In the sixteenth century, the linguistic situation in southern France was characterized by the existence of several languages, each given a significantly different valuation. What relationship can be established between this environment of linguistic conflicts and the multilingual nature of numerous Occitan publications of the period? By studying various textual and typographical arrangements, we notice that, depending on the situation, the coincidence of several languages together in one work can be used to conceal these conflicts or to expose them, either to turn them into the subject of literary play or to (attempt to) turn a conflict’s dynamic in favour of the undervalued language. At the same time, these different manifestations share a common desire to offer readers of varied competencies a view of a world where languages with fluid values coexist with one another.

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Jourde, M., (2025), "Livres polyglottes et conflits linguistiques au XVIe siècle : l’exemple de l’occitan", HSSCommons: (DOI: )

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1. Renaissance and Reformation

Original publication: Jourde, Michel. "Livres polyglottes et conflits linguistiques au XVIe siècle : l’exemple de l’occitan." Renaissance and Reformation 42 (1): 2019. 41-66. DOI: 10.7202/1064518ar. This material has been re-published in an unmodified form on the Canadian HSS Commons with the permission of Iter Canada / Renaissance and Reformation. Copyright © the author(s). Their work is distributed by Renaissance and Reformation under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. For details, see https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.