La nobla leyczon
La nobla leyczon (Occitan pronunciation: [la ˈnɔpːlɔ lejˈsu], La nòbla leiçon in modern Occitan, "The Noble Lesson") is an anonymous text written in Old Occitan. It is the founding document[1] of the Waldensian creed. Its sixth line, ben ha mil & cent an complí entierament (already eleven hundred years have run their course [since Christ died]), places it in the early 12th century but modern scholars now date it between 1190 and 1240.[2] However, the very same line varies according to which of the four manuscripts is studied: the Geneva and Dublin ones say mil e cen (1100) while the Cambridge ones both state mil e cccc cent (1400).[3] Further discrepancies include various anachronisms and the fact that Old Occitan was not spoken in the Lyon region.[4] The manuscript was found in the Piedmontese valleys.[5]
The 479 lines of the poem can be divided into seven parts according to the themes treated [4]: 1-56 deal with the end of the world; 57-229 retrace the history of the Bible; 230-265 tell of the new law; 266-333 narrate Jesus's life and works; 334-360 praise the faithful Christian Church; 361-413 relate the persecutions and the corrupted lives of papists and 414-479 explain what true repentance is.
Opening lines
AYCÍ COMENCZA LA NOBLA LEYCZON O frayre, entendé ma nobla leyczon: |
THUS BEGINTH THE NOBLE LESSON [5] O Brethren, give ear to a noble Lesson, |
External links
References
- ^ The most important of the Waldensian literature is a poem in Provençal, La Nobla Leyczon, but it is not entirely original, having been edited.[1]
- ^ Bosio, Enrico: La Nobla Leyczon considérée au point de vue de la doctrine, de la morale et de l'histoire, Bulletin de la Société d'Histoire Vaudoise, n° 2 (dic. 1885), pp. 20-36.
- ^ Édouard Montet, La noble leçon, texte original d'après le manuscrit de Cambridge, 1888, p. 4.
- ^ Judith Collins, Heritage of the Waldensians: a Sketch, WRS Journal 3:2 (August 1996) 9-15, p.2: This pre-dates Peter of Lyons, who with his followers, were chased from Lyons about 1186, when they joined the valley dwellers, the Valdese. [...] The Lesson mentions the Vaudois (Valdense) as being already persecuted and as having already a well-known history. The idiom of the Nobla Leyczon is that of the valleys, the Romance language, and not that of the idiom of Lyons, a French dialect, which it would have been if Peter (Valdo) and his Poor Men had authored it.[2]
- ^ Ralph Griffiths & George Edward Griffiths, The Monthly Review, 1825, p. 259 [3]