How can you say that this is French? It reminds more of Catalan than French, and is a kind of a transition language between Latin and French.
You need to know the context. The Strasburg Oaths were in a direct line of descent from Latin to Early French, and the first time anybody thought it was necessary to write a separate version for French people, that wasn't Latin. It may well resemble Catalan (to me Spanish "resembles" Italian) but that's only in the way a man resembles his cousin.
I agree. And it actually doesn't resemble Old Catalan either. Although I'd probably agree too in calling them a sort of Gallo-Romance rather than Old French properly. Or Latin with some Gallo-Romance in it.
It is quite common that Romance early texts are interspersed with Latin. It is already in the 13th century that we start seeing more important 'Latin-free' literary texts in most Romance languages.
In the case of Catalan, the first sentences -which I already mentioned- are also alongside Latin. Then the Organyà Homilies are traditionally considered the first literary text, but I also see them as still very Latinesque. The two first really important works in full Old Catalan are always in prose (Catalan poets wrote in Occitan), and they are by King James I of Aragon and by the philosopher Ramon Llull (Raymond Luly in English), regarded as father of the language, not without a reason. Both were written in the 1270s.
This is the beginning of the Llibre dels Feyts, which was translated into English as Book of the Deeds. It's the first of the Four Great Catalan Chronicles, and it's an autobiography of the reign of James I of Aragon (1213-1276), dealing with deeds such as the conquest of Valencia and Majorca.
Retrau mon senyor Sent Jacme que fe sens obres morta es; aquesta paraula volch nostre Senyor complir en los nostres feyts; e jassia que la fe senes les obres no vayla re, quant abdues són ajustades fan fruyt, lo qual Deu vol reebre en la sua mansió.
My lord Saint James relates that faith without good works is dead. Our Lord wished this saying to be confirmed in our deeds; for though it is true that faith without works is worthless, when the two are combined they bear fruit, a fruit that God wishes to receive in His mansion.
In the case of Llull's first book,
Llibre de contemplació en Déu ("Book of Contemplation in God"), we are talking about a mystical encyclopedical work about creation, the human being in all aspects and the presence of God. Apart from being foundational and of high literary quality, Lllull is saying to the Catalan-speaking elites of the time that they could use their mother tongue as a means for literature, science and philosophy/theology, instead of Latin, advancing many other languages of Europe in this regard.
This fragment shows how Catalan was already clearly different from Occitan, and preferred for 'serious' things. In fact, Llull critizises his contemporary troubadours (all of whom wrote in Occitan).
Ah Déus, pare celestial, en lo qual és tota santetat e tota senyoria e tota glòria e tota benedicció! L’art, Sényer, de joglaria començà en vós a lloar e en vós a beneir; e per açò foren atrobats estruments e voltes e lais e sons novells amb què hom s’alegràs en vós. Mas, segons que nosaltres veem ara, Sényer, en nostre temps tota l’art de joglaria s’és mudada; car los hòmens qui s’entremeten de sonar estruments e de ballar e de trobar no canten ni no sonen los estruments ni no fan verses ni cançons sinó de luxúria e de vanitats d’aquest món.
Oh God, heavenly father, in whom all is holiness, glory and blessing! The art of the minstrels began praising and blessing thee, and to that purpose instruments, lays and new sounds were found for everyone to rejoice in thee. But, the way we see this now, Lord, in these times the art of the minstrels has changed. For men devoted to play instruments, dance and compose, they neither play them nor compose verses or songs but of lust and of the vanities of this world.
