Talk:Pont Saint-Bénézet

Citations please
"In fact people would have danced beneath the bridge (sous le pont) where it crossed a river island (the Ile de Barthelasse) on its way to Villeneuve. The island was (and still is) a popular recreation spot, where pleasure gardens once stood and folk dancing was a popular pastime for many years. The bridge itself is far too narrow to have accommodated dancers."

Says who? The bridge looks perfectly danceable to me. One could conga across it easily for example. If you have evidence that people didn't dance or a scholarly work that suggests this may be the case, by all means quote it. Otherwise please remove this subjective opinionated piece of wikiality. -- —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 87.162.64.167 (talk).


 * Have you actually visited the bridge? I have, and I can tell you it's not only narrow, but you'd probably break your leg if you tried to dance on it - it's paved with rather uneven cobbles. I've added a reference to the article, anyway. -- ChrisO 17:40, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Why the author here said that "sus le pont" is more accurate?? Sus in ancient french means "sur", so the meaning doesn't change. The people used to dance ON the bridge. It's impossible? Could be, but the song tells this story... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 93.45.225.133 (talk) 21:40, 9 April 2010 (UTC)

The story I always heard was that the song had originated as political satire during the time that the bridge was experiencing a series of construction delays and its detractors said that all you could do with it was to dance on it since it wasn't any use for anything else. I have no evidence to support this, only chat in a French class. — Preceding unsigned comment added by John Farrer (talk • contribs) 13:53, 19 June 2011 (UTC)

Generally speaking, there are two forms of medieval and Renaissance era dance (in France, England, and elsewhere in Europe): the carole (or ronde) and the bransle. The caroles were strictly circular dances while the bransles were characterised by side-to-side motion, which was probably originally done in lines. As the European nobility grew more wealthy, outdoor dances were moved indoors, and some bransles evolved into circular formation to fit within palatial ballrooms. It is entirely possible to dance the vast majority of historically-attested bransles "sur le pont d'Avignon", even if one does sprain an ankle in the process. In any event, this page's claim that a bridge is too narrow for dancing needsto be removed for its sheer absurdity. The statement was most likely made by an individual with little knowledge of French dance history, and would only be factually true if we had zero evidence of European line dances. It is apalling that the remark has remained on this page for so long. Zeppelin42 (talk) 07:10, 23 April 2013 (UTC)

only one é in the name
Hi - Yesterday I added a second é to the name, unaware of the edit by ChrisO, as I've been away for 2 weeks. Having researched loads of websites etc. I am now more confused than ever. Does anyone have definitive knowledge on this or is there, in reality, no correct final answer? BTW, the 'Michelin Guide' gives 2 é (Bénézet) and many saints lists give no é at all! This entry, among others on a Google search, agrees with Michelin: "Gard - Saint-Gilles - [ Translate this page ]La société SCEA Saint-Bénézet à Saint-Gilles produit et vend des vins d´Appellation d´Origine Contrôlée, des vins de table et des vins de pays. ... coodoeil.com/30,gard,saint-gilles.htm - 34k - Cached - Similar pages" - Ballista 06:05, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Bridge destroyed in 1226
I've reverted edits to the lead that added details of a bridge that was destroyed in 1226 during the Albigensian crusade. Almost nothing is known about this earlier bridge, but it is believed to have been constructed of wood as a wooden bridge is mentioned in a letter of 1226 - see Footnote a. This fits with its rapid construction. Note also that the Île de la Barthelasse did not exist at the time; the number and positions of the islands in the Rhone have changed over the centuries (as an example see the 1575 print in the article). I've added back the year of the Albigensian crusade in the lead (and also corrected my 1236 typo in a note) - Aa77zz (talk) 13:06, 3 March 2020 (UTC)
 * I've now added the length and width of the stone bridge to the lead. - Aa77zz (talk) 13:33, 3 March 2020 (UTC)