French languages and French nationalism: The Felibrige, Occitan, and the French identity of southern France, 1854--1914

The division of France between speakers of French and speakers of regional languages persisted throughout most of the nineteenth century. In 1854, a writer's association called the Félibrige was formed to promote one of those languages, Occitan, as a literary language in order to preserve it as French became increasingly spoken in southern France. Through the 1850s and 1860s, the movement stuck to its mission of promoting the Occitan language through literature. In 1861, Frédéric Mistral won the group's first success with his epic poem Mirèio, which sold well and won support from some Parisian critics.; In 1868, the Félibrige had its first brush with politics. The republican movement in France—now allowed more freedom by the Second Empire—began to attack the Félibrige, implying reactionary, anti-French motives behind its goals. The Félibres' first response was to insist on their patriotism. They did this by pointing out that loyalty to southern France was still loyalty to France. Internally, they intensified their prohibition of political discussion by making it the second article of their laws. 1876 marked a turning point in the history of the movement. The Félibrige reorganized its growing membership in a federal structure, with members belonging to groups affiliated to the Félibrige. 1878 marked the high point of the Félibres' third response to their brush with politics: pan-Latinism. This was the belief in a cultural unity among “Latin” countries with romance languages.; Also in 1876, the Félibrige had its first splinter group, the Félibrige rouge. This group combined pan-Latinism with a federal vision of France. By the 1880s, the Félibrige had grown to include local affiliates across southern France, and in Paris. The Parisian Félibrige became best known to the French public, and came to epitomize the Félibrige. The Paris Félibrige was marked by the relegation of its activities to the private sphere, and its success in adding regional traditions to the identity of France. By hosting attractive social gatherings, the Paris Félibrige recruited prominent men to its cause and promoted the idea of a French identity rooted—privately if not publicly—in the provinces.