Song no. 1 from the collection Lis Isclo d'Or by Frédéric Mistral (dates inconnues), published in 1867. Public domain. Source spelling: mistralienne, reproduced unchanged.
Text
English translation of the full text forthcoming.
Notes
La Coupo Santo is the anthem of Provence. On 30 July 1867, in Avignon, Catalan writers gave the félibres a silver cup in thanks for the hospitality they, led by the primadié Jean Brunet, had shown the Catalan poet and federalist Victor Balaguer, exiled for a time by Queen Isabella II for political reasons; the gift also sealed the long friendship between Catalonia and Provence. Frédéric Mistral wrote the song of the cup for that banquet, to the tune of a seventeenth-century Christmas carol, « Guihaume, Tòni, Pèire », traditionally attributed to Brother Sérapion. Seven verses, a refrain after each, and a dedication to the poet Félix Gras. Beyond the Félibrige, which sings it every year at the Santo Estello banquet, it has become the song of the Provençal people at large: it is sung at family gatherings, weddings and funerals, at village feasts and festivals, and since the mid-2000s at the Stade Mayol before home games of the Rugby Club Toulonnais, the whole crowd standing for the refrain. Along with the language itself, it is the strongest and most living symbol of Provençal identity.
Notable words
| Provençal | French |
|---|---|
| coupo | coupe |
| santo | sainte |
| felibre | félibre, poète membre du Félibrige |
| estrambord | enthousiasme, élan |
| nacioun | nation |
| pouësìo | poésie |
Glosses are given in French, as delivered by our lexicographic source; an English gloss is not yet available for these words.
Source: Frédéric Mistral, Lis Isclo d'Or, 1867, song no. 1. Public domain. Digitization: https://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/Lis_Isclo_d%E2%80%99Or/La_Coupo. Transcription and formatting by Lingua Nostra.