Armand Lunel

Armand Lunel (French pronunciation: [aʁmɑ̃ lynɛl]; 9 June 1892 – 3 November 1977) was a French writer of Provençal Jewish background.

Armand Lunel
Lunel, 25 March 1920, at his wedding
Born	(1892-06-09)9 June 1892 Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France
Died	3 November 1977(1977-11-03) (aged 85) Monaco
Occupation	Writer
Language	French and Judeo-Provençal
Notable works	Nicolo-Peccavi
Notable awards	Prix Renaudot (1926)

Biography

Lunel was born in Aix-en-Provence, France, to a family that belonged to a Jewish subculture that had roots in the area for at least five centuries. After coming of age in the region, Lunel taught law and philosophy in Monaco.

Lunel wrote extensively about the Jews of Provence. Though often referred to as the last known speaker of Judeo-Provençal, he did not actually speak it; at most, he was passed down a few words and sentences from his great-grandparents.

He was a childhood friend of the composer Darius Milhaud, and wrote the librettos of Milhaud's operas Esther de Carpentras ("Esther of Carpentras," 1938, based on Judeo-Provençal folklore), Les malheurs d'Orphée ("The Misfortunes of Orpheus," 1924), and David (1954). He also provided the libretto for Henri Sauguet's La chartreuse de Parme, premiered in 1939.

He married Rachel Suzanne Messiah (1892–1981), a daughter of architect Aaron Messiah, in 1920.

Most of the current knowledge about Lunel was collected by his son-in-law Georges Jessula.

Bibliography

• L'Imagerie du cordier, La Nouvelle Revue Française, Paris, 1924.
• Nicolo-Peccavi ou L'affaire Dreyfus à Carpentras, Gallimard, Paris, 1926.
• Le Balai de sorcière, Gallimard, Paris, 1935.
• Jérusalem à Carpentras, Gallimard, 1937.
• Les Amandes d'Aix, Gallimard, Paris, 1949.
• La Belle à la fontaine, A. Fayard, Paris, 1959.
• J'ai vu vivre la Provence, A. Fayard, Paris, 1962.
• Juifs du Languedoc, de la Provence et des États français du Pape, Albin Michel, Paris, 1975. Translated by Samuel N. Rosenberg as "The Jews of the South of France" (with a foreword by David A. Jessula), Cincinnati: Hebrew University College Annual 89 (2018), pp. 1–158.
• Les Chemins de mon judaïsme et divers inédits, presented by Georges Jessula, L'Harmattan, Paris, 1993.

References

• Nahon, Peter (2023). Les parlers français des israélites du Midi. Strasbourg: Éditions de linguistique et de philologie..

External links

• Armand Lunel at Beit Hatefutsot, the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Ramat Aviv, Israel
• "The Last Man Who Spoke Provence's Dead Jewish Language" Archived 1 June 2014 at the Wayback Machine