2024-04-07 04:40:01
Little known, but widespread, the myth of the Golden Goat is present almost everywhere in Provence. The “Cabro or Cabre” d’Or in Provençal Occitan refers to this creature with a fleece, horns and golden hooves. A legend to rediscover.
She would be the legendary guardian of a treasure but also the heroine of Provençal authors. The myth of the Golden Goat is told.
The Provencal Legend of the Golden Goat • © Illustration p 201 of The Golden Goat by Paul Arène, color compositions by Siméon, Manuel Brucker art edition, Paris.
If the mysterious Golden Goat is the subject of various Provençal legends, it is generally associated with the presence of the Saracens in the region and particularly with the hidden treasure of the Alpilles d’Abd al-Rahman ibn Abd Allah al-Ghafiqi. This Umayyad general led Muslim soldiers once morest the armies of Charles Martel during the illustrious and decisive Battle of Poitiers in the year 732.
The mythical animal also proves to be a source of inspiration for Provençal authors such as the poet Frédéric Mistralthe writer Alphonse Daudet or the novelist Paul Arène.
During the High Middle Ages, the offensives of Moors follow one another throughout Provence. Arriving from Spain, Muslim warriors went north and east. The looting accumulates accompanied by their precious spoils, the fruit of plunder.
A Provençal legend tells that a “wali” (In Algeria, this is a senior official responsible for a wilaya, an administrative zone) governor ofAl-Andalus – territory under Muslim domination in Europe – decided to hide an important treasure hidden in a goat’s skin inside a cave in Valley of Hell.
This valley shaped by erosion with cliffs pierced by caves is located below of Baux-de-Provencea hilltop village in Bouches-du-Rhône considered one of the most beautiful in France.
It is in this naturally unusual setting that Dante found the inspiration to write his masterful work, the Divine Comedy. Filmmaker Jean Cocteauchose to film “Testament of Orpheus” there in 1959.
The fable relates that the warlord Abd al-Rahman saw a goat slipping between two rocks in these places and decided to follow it. The goat leads him into a corner lit by torches where he comes face to face with a witch. The Taven ” who lives in the cave. The latter challenges him to face a monster in exchange for a place to store his loot. The two adversaries perished in a fierce fight which lasted two days and two nights.
Some time later, one of the general’s soldiers noticed the presence of a goat with golden fur, horns and hooves coming out of the cave. Terrified at the sight of this strange ruminant sparkling with all its lights, the Buckwheat took to his heels. This is how this mysterious Golden Goat became the sole guardian of the treasure left by the Muslim warlord…
It is said that since this tragic event, the goat with the golden fleece sometimes appears at night, allowing itself to be approached only by those capable of moving it, but leads astray among the rocks, seekers eager for riches.
Woe to him who follows this mysterious golden goat inside the cave, because his fate would be disastrous!
The Provençal authors Alphonse Daudet and Frédéric Mistral in Provence at the beginning of 1900 (from an engraving) • © Public Domain
The famous Provençal writer Frédéric Mistral places one of the chapters of his original work “Mirèio” – “Mireille” in French – written in verse and in Provençal Occitan. For this epic poem in twelve songs, he obtained the prize Nobel Prize in Literature in 1904.
T’ame, que se disien ti labro: Vole la Cabro d’Or, la cabro Que degun de mourtau ni la pais ni la mous, Que sout lou ro de Baus-Maniero Lipo la mousso rouscassiéro — O me perdrieu dins la peiriero, O me veiriès tourna la goat doù peù rous!
Frédéric Mistral
Miriam
I love you so much that if your lips said – I want the Golden Goat, the goat – that no mortal feeds or milks – who, under the rock of Baus-Manière – licks the moss from the rocks – or I would get lost in the quarries – or you would see me bringing back the red-haired goat!
The prolific Paul Arenawas inspired by the story of the fantastic goat to write his novel “The Golden Goat” published in 1889. In this work, the co-author of “Letters of my mill” returns to the legend around the mythical ruminant to tell a fable in which nobles and Saracens, villagers and goat guardian of a secret intertwine.
I had encountered The Golden Goat in every corner of Provence, in Les Baux, in Gordes, in Vallauris. everywhere the legend was linked to memories of the Saracen occupation, and everywhere it was a goat with a golden fleece, inhabiting a cave full of incalculable riches and leading to death the man daring enough to try to milk her or take hold of her…
The Golden Goat
Paul Arena
Alphonse Daudetfor his part, associates it with the Fairy Esterelle in the Var, precisely in the Esterel from which it takes its name. For some, this local fairy would have the power to make one fertile… While for others, it would be a simple Masco – “witch” in Provençal – whose magic potion would make one fertile.
In his tale “The stars, Story of a Provençal Shepherd”, the author evokes both the fairy and the goat:
And your good friend, shepherd, does she come up to see you sometimes? It must of course be the golden goat or this Estérelle Fairy who only runs to the tips of the mountains.
Alphonse Daudet
The Stars, Story of a Provençal Shepherd
An architectural heritage
Tour de la Chèvre d’Or in Biot • © City of Biot
On the old Clausonnes road linking the town of Biot to that of Vallauris, stands the Golden Goat Tower, an ancient monument whose original function has not really been defined. The stone building is classified under the historical monuments since September 2, 1943. The town of Biot in the Alpes-Maritimes who wishes to restore it has launched an appeal for donations. The objective is twofold. Renovate the ruined monument and facilitate public access. Here too, the story goes that the Golden Goat would be the guardian of loot buried by the Moors.
But we also find traces of the golden goat in Roquefort les Pins around the Boucle de la Grotte de la Chèvre d’Or, a hiking rather easy to access.
On the heights of Eze (06), the Château de la Chèvre d’Or is included in the Michelin gastronomic guide. The luxurious establishment is one of the six stages of “La Route du Bonheur” founded in 1954 by Marcel Tilloy at the origin of the Relais & Châteaux chain.
From Vallauris to Arles, via TriganceLançon de Provence and Éguilles, the Golden Goat continues to haunt the lands of Provence.
Mythical creature par excellence, object of fantasy and source of inspiration, its legendary history goes beyond the borders of the region and even France. We would have found traces of the Cabre d’Or in the Gard, the Belgian Ardennes and on the Costa Brava in Spain ! It remains, most often, linked to treasures hidden following the Saracen invasion.
And you then… Would you have the audacity to set out in search of the eternal guardian with the Golden Fleece and his marvelous treasure? Above all, be careful! Never forget that those who tried the adventure never came back…
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