Jocs Florals
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Floral Games were any of a series of historically related poetry contests with
floral A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
prizes. In
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 Occitan (; o ...
, their original language, and
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 ...
they are known as ''
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 ...
'' (; modern Occitan: ''Jòcs florals'' , or ''floraus'' ). In French they became the ''Jeux floraux'' (), and in Basque ''Lore jokoak'' (). The original contests may have been inspired by the Roman
Floralia The Floralia was a festival in ancient Roman religious practice in honor of the goddess Flora, held April 27 during the Republican era, or April 28 in the Julian calendar. The festival included ''Ludi Florae'', the "Games of Flora", which lasted ...
(''Ludi Floreales'') held in honour of
Flora Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''. E ...
.


Toulouse

The original floral games of the
troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...
s were held by the
Consistori del Gay Saber The Consistori del Gay Saber (; "Consistory of the Gay Science") was a poetic academy founded at Toulouse in 1323 to revive and perpetuate the lyric poetry of the troubadours. Also known as the Acadèmia dels Jòcs Florals or Académie des Jeux ...
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 Par ...
, annually from 1324, traditionally on 1 May. It is considered the oldest literary society in Europe. One contestant would receive the ''violeta d'aur'', golden violet, for the poem judged the best. The second prize was a silver wild rose (''eglantina''), and the other prizes, awarded for particular poetic forms, were similarly floral. The first prize was awarded on 3 May 1324 to
Arnaut Vidal de Castelnou d'Ari Arnaut Vidal de Castelnou d'Ari (; fl. 1305–1324) was a medieval Occitan author from Castelnaudary. Arnaut was a troubadour and the first poet laureate of the Consistori del Gay Saber. Arnaut's poem in praise of the Virgin Mary was adjudged ...
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 o ...
. 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. These contests were judged in accordance with the ''
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 ...
'', a grammatical and literary treatise on Occitan poetry. Initially the floral games were intended to keep alive the poetic language and style of the Occitan troubadours, but in time this aim was forgotten. In 1471 the golden violet was awarded to Peire de Janilhac ''n'ostan qu'el fos Frances, per so que dictec el lengatge de Tholosa'': notwithstanding that he was French, because he composed in the language of Toulouse. In 1554 the Constistori, now the Collège, 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 C ...
, the greatest French poet of his generation, for his ''Amours''. 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 ''Rosa canina'', commonly known as the dog rose, is a variable climbing, wild rose species native to Europe, northwest Africa, and western Asia. Description The dog rose is a deciduous shrub normally ranging in height from , though sometimes it ...
the Collège bestowed on him. The Consistori, as the Académie des Jeux floraux, continues to function.


Lleida

At
Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christianity, Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles in the Ne ...
, 31 May 1338, a poetic contest was held at
Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...
before
Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...
, at which awards were given to those poems judged the best. A panel of judges was designated in advance by the king. The winning poets received a ''rosa d'or'' (golden rose) and a piece of expensive golden
satin A satin weave is a type of fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves alongside plain weave ...
called ''diasprell''. This contest was the first Catalan attempt to emulate the Toulouse games and it may have been part of a pattern of isolated events, though no other records have reached us.


Barcelona


Medieval era

At
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
on 20 February 1393,
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 ...
(Joan I el Caçador / Chuan lo Cazataire) founded an annual festival (''la festa de la Gaya Ciencia'' or ''Gaia Ciència'') to be celebrated in honour 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 o ...
on the day of
Annunciation The Annunciation (from Latin '), also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the biblical tale of the announcement by the ange ...
(15 May) or the following Sunday in Barcelona. The festival included a Catalan poetry contest, modelled on those held 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 Par ...
,
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, and other illustrious cities,The poetic academy of Toulouse is well known, that of Paris is only mentioned here, and the other unspecified cities remain unidentified. and the poems submitted would be judged by a panel of ''literati''. The first recorded contest held by John's
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 ...
is believed to have taken place on 28 March 1395, with the king in attendance. This festival is called a ''bella festa ... an honor de la dita gaya ciencia'', the prizes for which were provided by the municipal government of Barcelona.Riquer, 567. There is no record of the names of the winners, the prizes, or their poems. With the death of John two months later and his conflict with the city, the floral games and their source of prize money came to an end. On 1 May 1398, John's successor,
Martin the Humane Martin the Humane (29 July 1356 – 31 May 1410), also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409 (as Martin II). He failed to secure ...
(Martí l'Humà, Martín I d'Aragón), agreed to subsidise the annual festival and cover the cost of the gold and silver prizes for the winners, to be chosen by ''mantenidors'' (maintainers) named by the king. Under Martin a great ''festa'' was held in 1408 beneath the walls where the Mirador del rei Martí—a recent addition the royal palace complex—and the
Palau del Lloctinent The Palau Reial Major (; "Grand Royal Palace") is a complex of historic buildings located in Plaça del Rei, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It was a residence of the counts of Barcelona and kings of Aragon. It is composed of three distinct edifices ...
meet in Barcelona.Riquer, 571. On 17 March 1413
Ferdinand of Antequera Ferdinand I (Spanish: ''Fernando I''; 27 November 1380 – 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Òdena) named Ferdinand of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and (nominal) Corsica and king of Sic ...
, who had succeeded Martin, confirmed that the floral games occurred on 1 May.


Modern era

At the height of
romanticism Romanticism (also known as the Romantic movement or Romantic era) was an artistic, literary, musical, and intellectual movement that originated in Europe towards the end of the 18th century, and in most areas was at its peak in the approximate ...
in 1859, during the Catalan
Renaixença The ''Renaixença'' (; also written ''Renaixensa'' before spelling standardisation), or Catalan Renaissance, was a romantic revivalist movement in Catalan language and culture through the mid 19th century, akin to the Galician ''Rexurdimento ...
, Antoni de Bofarull and
Víctor Balaguer Víctor is a Spanish masculine given name, equivalent to Victor in English and Vítor in Portuguese. Notable people with the given name include: *Víctor Cabrera (Argentine footballer) *Víctor Cabrera (Chilean footballer) * Víctor Hugo Cabrera, ...
re-established the floral games (''jocs florals'' or ''Jocs de la Gaia Ciència'') in Barcelona on the first Sunday in May with the theme of ''Patria, Fides, Amor'' (Country, Faith, Love), alluding to the three typical prizes: the ''Englantina d'or'' (golden eglantine) given for the greatest patriotic poem, the ''Flor Natural'' (natural flower, the prize of honour, an actual rose) for the greatest love poem, and the ''Viola d'or i argent'' (gold and silver
violet Violet may refer to: Common meanings * Violet (color), a spectral color with wavelengths shorter than blue * One of a list of plants known as violet, particularly: ** ''Viola'' (plant), a genus of flowering plants Places United States * Viol ...
) to the greatest religious poem. There were other lesser prizes. A person winning all three great prizes was given the honorific title of ''Mestre en Gai Saber'' ("Master of the Gay Science"). The intellectual and political classes swiftly patronised the Jocs Florals and their support lent renewed prestige to Catalan poetry. Several different positions soon became apparent with respect to the models to be used for the creation of a Catalan literature. Marià Aguiló defended as worthy models all the various forms and authors. Antoni de Bofarull defended sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Catalan authors and the Barcelonese dialect as the best models for Catalan poetry. Finally, there was a "third way" that upheld a unique nineteenth-century Catalan poetry in Barcelonese dialect, but it had few defenders among the supporters of the Jocs Florals. In the end the Jocs attracted persons of a wide variety of ideologies: republicans, conservatives, the young people. Eventually, Frederic Soler and his followers would participate in the majority of contests. The Jocs Florals went a long way to re-asserting the Catalan language after centuries of decline with respect to Castilian.


''Mestres en Gai Saber''


Valencia

In 1879 Jocs Florals were established at
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
two decades after the ones in Barcelona. The games were traditionally held by
Lo Rat Penat Lo may refer to any of the following: Arts and entertainment * '' Lo!'', the third published nonfiction work of the author Charles Fort * L.O., a fictional character in the Playhouse Disney show Happy Monster Band * ''Lo'' (film), a 2009 indep ...
in the
Valencian language Valencian () or Valencian language () is the official, historical and traditional name used in the Valencian Community (Spain), and unofficially in the El Carche comarca in Murcia (Spain), to refer to the Romance language also known as Catala ...
. A total of seventeen prizes were awarded annually; the three top prizes were identical to those of the Barcelonan games. On top of the usual contests that included theatre and
narrative A narrative, story, or tale is any account of a series of related events or experiences, whether nonfictional (memoir, biography, news report, documentary, travel literature, travelogue, etc.) or fictional (fairy tale, fable, legend, thriller (ge ...
as well as poetry, there were extraordinary contests held by institutions all throughout the
Land of Valencia The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...
. The Jocs of Valencia witnessed thirty-five ''Mestres en Gai Saber'' and two female winners of the ''Flor Natural'' (top prize, an actual rose). Figures like
Blasco Ibañez Blasco is a surname which roots can be found it in Aragon, more specifically in the Jaca's mountains. People * Blasco de Garay, Spanish navy captain and inventor * Blasco de Grañén, Aragonese painter * Blasco Gardéliz de Ezcároz, bishop o ...
and
Niceto Alcalá-Zamora Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Torres (6 July 1877 – 18 February 1949) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served, briefly, as the first prime minister of the Second Spanish Republic, and then—from 1931 to 1936—as its president. Early life ...
have acted as maintainers, i.e. presidents and judges of the Jocs, and in 1914 and 1999 the maintainers were women. The ''Regina'' (queen) who sits in the ''Cadira d'Or'' (golden chair) is elected alternatingly from the three Valencian provinces (
Alicante Alicante ( ca-valencia, Alacant) is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Spain. It is the capital of the province of Alicante and a historic Mediterranean port. The population of the city was 337,482 , the second-largest in t ...
, Castellón, and
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
) and from the ''
comarques This is a list of the 42 ''comarques'' (singular ''comarca'', , ) into which Catalonia is divided. A ''comarca'' is a group of municipalities, roughly equivalent to a county in the US or a district or council in the UK. However, in the context ...
''. Today the Jocs take place in the Teatro Principal with the attendance of the highest dignitaries of the Valencian Community.


Basque Country

In the Basque Country, the renaissance of the floral games (''Lore Jokoak'') was fostered by
Antoine D'Abbadie Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie d'Arrast (3 January 1810 – 19 March 1897) was an Irish-born French explorer, geographer, ethnologist, linguist and astronomer notable for his travels in EthiopiaAlthough referred to as Ethiopia here, the region that ...
(Anton Abbadia), an outstanding Basque French scholar and man of science settling down in
Hendaia Hendaye ( Basque: ''Hendaia'')HENDAIA
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
celebration, improving the social status of Basque culture, and encouraging literary production at either side of the French-Spanish border (especially Labourd,
Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
,
Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...
). It was first celebrated in Urruña (1851). Proper floral games lasted up until Antoine D'Abbadie's death in 1897, but their legacy was taken over by like initiatives, such as the Basque Festival in Donostia (presently held in early September). The coat of arms of the ''
Zazpiak Bat Zazpiak Bat is a heraldic nickname for the Basque coat of arms which includes the arms of the seven provinces mentioned, stressing their unity. It was designed by the historian Jean de Jaurgain in 1897 for the ''Congrès et Fêtes de la Tradition ...
'' ("Seven provinces make one (territory)") was first coined in the context of the ''Lore Jokoak''.


Esperanto

The Barcelonan games inspired an imitation, the Internaciaj Floraj Ludoj (''Juegos Florales Internacionales'' or ''Jocs Florals Internacionals''), in
Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...
in 1909. The games were the most prestigious Esperanto event in the era before the Second World War.


Chile

A national literary contest called the Juegos Florales was held in
Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...
in 1914. On 22 December
Gabriela Mistral Lucila Godoy Alcayaga (; 7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957), known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral (), was a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator and humanist. In 1945 she became the first Latin American author to receive a Nobel Prize in Lite ...
, who took her pen name from Occitan poet
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 P ...
, won top prize for her ''
Sonetos de la Muerte ''Sonetos de la Muerte'' (''Sonnets of Death'') is a work by the Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral Lucila Godoy Alcayaga (; 7 April 1889 – 10 January 1957), known by her pseudonym Gabriela Mistral (), was a Chilean poet-diplomat, educator an ...
''. After winning the ''Juegos'' she infrequently used her given name of Lucila Godoy for her publications.


References

*Boase, Roger (1977). ''The Origin and Meaning of Courtly Love: A Critical Study of European Scholarship''. Manchester: Manchester University Press. . *Paden, William D. (1995). "The Troubadours and the Albigensian Crusade: A Long View." ''Romance Philology'', 49:2 (Nov.), pp. 168–91. *Prado, Joan Manuel (1989). ''Història de la Literatura Catalana'', Vol. I. Fascicles de l'Avui: Edicions 62. . * Riquer, Martí de (1964). ''Història de la Literatura Catalana'', vol. 1. Barcelona: Edicions Ariel. *


Notes

{{Authority control Catalan-language literature Esperanto literature Occitan literature Basque literature