Sceaux, France) was a French poet, novelist and fabulist. Life Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian was born on 6 March 1755 in t ...

, a French

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator (thought, thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral t ...

and romancier, well known for his fables and a noted Félibrigist (perhaps because his mother was Castilian). The garden displays eleven busts in all. The garden is located behind the church of Saint Jean-Baptiste (''Saint

John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

'') in Sceaux. The entry, signed: ''Parc de Sceaux, Jardin des Félibres'' is located on Avenue du Président Franklin Roosevelt in Sceaux. File:Sceaux_Félibres_Clovis_Hugues_1.jpg, Clovis Hugues File:Sceaux_Félibres_Frédéric_Mistral_1.jpg, Frédéric Mistral File:Sceaux_Félibres_Jean_Charles-Brun_1.jpg, Jean Charles-Brun File:Sceaux_Félibres_Jean-Pierre_Claris_de_Florian_1.jpg,

File:Sceaux_Félibres_Joseph_Loubet_1.jpg, Joseph Loubet File:Sceaux_Félibres_Paul_Arène_1.jpg, Paul Arène File:Sceaux_Félibres_Pierre_Deluns-Montaud_1.jpg, Pierre Deluns-Montaud File:Sceaux_Félibres_Théodore_Aubanel_1.jpg, Théodore Aubanel File:Sceaux_Félibres_stèle_commémorative.jpg, Commemorative plaque

''Capouliés'' of the Félibrige

The Félibrige is presided over by a . * 1876–1888: Frédéric Mistral * 1888–1891: Joseph Roumanille * 1891–1901: Félix Gras * 1901–1909: Pierre Devoluy * 1909–1919: Valère Bernard * 1919–1922: Joseph Fallen * 1922–1941: Marius Jouveau * 1941–1956: Frédéric Mistral * 1956–1962: Charles Rostaing * 1962–1971: Elie Bachas * 1971–1982: René Jouveau * 1982–1989: Paul Roux * 1989–1992: Paul Pons * 1992–2006: Pierre Fabre * 2006–2022: Jacques Mouttet * 2022–: Paulin Reynard

References

Sources

* Eugène Lintilhac, ''Les Félibres'', 1895, édition Alphonse Lemerre, in-12°, 136 p. Première partie – Félibres et Félibrige : L'énigme du Félibrige : les félibres de Paris, Cigaliers et félibres de Paris, le royaume poètique de Sainte-Estelle le capoulié Félix Gras, Un jour de printemps chez Mistral. Deuxième partie – Théodore Aubanel, La genése du Félibrige et Aubanel, le mouvement de Mistral, Jasmin, l'oeuvre d'Aubanel. * '' La Plume, revue littéraire artistique et sociale'', Paris, dir. Léon Deschamps, n° 53 du 1 juillet 1891, p. 213–237 du recueil annuel. (Numéro consacré au Félibrige à l’occasion de la mort de Joseph Roumanille) * Émile Ripert, ''La Renaissance Provençale'', Paris, Librairie Champion, 1918 * Émile Ripert, ''Le Félibrige'', Armand Colin, 1924; réédition Éditions Jeanne Laffitte, 2001 * René Jouveau, ''Histoire du Félibrige'' (4 volumes), Imprimerie Bené,

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Located between the Med ...

, 1970–1979; réédition 1984-1987 * Valère Bernard, ''Bagatouni'', rééd. Alandis Editions, 2000. * Philippe Martel, ''Les Félibres et leur temps : Renaissance d'oc et opinion (1850-1914)'', Bordeaux, PUB, 2010

External links

FélibrigeHistory of Félibrige on NotreProvence.fr''La Plume'', n° 53 du 1 juillet 1891 (pdf)
(cité ''supra'' dans la bibliographie)

Lou Tresor dóu Felibrige
online {{DEFAULTSORT:Felibrige French literature Literary movements Occitan literature Frédéric Mistral