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Raimon de Miraval(h) (c. 1135/1160 – c. 1220) was atroubadour (fl. 1180–1220) and, according to hisvida, "a poor knight fromCarcassonne who owned less than a quarter of the castle ofMiraval."[1] Favoured byRaymond VI of Toulouse, he was also later associated withPeter II of Aragon andAlfonso VIII of Castile. Hissenhal for Raymond VI wasAudiart.[1]
Raimon has been identified with a person of the same name who undersigned a charter of 1151, which led some to place his birth date as early as c. 1135,[2] while others reject the identification with the Raimon de Miraval of the charter and estimate his birth date at 1160 based on the height of his career c. 1200.[1] That Raimon owned only a quarter of his family's ancestral castle is an indication either ofpartible inheritance or clan structure.[1] Miraval was captured bySimon de Montfort during theAlbigensian Crusade. After theBattle of Muret in 1213 Raimon probably fled toSpain, after swearing never to sing again until he had regained his castle.
At some point he separated from his wife,Gaudairença (or Caudairenga), herself the author of the (now lost) songCoblas e dansas, for uncourtly behaviour.[3] Now a single man, he pursued, with little amatory success but great poetic inspiration, his muses, first Étiennette de Pennautier, wife of Jourdain de Cabaret, “la loba”, the she-wolf, who eventually settled with theRaymond-Roger, Count of Foix, and then with Azalaïs de Boissézon, another married lady, who used his graphic descriptions of her to lurePeter II of Aragon into her bed.[4]
Of Raimon's works 45 remain, of which 22 have melodies: one of the highest survival rates among troubadours.[5] Most of these works are of thetrobar leu style. Raimon addressed many works to one named "Pastoret", but the identification of this person has been problematic, though he is usually identified asRaymond Roger Trencavel.[1][6] Raimon was admired by contemporaries and by most poets of later generations and he is famous for his handling of the subject ofcourtly love.[5] Raimon represents a move away from the traditionalcansos celebrating thejois d'amor ("joys of love") oramor de lonh ("love from afar"), but rather emphasizing courtliness, honor, and reputation.[7] The highest virtue is faithfulness, but this hinges on courtliness (pretz e valor).[7]
