THE FELIBRITGE
The French Revolution which saw the victory of the strongly centralizing Jacobeans, appeared to doom all other languages in favour of a linguistic unity. However the XIX century saw the emergence of several important figures in relation to the Occitan language. Gensemin, a barber of Agen, covered the entire Occitan areas with his Oc poems, and was later highly appraised by the romantic scholars of Paris (with Lamartine and Nodier). His poetic works attracted thousands of people. Another outstanding figure was that of V. Gelu, and exponent of popular realism, his work being censured by the imperial power as being offensive to public morality. The XIX century was particularly influenced by Mistral and the birth of the Felibritge movement (1854). This prestigious group included individuals such as Romanilha and Aubanel, and especially the great F. Mistral who, with his works entitled “Mireio”, “Calendal” and “The poem of Rodano” entered the realms of poetic glory. As well as his poetic works, Mistral devised the most complete Occitan language dictionary ever, “The treasure of Felibritge”. He was the only Occitan writer to have been awarded a Nobel prize for literature (in 1904). Il Felibritge experienced its golden years at the end of the XIX century and extended throughout the Occitan area, despite numerous internal battles between conservatives (the «whites» under Romanilha) and the progressive movement (the «reds», with Forest, Gras, de Ricard). Mistral moved away from these struggles towards the end of his life, leaving us with the sole heritage of his work. He died in 1914.