L'image du Flamand dans la tradition populaire wallonne depuis un siècle

Yves Quairiaux

Jean Pirotte

L'image du Flamand dans la tradition populaire wallonne depuis un siècle

How, according to the folk-tradition, do the Walloons see the Flemish population? An analysis of a stereotype is attempted here, considering the importance of stock-phrases and tags with regard to relations between populations. For an historian, the study of the folk-tradition sets a lot of problems concerning the research and the critical use of a complex documentation: oral tradition (popular phrases, songs, by-words, interviews), French and dialect al literature (navels, dramatic works, satirical writings), newspapers, etc. With such a documentation, we are able to describe some «patterns» of Flemings: the pedlar, the play-character, the militant Fleming, the farmer, the agricultural labourer and the worker. These portraits generally emphasize the dull-witted and rough appearance of the Fleming. The rise of these ideas, at a some time, among the Walloon population appears resulting from the social and cultural position of a great deal of the Flemish immigrants into the Walloon area.