A (mostly) lost language
People in 13th century Southern France spoke a language they called the lenga romana; it was closely related to Latin and Spanish. Linguists call this Old Occitan or langue d'oc. When northern nobles conquered this region, they replaced much of its language and culture with their own. However, there are still a few speakers of Occitan in this region today.
This article provides a good overview. The image is the "Occitan cross".
Here are Occitan words used in Journey of Souls.
Bonhomme — A good man. The word "Cathar" had not yet been invented; the people we now call Cathars called themselves the good men or the good Christians.
Cançós d’amor — Love songs. There were many other kinds of troubadour songs (war, dispute, satire, and so forth).
Consolamentum - A vow taken by a Cathar believer in order to become a Cathar perfect. This bound the person to chastity, an austere diet (no meat), and virtue. They often traveled in pairs as preachers. This vow was often made on the deathbed. Believers was not held to these strict standards; believers could marry and eat meat. However, their failure to practice these virtues meant that they would be reincarnated into another life on earth. The perfects who kept this vow were freed to go to heaven. In their view: the earth was created by Satan, and it was hell. Heaven was the domain of God. Women as well as men could become perfects.
Cortezia — The southern value of grace and courtly honor (these were qualities they felt that northerners lacked)
Crucesignati — Crusaders. Men at the time would not have said "I am going on a Crusade", they would have said "I am taking the cross"
Donzel -- a young man in military training. He might become a knight, but only if he had the resources (money, land, vassals) to support himself.
Joglar or joglesa -- a male or female entertainer; they sang, danced, did acrobatics, acted, and so forth. They were low status.
Oc — Yes
Outremer - Jerusalem and the "Holy Land"
Paratge (pronounced pa-RACH) -- this word does not have a simple translation; it referred to virtues including honor, courtesy, nobility, chivalry, refinement, generosity, and gentility along with balance, natural order, and a sense of what is right. Richard the Lionheart and Salah Ad-Din were praised as men of paratge. Simon de Montfort, leader of the invaders during the Albigensian Crusades, was condemned as a man without paratge.
Perfect -- a Cathar who had taken the consolamentum vow.
Poulain — A colt; a term crusaders used to describe the half-breed children
Trobador (male) or trobairitz (female) -- composer of lyrics. Usually they were of noble birth (for example, Richard the Lionheart composed cançós ). Most were men but there were more than 30 known trobairitz.
vilatgé - villager
