Identity Сonstruct in the Works of Troubadours or “Another France” Through the Language Lens

Abstract

This article is devoted to the language and culture of Provence/Occitania in the period of the late XI – early XIII centuries. It is shown in the article that the phrase of F. Brodel “forever another France” refers to a collective representations. According to Narcy-Combes J.-P who separated the terms “concept” and “construct”, the former is a result of a classification of natural phenomenon and people’s observation, while the latter is a result of people’s actions and will. The aim of this article is to show that the Provence/Occitanian identity, that goes back to the tradition of troubadours was created consciously on the base of identifiers. These identifiers formed on the one hand the uniqueness of the region in the eyes of its inhabitants and on the other hand they made it recognizable in the eyes of strangers. The feeling of belonging to Provence/Occitania has the features of a construct, which is based on special – “strong” words, or “words of power” (mots-force), “places of power” (lieux de force). The article shows that troubadours had a developed sense of belonging to their land. This sense of belonging was expressed through a system of strong words – identifiers such as iconic toponyms outlining the region, language designations, names of famous courtyards, names of patrons and ladies (including encrypted ones), as well as a built-in system of word-symbols reflecting the ideal, game, dream and values. In the article the conclusion is made about the troubadours’ language: it is an example of the way the words form an identity and the way they create a construct, which components don’t lose their meaning up to the present.

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