History Occitan cross

the old occitan cross

the occitan cross first appears in coat of arms of counts of forcalquier , during reign of raymond v, count of toulouse, particular description of official seal dated 1165 corroborates. spreads across whole south-western part of today s france , spotted in various towns north throughout 12th century. several interpretations have been proposed cross, stressing symbolic side of , leaving aside fact heraldry not science of symbols, 1 of emblems (m. pastoureau).

in 1950, henri rolland suggested origin of occitan cross traced marquisate of provence, north of durance, more precisely town of venasque.

in 1966, in l auta review, roger camboulives voices idea occitan cross derives sun cross , perhaps nestorian cross found in china s turkestan. have arrived in toulouse via northern italy , provence, sometime in 10th century. in 1980, camboulives again emphasizes role played visigoths in presence of small spheres @ end of arms of cross: represent twelve houses of zodiac. hypothesis locate birth of occitan cross in or around toulouse.

a demonstration occitania , occitan language in béziers on march 17, 2007

in 1986, jean-yves royer (in le pays de forcalquier) claims cross provence admits henri rolland s theory flawed , built around wrong dates. royer concludes rolland possibly mistook occitan cross of forcalquier. draws evidence notably 2 crosses carved in lid of sarcophagus found in small alpes-de-haute-provence commune of ganagobie.

in december, 1994 edition of archistra magazine, pierre saliès once again maintains cross toulouse , fruit of successive local evolutions, possibly jerusalem cross.

two years after, in l auta (#612), jean rocacher confirms occitan cross first own emblem of old county of venasque, later torn between houses of toulouse , forcalquier.

in 2000, laurent macé (in les comtes de toulouse et leur entourage) claims occitan cross became counts emblem after raymond iv took part in first crusade. originate constantinople. macé indicates pattern first found in byzantine area , spread across western europe through italy , provence. crosses of venasque , forcalquier share same origin, though 1 not inspired other.

later in same year, bertran de la farge (in la croix occitane) locates original occitan cross somewhere in marquisate of provence, venasque. argues mixture of constantinople cross , coptic cross, brought provence monks , maybe through saint maurice.