Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne

He is often called the father of literature in the patois of the Aosta Valley. Jean-Baptiste Cerlogne was born on 6 March 1826 in Saint-Nicolas. A priest, poet and grammarian, he was one of the first to write in Valdôtain patois and to describe it methodically.

A child of Saint-Nicolas

Cerlogne came from a farming family. He grew up in a rural setting where the Franco-Provençal of the Aosta Valley was the everyday language. That language would remain at the heart of his work.

Abbé Cerlogne

He became a priest and served in several parishes in the valley. These years spent among the local people allowed him to get to know the local dialects and the traditions of the Aosta Valley better.

Grammar, dictionary and poems

Cerlogne devoted much of his life to the patois. His main works are:

• a grammar of Valdôtain patois (1893);
• a dictionary of Valdôtain patois (1907);
• several collections of poems in patois.

One of his best-known poems, L’infan prodeggo (“The prodigal son”), retells the Gospel parable in Valdôtain patois.

What he changed

The patois was above all a spoken language. By describing it and using it for poetry, Cerlogne gave it the status of a literary language. His books served as a starting point for many writers and researchers after him.

His memory today

Cerlogne died in 1910. His name lives on in the valley:

• the Concours Cerlogne, a patois competition held every year for schools, is named after him;
• in Saint-Nicolas, his home village, a monument commemorates him;
• several streets in the region bear his name.

The Centre d’études francoprovençales, also based in Saint-Nicolas, is named instead after René Willien.