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Provençal literature is much more easily defined than the Provençal language in which it is expressed.1 Introduction
Starting in the 11th and 12th centuries in several centres it thence gradually spread out, first over the greater portion, though not the whole of southern France, and then into the north of Italy and Spain. It never felt the influence of the neighboring literatures. At the time of its highest development (12th century) the art of composing in the vulgar tongue did not exist, or was only beginning to exist, to the south of the Alps and the Pyrenees. In the north, in the country of French speech, vernacular poetry was in full bloom; but between the districts in which it had developed, Champagne, Ile de France, Picardie and Normandy and the region in which Provençal literature had sprung up, there seems to have been an intermediate zone formed by Burgundy, Bourbonnais , Berry, TouraineTouraine was a province of France. It is also the French region around the City of Tours and home to many of the great chateaux of the Loire Valley. and AnjouAnjou is a former county (c. 880), duchy ( 1360) and province centred on the city of Angers in the lower Loire Valley of western France. It corresponds largely to the present-day departement of Maine-et-Loire. The name Anjou is from Latin Andegavia referr which, far on in the Middle AgesThe Middle Ages formed the middle period in a schematic division of European history into three 'ages': Classical civilization, the Middle Ages, and Modern Civilization. It is commonly dated from the end of the Western Roman Empire ( 5th century) until th, appears to have remained almost barren of vernacular literature.
In its rise Provençal literature stands completely by itself, and in its development it long continued to be absolutely original. It presents at several points genuine analogies with the sister literature of northern France; but these analogies are due principally to certain primary elements common to both and only in a slight degree to mutual reaction.
It must be inquired, however, what amount of originality could belong to any, even the most original, RomanceRomance or romantic can refer to: Romantic love Romantic movements in the arts, Romanticism Romantic poetry Romantic fiction, including but not limited to Romance novels Romance genre in film Romantic comedy Romantic music A type of musical composition ca literature in the Middle Ages. In all Romanic countries compositions in the vernacular began to appear while the custom of writing in LatinAlternative meanings: See Latin (disambiguation Latin was the language originally spoken in the region around Rome called Latium. It gained great importance as the formal language of the Roman Empire. All Romance languages are descended from Latin, and ma was still preserved by uninterrupted tradition. Even during the most barbarous periods, when intellectual life was at its lowest, it was in Latin that sermonA sermon is an oration, usually given by a member of the clergy, that preaches and teaches Christianity. Sermons are usually, but not always, delivered in a church. Most churches have a pulpit or an ambo, an elevated architectural feature from which sermos, lives of saintIn general, the term saint is used to refer to someone thought to be especially virtuous and holy. This person may or may not be canonized, recognized or venerated by a religion. The word "saint" comes from the Latin word sanctus which means "holy. Various more or less apocryphal, accounts of miracles designed to attract pilgrims to certain shrines, monastic annals, legal documents, and contracts of all kinds were composed. When learning began to revive, as was the case in northern and central France under the influence of Charlemagne and later in the 11th century, it was Latin literature which naturally received increased support in writing.
Slowly and gradually the Romance languages, especially those of France, came to occupy part of the ground formerly occupied by Latin, but even after the Middle Ages had passed away the parent tongue retained no small portions of its original empire. Consequently Romanic literatures in general (and this is especially true of Provençal, as it does not extend beyond the medieval period) afford only an incomplete representation of the intellectual development of each country. Those literatures even which are most truly national, as having been subjected to no external influence, are only to a limited extent capable of teaching us what the nation was. They were, in short, created in the interests of the illiterate part of the people, and to a considerable degree by men themselves almost devoid of literary learning. But that does not make them less interesting.
