Antoine Bigot

Antoine Hippolyte Bigot (February 27, 1825 in Nîmes – January 7, 1897 in Nîmes), was a French writer, poet, and translator in the Nîmes Provençal dialect of Occitan.

Born into a Protestant family, Antoine Bigot was able to be educated and therefore escape the manual farm labor so prevalent at that time and was intended to learn a trade. In 1850, he met Jean Reboul and later Louis Roumieux, with whom he launched a literary career. In 1854, Frédéric Mistral and his friends founded the Provençal Occitan writers' association Félibrige and Bigot was invited to join. He wanted to praise his city (Nîmes) in his own language, his "impure dialect that is disappearing". In 1861, he became a corresponding member of the Academy of Nîmes, and a full member in 1864. In 1865, he was a member of the Consistory of the Reformed Church. He died at his home on Rue Cart on January 7, 1897, and was buried in the Protestant cemetery in Nîmes, leaving behind a reputation as a poet. In 1903, due to the influence of his friend and successor Jean Mejean, a bust of Bigot was erected near the statue of Jean Reboul at the bottom of the grand staircase of the Jardins de la Fontaine. Gaston Doumergue, the government minister and fellow Protestant, was present at the ceremony. Bigot (Protestant and Republican) has often been seen as opposed (legitimately or not) to Reboul (Catholic and Royalist).