Pierre Simond, Huguenot Pastor and Poet, by Emeritus Prof. David J Culpin

ABOUT

Pierre Simond arrived in Cape Town in 1688 as a pastor of French Huguenot refugees.

Eleven years later he began work on a new verse translation of the Huguenot psalter, which was central to Huguenot life and worship. His primary intention was to modernize the archaic language of the existing psalter, published a century earlier, which was no longer easy to understand. Simond’s version of the first fifty psalms was eventually published in 1704 in Amsterdam, under the title Veilles afriquaines or African Vigils; but then it disappeared without trace until a single copy was rediscovered, in Russia, in 1997.

Simond’s primary purpose in revising the psalter was to modernize the language, and yet no study of his own language and poetry has previously been undertaken. However, Simond himself provides us with the tools to undertake this task: he tells us how the idea of revising the psalter came about; he indicates the linguistic and poetic norms to which he sought to be faithful; and he presents himself to the reader as a modest, though trustworthy guide.

But questions remain. How good a poet was Simond? How modern is his French? Did he succeed in freeing himself from the verse translations of his predecessors? Our answers to these questions, based on new and recently published research, give us a glimpse into the lives of the first Huguenots in South Africa and shine a light on the development of the French language at a turning point in its history.

Mr Christie Fourie, of the Huguenot Society, will give a brief introduction to Pierre Simond and to the Simond exhibition at the Huguenot Museum.

Presentation (in English) by Emeritus Professor David J Culpin (UWC)

Event in partnership with the Consulate General of France in Cape Town.

DIRECTIONS