Jules Watteeuw

Jules Watteeuw , born in 1849 with Tourcoing and died in the same city in 1947, was a poet of expression Picard E remained famous in its birthplace.

Its work

Between 1880 and 1910, he generally wrote and directed quantity of newspapers ( the Wheelbarrow ), collections of poetry, plays and songs ( Pasquilles of Broutteux ), into Picardy tourquennois. He was also local historian, but this time in French language , by writing his bulky Histoire of Tourcoing , rich person of known anecdotes of him only.

The character of the Broutteux

The term broutteux is a local characteristic designating people pushing of the wheelbarrows. " Broutteux " the fact originates in that the inhabitants of Tourcoing, under the Old Mode, went to the large market of Lille once per week or to sell the wool which they had combed artisanalement in the borough. While notable the tourquennois went there by barouche, the workmen and common people put fabric in wheelbarrows and left courageously to foot towards the capital Flandres (which is located all the same at fifteen kilometers of Tourcoing). What gradually led the Inhabitants of Lille to indicate Tourquennois like the " broutteux".

Regarding Tourquennois as louts, a chansonnier inhabitant of Lille, Burn-House (of his true name François Cottignies), found that the " broutteux" good backs had to be the recurring turkeys of the joke in its French tale in verse. " To be a broutteux" was soon synonymous in Lille with a seldom equalized idiocy. It is said that Burn-House failed several times being coiled of blows by of furious Tourquennois, in particular when his irony transfered with the insult in his ballade " Tourquennois crying the death of their lord, the Duke of Harbor ". When the chansonnier inhabitant of Lille died, it is told that bonfires were held in Tourcoing.

The character of broutteux was thus symbol of ridiculous since the escapades of Burn-House. One away century, Jules Watteeuw was going to return the counterpart to the Inhabitant of Lille by making of Broutteux the center of his works, regilding the blazon of the town of Tourcoing, and finally succeeding in obtaining the enthusiasm of Tourquennois in this patriotism of paroisse".

Itself (and is always) was called " Broutteux". Very popular among Tourquennois, those, by a municipal subscription, were devoted to offer to him, in the years 1910, a house richly decorated (with its effigy) in the current district with the Victoire.

Jules Watteeuw died almost centenary with Tourcoing, and its funeral was an great event of the life tourquennoise of immediate the post-war period.

Anecdote

Jules Watteeuw was certainly one of the rare people to be able to pride itself on sound living to live a street with his name; indeed, the house which it accepted in gift of Tourquennois locates at 20, rue Jules Watteeuw (and this since 1907).

Random links: