PROVENCAL LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE.
The term Provencal is employed in two different meanings.
(I) Lato sensu, it embraces all idioms of Latin origin spoken in Southern France over a zone extending south of a line which starts at the mouth of the Gironde, passes through Bordeaux, Libourne, Mussidan, Pengueux, Nontron, Mouhet, Bellac, Li moges, Gueret, Chenerailles, Montlucon, Verneuil, Clermont-Fer rand, Saint-Bonnet-le-Château, Saint Sauveur-en-Rue, Gilhoc, Saint-Vallier, Romans, Die, Montmaur and finishes at Puy-Saint Andre. (2) Stricto sensu, it is applied to the idioms spoken in the Alpes-Maritimes, Basses-Alpes, Var and Bouches-du-RhOne departments. It was long customary to distinguish the dialects of Southern France by the names of the old provinces in which they occur, viz., Bearnais, Languedocien, Rouergat, etc. The classification now generally adopted is: (I) Gascon, (2) Proven cal moyen and Provencal alpin (from Agen to Mentone), (3) Auvergnat and Limousin, (4) Catalan (q.v.).
With the 1 ath century arose a literary language used as a KoLvi by the Troubadors. As some of the most celebrated of these poets, Bernard de Ventadour, Arnaud Daniel, Bertrand de Born and Jaucelm Faidit came from the Limousin, this rcotv, was long known as lengua lemosina; a name, however, not to be misinter preted. The literary language was not homogeneous, but com posite.
The Troubadors conveyed this form of Provencal with them to Northern France, Italy, Spain and Portugal. When Languedoc passed to the House of France (1272) two languages, Latin al most exclusively and French to a very limited degree, were em ployed for administrative purposes. Minute examination of the documents contained in the archives of Southern France has re cently proved that French exerted only inappreciable influence upon Provencal down to the close of mediaeval times. The Frenchification was not the outcome of a long, slow process. Indeed at the end of the Hundred Years' War, Provencal was still highly vigorous both in administrative and general use; it was then, from 1450 to 1600, very rapidly penetrated by French.
First to yield was Northern Limousin ; it was followed next by Perigord, Bordelais, Agenais, then Gascony, and finally by the Pyrenees which resisted till the last years of the 18th century. The initial period of this penetration may be placed about 1540 (see A. Brun, Recherches historiques sur l'introduction du fran pis dans les provinces du midi, 1923). The various patois, con tinuing to be spoken by the middle class and peasantry developed freely. The new lease of life upon which the Southern idioms entered during the second half of the 19th century, must not be regarded as an unexpected accident. It had been prepared by the reawakening sense of nationality and promoted by the efforts of scholars, historians and men of letters, all of whom united in lauding the qualities of the ancient tongue and urging the Southerners to voice their native feelings and aspirations in their native "language." Amongst the leading representatives of the movement must be mentioned F. Mistral, not only on ac count of his literary masterpieces, especially his immortal Mireio (1859), but also for his publication of Lou Tresor d'ou Felibrige (1878-86), the Provencal French dictionary which conferred lettres de noblesse on the new classical language of Provence, sprung from divers patois of the Bouches-du-Rhone. Provencal (including Catalan) is spoken by some io,000,000 persons in France.
The Provencal dialects are less divergent from Latin than is the case with French. The following particulars will help to make clear what has been called "the archaic character" of Provencal and give, at the same time, a concise view of its special phonetic features.