Bocage

Bocage (/ˈboʊkɔːʒ/ BOH-kawzh) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture.

Etymology

Bocage is a Norman word that comes from the Old Norman boscage (Anglo-Norman boscage, Old French boschage), from the Old French root bosc ("wood") > Modern French bois ("wood") cf. Medieval Latin boscus (first mentioned in 704 AD). The Norman place names retain it as Bosc-, -bosc, Bosc-, pronounced traditionally [bɔk] or [bo]. The suffix -age means "a general thing". The boscage form was used in English for leafy decoration such as is found on eighteenth-century porcelain. Similar words occur in Scandinavian (cf. Swedish buskage) and other Germanic languages; the original root is thought to be the Proto-Germanic *bŏsk-. The boscage form seems to have developed its meaning under the influence of eighteenth-century romanticism.

In English bocage refers to a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture, with fields and winding country lanes sunken between narrow low ridges and banks surmounted by tall thick hedgerows that break the wind but also limit visibility. It is the sort of landscape found in England in Devon. In Normandy, it acquired a particular significance during the Battle of Normandy, as it made progress against the German defenders difficult. American personnel usually referred to bocage as hedgerows.

Bocage (disambiguation)

Bocage refers to a type of French countryside.

Bocage can also refer to:

Bocage (actor)

Pierre-Martinien Tousez, better known by his stage name Bocage, (Rouen, November 11, 1799–Paris, August 30, 1862) was a French actor.

Born into a poor family of laborers, Bocage was, early on, forced to work in a weaving factory in order to earn an income. Having learned how to read and write without going to school, he began to read, from an early age, the works of Shakespeare. He had an opportunity to get on the stage, and he decided to head on to Paris on foot, in order to fulfill his dreams of being an actor. There he entered the Paris Conservatoire, but had to leave it because his financial resources could not afford him the cost of tuition.

Handsome, talented but undisciplined, he went through a difficult start and had to spend several years on obscure provincial stages, before he joined the cast of the Porte Saint-Martin. In Paris, he was attached to the various dramatic theaters, and became extremely popular as a major interpreter of romantic creations: Antony, Marion Delorme, The Tour de Nesle, Don Juan de Marana, etc. He acted with great distinction and a passionate energy.