Compagnons du Tour de France
Encyclopedia
The Compagnons du Tour de France are a French
organization of craftsmen and artisans dating from the Middle Ages
, but still active today. Their traditional, technical education techniques includes taking a tour, the Tour de France around France and being the apprentice of competent masters. For a young man or young woman today, the compagnonnage is an original way to learn a trade while developing character by experiencing community life and traveling. The community lives in a Compagnon house, there are more than 80 in France. The houses vary in size from a small house for 5 people to a big house with more than 100 people living together.
Until recently, the compagnons were all male
. Today, compagnons can be found in 49 countries across 5 continents. There are many different trades that Compagnons specialize in (listed below).
A similar tradition exists for German Wandergesellen, or journeymen
, to set out on the Wanderjahre.
Tour de France simply refers to the fact that they are working in different places in France; every six months to a year,they are required to change work locations. This is unrelated to the Tour de France cycliste
, a cycling
competition
. The word compagnon is a diminutive of compaing [compare Modern French copain], a person with whom one breaks bread.
Stagiaire: During the first year of your tour de France,your title is a Stagiaire (aka Compagnon Guest), full-time work in your trade (M-F), and you are required to live in the Compagnon house. Lessons are Monday-Friday, from 8pm-10pm and Saturday 8am-12pm and 1:30pm–5:30 pm. Dinner is eaten together at the siège (lodge) of Compagnons. During this period, if you like the Compagnon life and wish to be part of the family of the Compagnons you apply for the adoption ceremony.
Ceremony of Adoption: You will have to do your Travail d'adoption which is a project that must be submitted to become an Aspirant. At this point, you may be adopted as an Aspirant. Then you receive your Aspirant name, which is made up from the region or town that s/he comes from in France. For example, somebody from Burgundy, will be called Bourguignon. They are also presented with a ceremonial walking staff (representing the itinerant nature of the organisation) and also a sash. Those ceremonies are between Compagnons and Aspirants and is completely confidential.
Aspirant: Once you have accomplished the title of an Aspirant, you work full-time in your trade (M-F), and you are still required to live in the Compagnon house. You have lessons (M-F) 8pm-10pm and Saturday 8am-12pm and 1:30pm–5:30 pm. Dinner is eaten together at the siège (lodge) of Compagnons. The Aspirant stays/tours in several towns/cities over the next three to five years, working under Compagnons, to learn the trade.
Ceremony of Reception: The Reception ceremony is held. Ultimately, Aspirants present their masterpiece travail de réception to the board of Compagnons. The masterpiece is a required piece which every kind of Compagnon must complete as an Aspirant to become a Compagnon. Of course, there are different kinds of masterpieces depending on the trade. If accepted, you may become a Compagnon Itinérant and receive a Compagnon name. Furthermore, you are presented with a new walking stick that reaches the height of your heart. Some of these masterpieces are displayed at the Musée du Compagnonnage in Tours.
Compagnon: During the three years following the Reception, you are called Compagnon itinérant because you are still required to do 3 more years of touring. After thoses 3 years to the end of your life, you are a Compagnon Sedantaire. You aren't required to tour anymore, and you can live and work anywhere you want. You volunteer yourself to teach the young methods and professionalism.
, technology, French, English, Mathematics etc. On Saturdays, classes are from 8am-12pm and 1:30pm–5:30 pm. During thoses classes you perform your skills by making different projects as well as having lessons. Many maquettes are created by charpentiers and other woodworkers. A maquette is a wooden model that they have conceived and created, first through drawings. They cut and assemble the wood to make the model. They will make a many of these throughout their time as Aspirants. Each piece is expected to show that they have understood and mastered the most difficult aspects of the trade so far. Sundays are spent exploring the area they are stationed at or they may work on a masterpiece/project.
As a craftsman's guild
Compagnonnage was banned by the National Assembly
under the Le Chapelier Law
in 1791. The law was not annulled until 1864.
During the Nazi Occupation of France in World War II
, the Compagnons split into different factions; those supporting the collaborationist Vichy regime
and those in the French Resistance
. Many sièges burnt all their records in order that their details never be uncovered by the Nazis or the Vichy. The splits within the Compagnonnage remain bitterly held to this day.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
organization of craftsmen and artisans dating from the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
, but still active today. Their traditional, technical education techniques includes taking a tour, the Tour de France around France and being the apprentice of competent masters. For a young man or young woman today, the compagnonnage is an original way to learn a trade while developing character by experiencing community life and traveling. The community lives in a Compagnon house, there are more than 80 in France. The houses vary in size from a small house for 5 people to a big house with more than 100 people living together.
Until recently, the compagnons were all male
Male
Male refers to the biological sex of an organism, or part of an organism, which produces small mobile gametes, called spermatozoa. Each spermatozoon can fuse with a larger female gamete or ovum, in the process of fertilization...
. Today, compagnons can be found in 49 countries across 5 continents. There are many different trades that Compagnons specialize in (listed below).
A similar tradition exists for German Wandergesellen, or journeymen
Journeyman
A journeyman is someone who completed an apprenticeship and was fully educated in a trade or craft, but not yet a master. To become a master, a journeyman had to submit a master work piece to a guild for evaluation and be admitted to the guild as a master....
, to set out on the Wanderjahre.
Tour de France simply refers to the fact that they are working in different places in France; every six months to a year,they are required to change work locations. This is unrelated to the Tour de France cycliste
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
, a cycling
Cycling
Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...
competition
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
. The word compagnon is a diminutive of compaing [compare Modern French copain], a person with whom one breaks bread.
Stages of becoming a Compagnon
To start a Tour de France, you are required to already have a Certificat d'Aptitude Professionelle diploma which includes classes and an apprenticeship. This diploma is the basic French trade qualification.Stagiaire: During the first year of your tour de France,your title is a Stagiaire (aka Compagnon Guest), full-time work in your trade (M-F), and you are required to live in the Compagnon house. Lessons are Monday-Friday, from 8pm-10pm and Saturday 8am-12pm and 1:30pm–5:30 pm. Dinner is eaten together at the siège (lodge) of Compagnons. During this period, if you like the Compagnon life and wish to be part of the family of the Compagnons you apply for the adoption ceremony.
Ceremony of Adoption: You will have to do your Travail d'adoption which is a project that must be submitted to become an Aspirant. At this point, you may be adopted as an Aspirant. Then you receive your Aspirant name, which is made up from the region or town that s/he comes from in France. For example, somebody from Burgundy, will be called Bourguignon. They are also presented with a ceremonial walking staff (representing the itinerant nature of the organisation) and also a sash. Those ceremonies are between Compagnons and Aspirants and is completely confidential.
Aspirant: Once you have accomplished the title of an Aspirant, you work full-time in your trade (M-F), and you are still required to live in the Compagnon house. You have lessons (M-F) 8pm-10pm and Saturday 8am-12pm and 1:30pm–5:30 pm. Dinner is eaten together at the siège (lodge) of Compagnons. The Aspirant stays/tours in several towns/cities over the next three to five years, working under Compagnons, to learn the trade.
Ceremony of Reception: The Reception ceremony is held. Ultimately, Aspirants present their masterpiece travail de réception to the board of Compagnons. The masterpiece is a required piece which every kind of Compagnon must complete as an Aspirant to become a Compagnon. Of course, there are different kinds of masterpieces depending on the trade. If accepted, you may become a Compagnon Itinérant and receive a Compagnon name. Furthermore, you are presented with a new walking stick that reaches the height of your heart. Some of these masterpieces are displayed at the Musée du Compagnonnage in Tours.
Compagnon: During the three years following the Reception, you are called Compagnon itinérant because you are still required to do 3 more years of touring. After thoses 3 years to the end of your life, you are a Compagnon Sedantaire. You aren't required to tour anymore, and you can live and work anywhere you want. You volunteer yourself to teach the young methods and professionalism.
Life during the Tour de France
A typical weekday for a charpentier (roof carpenter/framer) would involve a day on-site working full-time for the company that employs the Aspirant. Once the day of work is done you head to the Compagnon house, the place where you are living. The meal is taken between 7pm and 8pm with the community living in the house. After dinner, the Aspirants have classes from about 8pm until 10 pm. Thoses classes are technical drawingTechnical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
, technology, French, English, Mathematics etc. On Saturdays, classes are from 8am-12pm and 1:30pm–5:30 pm. During thoses classes you perform your skills by making different projects as well as having lessons. Many maquettes are created by charpentiers and other woodworkers. A maquette is a wooden model that they have conceived and created, first through drawings. They cut and assemble the wood to make the model. They will make a many of these throughout their time as Aspirants. Each piece is expected to show that they have understood and mastered the most difficult aspects of the trade so far. Sundays are spent exploring the area they are stationed at or they may work on a masterpiece/project.
Compagnonnage and history
Compagnons are also given secret words - the secrecy and the Compagnon name comes from late Medieval Times, when the strengthening group of Compagnons (Compagnonnage). They were building the churches and chateaux of France and were persecuted by the King and the Catholic Church because they refused to live under the rules of either.As a craftsman's guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
Compagnonnage was banned by the National Assembly
National Assembly (French Revolution)
During the French Revolution, the National Assembly , which existed from June 17 to July 9, 1789, was a transitional body between the Estates-General and the National Constituent Assembly.-Background:...
under the Le Chapelier Law
Le Chapelier Law
The Le Chapelier Law was a piece of legislation passed by the National Assembly during the first phase of the French Revolution , banning guilds as the early version of trade unions, as well as compagnonnage and the right to strike, and proclaiming free enterprise as the norm...
in 1791. The law was not annulled until 1864.
During the Nazi Occupation of France in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Compagnons split into different factions; those supporting the collaborationist Vichy regime
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
and those in the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
. Many sièges burnt all their records in order that their details never be uncovered by the Nazis or the Vichy. The splits within the Compagnonnage remain bitterly held to this day.
Compagnon professions
The professions of the Compagnons are:- stonecutterStonemasonryThe craft of stonemasonry has existed since the dawn of civilization - creating buildings, structures, and sculpture using stone from the earth. These materials have been used to construct many of the long-lasting, ancient monuments, artifacts, cathedrals, and cities in a wide variety of cultures...
- mason
- carpenterCarpenterA carpenter is a skilled craftsperson who works with timber to construct, install and maintain buildings, furniture, and other objects. The work, known as carpentry, may involve manual labor and work outdoors....
wood constructor - rooferRooferA roofer specializes in roof construction, concentrating on the application of materials that water proof and / or weather proof buildings,designed material—as a substrate for the roofing materials to be installed on. The rafters, beams, and trusses are the frame or skeleton for the roof to be...
- plumberPlumberA plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable water, sewage, and drainage in plumbing systems. The term dates from ancient times, and is related to the Latin word for lead, "plumbum." A person engaged in fixing metaphorical "leaks" may also be...
-heating engineer - locksmith-metalsmith
- joinerJoinerA joiner differs from a carpenter in that joiners cut and fit joints in wood that do not use nails. Joiners usually work in a workshop since the formation of various joints generally requires non-portable machinery. A carpenter normally works on site...
- plastererPlastererA plasterer is a tradesman who works with plaster, such as forming a layer of plaster on an interior wall or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls...
-patternmaker-fibrous plasterer - painter
- upholsterer
- cabinetmaker
- gardener-landscape architectLandscape architectA landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
- cooperCooper (profession)Traditionally, a cooper is someone who makes wooden staved vessels of a conical form, of greater length than breadth, bound together with hoops and possessing flat ends or heads...
- body repairman
- boiler makerBoilermakerA boilermaker is a trained craftsman who produces steel fabrications from plates and sections. The name originated from craftsmen who would fabricate boilers, but they may work on projects as diverse as bridges to blast furnaces to the construction of mining equipment.-Boilermaking:Many...
- mechanicMechanicA mechanic is a craftsman or technician who uses tools to build or repair machinery.Many mechanics are specialized in a particular field such as auto mechanics, bicycle mechanics, motorcycle mechanics, boiler mechanics, general mechanics, industrial maintenance mechanics , air conditioning and...
constructor - electricianElectricianAn electrician is a tradesman specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, stationary machines and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance and repair of existing electrical infrastructure. Electricians may also...
- precision mechanic
- blacksmithBlacksmithA blacksmith is a person who creates objects from wrought iron or steel by forging the metal; that is, by using tools to hammer, bend, and cut...
- horseshoer
- cobbler
- leather goods maker
- harness maker
- bakerBakerA baker is someone who bakes and sells bread, Cakes and similar foods may also be produced, as the traditional boundaries between what is produced by a baker as opposed to a pastry chef have blurred in recent decades...
- pastry chefPastry chefA pastry chef or pâtissier is a station chef in a professional kitchen, skilled in the making of pastries, desserts, breads and other baked goods...
Notable Compagnons
- Adolphe Clément-Bayard, c. 1871, blacksmith
- Edmond Le MartinLéon LemartinThéodore Clovis Edmond Lemartin, known as Léon Lemartin was a pioneer aviator who set a world record on 3 February 1911 at Pau, France when he carried seven passengers in a Bleriot XIII Aerobus...
, blacksmith / farrier, hosted many travellers in Dunes. Father of aviator Léon Lemartin. - Joël RobuchonJoël RobuchonJoël Robuchon is a French chef and restaurateur. He was titled "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989 and also awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France in cuisine in 1976...
, In 1966 Robuchon became the official chef of La Tour de France namely “Compagnon du Tour de France”, enabling him to travel throughout the country, learning a variety of diverse regional techniques. As a companion he also became inculcated with the spirit of reaching moral, manual and physical perfection.