France for Freebooters
An Independent Traveler's View of
France and its History
by Mike Kingdom-Hockings
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Mediaeval Protest Songs by Mike K-H  A modern group plays music from 12th and 13th century
Languedoc, using a mix of ancient and modern instruments. |
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While Henry VIII of England was composing Greensleeves, poets and troubadors in the Pays d’Oc had a more serious subject on their minds. Their land was the home of a heretical sect known as the Cathars, famous for building hilltop fortresses such as Montségur, where the last of them were burned alive by the Jesuits. ‘OC’ is a group which revives the music and poetry of the Occitan troubadors, using a mix of mediaeval instruments and modern synthesizers. They play concerts at venues throughout France, many in the open air, and they have recorded a CD. The tale of the crusading war between the French and the Occitan people is told in Canso de la Croisada (Chanson de la Croisade, the Song of the Crusade) an epic poem written in the Occitan language (the Langue d’Oc, from which today’s Languedoc region gets its name). This poem of around 9,500 verses covers the period 1208 to 1219, but the Crusades dragged on until about 1230. Ostensibly intended to cleanse the area of a heretical influence which challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, in practice it was waged blindly against all the Occitan people, decimating the population and paving the way for domination by their northern neighbours from Ile de France. This poem is in two parts, written by different authors. The first part, by Guilhem de Tudèla, a clerk from Navarre, describes the period 1209-1214. Although he belonged to the French side, he provides an objective account – cold, detailed and devoid of sentiment or lyricism. His chronicle stops with the death of his protector Baudoin at the battle of Muret, where the French were heavily defeated. The second half of the poem is by an anonymous writer, and unequivocally portrays the Occitan view through the person of Raymond VII de Toulouse, grown to mythical proportions. The tone becomes heroic, passionate and strongly partisan. All the French except Simon de Montfort, in whom the chronicler recognizes a certain greatness, are the subject of virulent satire. They are portrayed as agents of Evil, and the Crusades are seen as the Apocalypse. Only the Pope, seen as a true Christian who is a victim of Evil, escapes his censure. The poem describes a battle for the Occitan native and his values – the only true catholic, a peace-loving person, similar to Jesus. The poem reaches a climax with the death of Simon de Montfort in 1218. Triumph, and the reconquest of their land, are now within reach. The historical reality which followed was far more painful, and the Occitan nation was eventually swallowed up by the French. *** 'OC' has a superb web site, which features MP3 extracts of their recordings. It's in French, but if you click here you will land on a page with a list of titles in the left margin. Click on one, and the appropriate MP3 link will appear in the top left corner of the page, along with both French and Occitan text for the lyrics. *** If you like what you hear, check the following schedule to find out when and where they are in concert this year (the département number in parentheses will help you to find the right town in your road Michelin road atlas - you do have one, don't you?). Most of these venues are in the open air. If I were to choose (and didn't care about the high-season crowds), I'd go for Aigues-Mortes - a mediaeval walled town just to the west of the Camargue.
18 July > Rieu-Montagné (34) - Parc Naturel du
Haut-Languedoc
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| Here is OC's home page |
| OC |