Apuy orpui was asociety, often organised as aguild orconfraternity, sometimes along religious (Catholic) lines, for the patronisation ofmusic andpoetry, typically through the holding of competitions. The termpuy derives from theLatinpodium, meaning "a place to stand", referring probably to a raised platform from which either the contests delivered their works or the judges listened to them.[1]Puys were established in many cities in northern and centralFrance, theLow Countries, and evenEngland during theHigh Middle Ages and theRenaissance, usually encouraging composition in theOld French language, but also in Latin andOccitan.[2]
The typicalpuy was dedicated to theVirgin Mary. Membership was regulated by statutes to which those entering had to swear. These governed the election of executive positions within thepuy and the benefits inhering in members. Members could be clerical or lay, male or female, noble or bourgeois, urban or rural. The earliest societies were organised around para-liturgical celebrations of the Marianfeast days, but these evolved poetry competitions and eventually the competitions became the focus of the festivals. Music and sung performance were emphasised early on, but over the centuries the quality of the poetry came to dominate the members' concern and thepuys ofNormandy, especially popular from the fifteenth century on, were redefined in the seventeenth as literary academies. In this form they survived until theFrench Revolution.
A poetical society known, in a generic fashion, as thePuy Sainta Maria (Puy-Sainte-Marie), seems to have held contests atLe-Puy-en-Velay (Podium Aniciense) in the Occitan language under the patronage ofAlfonso II of Aragon (1162–96). Among thetroubadours known to have competed was theMonge de Montaudon, who received aEurasian sparrowhawk as a prize for one piece. He is said by hisvida to have held the "suzerainty" of the "court of Puy" (cour du Puy) until it was dissolved.[3]
The height of the Frenchpuys was in theLate Middle Ages. Thepuy would have an open invitation for competitions in several categories, with the theme, form, and refrain in each category stipulated.[4] Among the common most common forms were theformes fixes, thechant royal,jeu parti,serventois, andballade. The music was generallystrophicmonophony, but thepuy atÉvreux, founded in 1570, did accept two submissions ofthrough-composedpolyphony fromOrlande de Lassus. The problems of adjudication at the contests spurred the production of several treatises on versification in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.[5] As in theFloral Games celebrated in southern France and Spain, the prizes awarded by thepuys could be flowers, such aslilies orroses, or sometimespalms. These floral prizes could be redeemable for money. Besides these, thepuys sometimes bestowedsignet rings (engraved with imagery or poetry). Thepuys could attract professionals and men of fame, such asJean Froissart, who competed and won atAbbeville,Lille,Tournai, andValenciennes. They also attracted local amateurs.
Thefirst documented Welsheisteddfod was hosted byRhys ap Gruffydd, the Prince ofDeheubarth through his paternal descent from theHouse of Dinefwr, atCardigan Castle onChristmas Day, 1176. According toHywel Teifi Edwards, what few details are recorded of the event in theBrut y Tywysogion, "encourage the view that it could not have been the first of its kind."[6]
Rhys awarded two chairs as prizes, one for the winner of the poetry competition and the other for music. The bardic chair went to a poet fromGwynedd, while the musical chair went to the son of Eilon the Crythwr, a member of Rhys's court.[7] Armchairs were a valuable asset, normally reserved for people of high status.[8]
In 2007, Welsh historian Roger Turvey, writing ofDinefwr Castle, suggested that The Lord Rhys' idea for a competitive festival of music and poetry at Cardigan Castle may have been inspired by similar contests in other parts ofCatholic Europe. In those other countries, aspiring poets were trained through apprenticeship tomaster craftsmen or by attending schools run by poets'guilds such as the Puy of France, theMeistersingers of theHoly Roman Empire, or theRederijkerskamers ofthe Netherlands, all of which also organized eisteddfod-like contests between poets onpatronal feast days of theRoman Catholicliturgical year. The Lord Rhys, Turvey suggested, may have learned about the Puy tradition from theCambro-Normans in theWelsh Marches or from Welsh mercenary soldiers returning from France.[9]
When asked about Turvey's theory, recognized eisteddfod historian Hywel Teifi Edwards said, "It's conjecture, but there's no doubt that there was a bardic tradition of competition for status before this time." Edwards further stated that any foreign influence was an indication of how very cosmopolitan Medieval Wales had been. "It's a sign of a healthy culture to accept – and marry with – other cultures," he added.[9]