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The (; "Consistory of the Gay Science") was a poetic academy founded at
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 ...
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 (, ; ; ) 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 ...
M. de Ponsan, ''Histoire de l' Académie des Jeux floraux'' (Toulouse, 1764), p. 4, French. and later restored by Clémence Isaure as the 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 in the form of different flowers, made of gold or silver, such as violets,
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 pollina ...
, marigolds, amaranths or lilies. The Consistori eventually became gallicised. It was renewed by
Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
in 1694 and still exists today. The has had such prestigious members as Ronsard, Marmontel, Chateaubriand,
Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778), known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' Voltaire (, ; ), was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, philosopher (''philosophe''), satirist, and historian. Famous for his wit ...
,
Alfred de Vigny Alfred Victor, Comte de Vigny (; 27 March 1797 – 17 September 1863) was a French poet and early French Romanticism, Romanticist. He also produced novels, plays, and translations of Shakespeare. Biography Vigny was born in Loches (a town to wh ...
,
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
and Frédéric Mistral.


Foundation

The Consistori was founded by seven literary men of the
bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...
, who composed a
manifesto A manifesto is a written declaration of the intentions, motives, or views of the issuer, be it an individual, group, political party, or government. A manifesto can accept a previously published opinion or public consensus, but many prominent ...
, in
Old Occitan Old Occitan (, ), also called Old Provençal, was the earliest form of the Occitano-Romance languages, as attested in writings dating from the 8th to the 14th centuries. Old Occitan generally includes Early and Old Occitan. Middle Occitan is some ...
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 Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...
and seven judges or (maintainers). In 1390 John I of Aragon, one of the earliest Renaissance humanists to sit on a European throne, established the Consistori de Barcelona in imitation of the Toulousain academy.


Activities

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''. 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 awarded on 3 May 1324 to Arnaut Vidal de Castelnou d'Ari for a '' sirventes'' in praise of the
Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
. The contests were held intermittently until 1484, when the last prize was awarded to Arnaut Bernart de Tarascon. 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'' 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, whose ''
Leys d'amor Guilhem Molinier or Moulinier ( 1330–50) was a Old Occitan, 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 Occita ...
'' 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 known in his generation as a "Prince des poètes, prince of poets". His works include ''Les Amours de Cassandre'' (1552)'','' ''Les Hymnes'' (1555-1556)'', Les Disco ...
, the greatest French poet of his generation, for his . During the Enlightenment, Fabre d'Églantine 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 LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
. Later,
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...
received a prize at the . It still exists today.


Character and legacy

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.
Courtly love Courtly love ( ; ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies b ...
, with some adulterous and extramarital connotations, was a rarer theme with troubadours associated with Toulouse than religious themes, especially Marian. Even on religious themes, however, their work lacks the "force" of the last troubadours of the thirteenth century, like Cerverí de Girona, 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'' and the
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
in Italian and the work of Ausiàs March in Catalan.
Martí de Riquer Martí is a Catalan name and may refer to: People Surname *Antoni Martí (1963–2023), Andorran architect and politician *Cristóbal Martí (1903–1986), Spanish footballer * David Martí (born 1971), Spanish Oscar winner for best makeup * Dolo ...
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 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 '' Ro ...
". It is the inspiration for
Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher. He began his career as a classical philology, classical philologist, turning to philosophy early in his academic career. In 1869, aged 24, Nietzsche bec ...
's ''
The Gay Science ''The Gay Science'' (; 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 completion of ''Thus Spoke Zarathustra'' and ...
'', 1882. It is the namesake of the Italian folk group '' Gai Saber''.


Associated troubadours

* Arnaut Bernart de Tarascon, 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, 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, completed the final version of the ''Leys'' around 1355 * Lorenç Mallol, 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, 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


website


Hérodote.net. {{Authority control 1323 establishments in Europe 1320s establishments in France 1513 disestablishments in France French poetry Organizations based in Toulouse Verse contests