Petit dictionnaire de la littérature occitane du Moyen-Âge - Paul Fabre

Petit dictionnaire de la littérature occitane du Moyen-Âge - Paul Fabre

(Small dictionary of medieval Occitan literature)

A "little dictionary" that will give you an overview of Occitan literature from the Middle Ages: keywords, titles of works and authors' names, listed in alphabetical order, from "Ademar de Ròcaficha" to "zadjal". Don't know who or what they are? That's why this dictionary is so useful.

In his introduction, Paul Fabre explains the genesis of this work: "This reunion with the brilliant works of yesteryear was soon no longer enough for me. I wanted to share my pleasure. So I continued to fall in love, but it was soon accompanied by the bit of reason that all undertakings require. And this reason soon called for a form, but a form that was convenient, available and easily communicable. The idea of a dictionary was born.

I believe that this paragraph expresses several of Paul Fabre's qualities: his extreme sensitivity, which gave him direct access, so to speak, to the old troubadours; his practical spirit, which gave him the idea of the "little" dictionary; and, above all, his immense generosity, which meant that for him there was no real pleasure if others didn't have their share. A generosity that went further than his contemporaries, moreover, for I can't tell you how difficult it was for Paul to refuse anyone entry to the "Petit dictionnaire". When I was astonished to see him devote an article to an author of whom we knew nothing and possessed very little, he replied that it would be sad to let the name of this poet fall into oblivion. Paul Fabre would have made a very bad angel to forbid the door of paradise, even if only that of medieval Occitan authors.

All dictionary entries are in Occitan:
- except for famous people whose names have been handed down to us in French (e.g. Alphonse II of Aragon), the names of writers and works are given in Occitan, so look for Guillaume in Guilhem, Hugues in Uc, Voyage in Viatge, etc.
- entries have been added for the Occitan lexicon essential to understanding the essentials of troubadour ethics and writing, e.g. alba/aube, amor/amour, balada/ballade, cant, cantar, etc.
- Occitan texts are presented in modern spelling, with French translations at the bottom of the page.
With a chronology of the Middle Ages, from 987 to 1498, landmarks in the development of Oc literature from 1100 to 1500, and a general bibliography.

Bilingual book in French and Occitan.

Collection Lo gat ros, PULM (Presses Universitaires de la Méditerranée).

The author:
Paul Fabre, born in 1935 in Nizas (Hérault) and died on January 12, 2023, was for many years a professor at the University of Montpellier. A recognized specialist in toponymy, he was awarded the Prix Albert Dauzat by the Société Française d'Onomastique. He was the author of numerous studies of toponymy and anthroponymy, linguistic works and publications devoted to Occitan literature.
He also published novels in French.