The troubadour school or tradition began in the late 11th century inOccitania, but it subsequently spread to the Italian andIberian Peninsulas. Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe: theMinnesang in Germany,trovadorismo inGalicia andPortugal, and that of thetrouvères in northern France.Dante Alighieri in hisDe vulgari eloquentia defined the troubadour lyric asfictio rethorica musicaque poita:rhetorical, musical, and poetical fiction. After the "classical" period around the turn of the 13th century and a mid-century resurgence, the art of the troubadours declined in the 14th century and around the time of theBlack Death (1348) and since died out.
The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes ofchivalry andcourtly love. Most weremetaphysical, intellectual, and formulaic. Many were humorous or vulgarsatires. Works can be grouped into three styles: thetrobar leu (light),trobar ric (rich), andtrobar clus (closed). Likewise there were manygenres, the most popular being thecanso, butsirventes andtensos were especially popular in the post-classical period.
The English wordtroubadour was borrowed from the French word first recorded in 1575 in a historical context to mean "langue d'oc poet at the court in the 12th and 13th century" (Jean de Nostredame,Les vies des plus célèbres et anciens Poètes provençaux,[1] p. 14 in Gdf. Compl.).[2] The first use and earliest form oftroubador istrobadors, found in a 12th-century Occitan text byCercamon.[3]
The French word itself is borrowed from the Occitantrobador. It is theoblique case of thenominativetrobaire "composer", related totrobar "to compose, to discuss, to invent" (Wace,Brut, editions I. Arnold, 3342).Trobar may come, in turn, from the hypotheticalLate Latin *tropāre "to compose, to invent a poem" by regularphonetic change. This reconstructed form is based on the Latin roottropus, meaning atrope. In turn, the Latin word derives ultimately fromGreekτρόπος (trópos), meaning "turn, manner".[4]Intervocal Latin[p] shifted regularly to[b] in Occitan (cf. Latinsapere → Occitansaber, Frenchsavoir "to know"). The Latin suffix-ātor,-ātōris explains the Occitan suffix, according to itsdeclension andaccentuation:Gallo-Romance *tropātor[5] → Occitantrobaire (subject case) and *tropātōre[6] → Occitantrobador (oblique case).
There is an alternative theory to explain the meaning oftrobar as "to compose, to discuss, to invent". It has the support of somehistorians, specialists of literature, andmusicologists to justify the troubadours' origins in ArabicAndalusian musical practices. According to them, the Arabic wordṭaraba "music" (from thetriliteral rootṭ–r–bط ر ب "provoke emotion, excitement, agitation; make music, entertain by singing" as inطرب أندلسي,ṭarab ʾandalusī) could partly be theetymon of the verbtrobar.[7][8] Another Arabic root had already been proposed before:ḍ–r–b (ض ر ب) "strike", by extension "play a musical instrument".[9]
In archaic and classical troubadour poetry, the word is only used in a mocking sense, having more or less the meaning of "somebody who makes things up". Cercamon writes:
Ist trobador, entre ver e mentir,
Afollon drutz e molhers et espos,
E van dizen qu'Amors vay en biays
(These troubadours, between truth and lies/corrupt lovers, women and husbands, / and keep saying that Love proceeds obliquely).[10]
Peire d'Alvernha also begins his famous mockery of contemporary authorscantarai d'aquest trobadors,[11] after which he proceeds to explain why none of them is worth anything.[12] When referring to themselves seriously, troubadours almost invariably use the wordchantaire ("singer").
The early study of the troubadours focused intensely on their origins. No academic consensus was ever achieved in the area. Today, one can distinguish at least eleven competing theories (the adjectives used below are a blend from theGrove Dictionary of Music and Roger Boase'sThe Origins and Meaning of Courtly Love):
The sixteenth century Italian historian Giammaria Barbieri[13] was perhaps the first to suggest Arabian (alsoArabist orHispano-Arabic) influences on the music of the troubadours.[14] Later scholars like J.B. Trend have asserted that the poetry of troubadours is connected to Arabic poetry written in the Iberian Peninsula,[15] while others have attempted to find direct evidence of this influence. In examining the works ofWilliam IX of Aquitaine,Évariste Lévi-Provençal and other scholars found three lines that they believed were in some form of Arabic, indicating a potential Andalusian origin for his works. The scholars attempted to translate the lines in question, though the medievalist Istvan Frank contended that the lines were not Arabic at all, but instead the result of the rewriting of the original by a later scribe.[16][17]
Scholars likeRamón Menéndez Pidal stated that the troubadour tradition was created by William, who had been influenced byMoorish music and poetry while fighting with theReconquista. However, George T. Beech states that there is only one documented battle that William fought in the Iberian Peninsula, and it occurred towards the end of his life. Beech adds that while the sources of William's inspirations are uncertain, he and his father did have individuals within their extended family with Iberian origins, and he may have been friendly with some Europeans who could speak the Arabic language.[17] Regardless of William's personal involvement in the tradition's creation,Magda Bogin states that Arab poetry was likely one of several influences on European "courtly love poetry", citingIbn Hazm's "The Ring of the Dove" as an example of a similar Arab tradition.[18]
Methods of transmission from Arab Iberia to the rest of Europe did exist, such as theToledo School of Translators, though it only began translating major romances from Arabic into Latin in the second half of the thirteenth century, withobjectionable sexual content removed in deference to theCatholic Church.[19]
According to the Bernardine-Marianist (or Christian) theory, it was the theology espoused byBernard of Clairvaux and the increasingly importantMariology that most strongly influenced the development of the troubadour genre. Specifically, the emphasis on religious and spiritual love, disinterestedness, mysticism, and devotion to Mary explained "courtly love". The emphasis of the reformingRobert of Arbrissel on "matronage" to achieve his ends can explain the troubadour attitude towards women.[20]
Chronologically, however, this hypothesis is hard to sustain, as the forces believed to have given rise to the phenomenon arrived later than it, but the influence of Bernardine and Marian theology can be retained without the origins theory. This theory was advanced early by Eduard Wechssler and further by Dmitri Scheludko (who emphasises theCluniac Reform) and Guido Errante. Mario Casella and Leo Spitzer have added "Augustinian" influence to it.
The survival of pre-Christian sexualmores and warrior codes frommatriarchal societies, be theyCeltic,Germanic, orPictish, among the aristocracy of Europe can account for the idea (fusion) of "courtly love". The existence of pre-Christian matriarchy has usually been treated with scepticism as has the persistence of underlying paganism in high medieval Europe, though the Celts and Germanic tribes were certainly less patriarchal than the Greco-Romans.
The classical Latin theory emphasises parallels betweenOvid, especially hisAmores andArs amatoria, and the lyric of courtly love. Theaetas ovidiana that predominated in the 11th century in and aroundOrléans, the quasi-Ciceronian ideology that held sway in theImperial court, and the scraps ofPlato then available to scholars have all been cited as classical influences on troubadour poetry.[21]
According to this thesis, troubadour poetry is a reflection ofCathar religious doctrine. While the theory is supported by the traditional and near-universal account of the decline of the troubadours coinciding with the suppression of Catharism during theAlbigensian Crusade (first half of the 13th century), support for it has come in waves. The explicitly Catholic meaning of many early troubadour works also works against the theory.
The troubadour lyric may be a development of the Christianliturgy andhymnody. The influence of theSong of Songs has even been suggested. There is no precedingLatin poetry resembling that of the troubadours. On those grounds, no theory of the latter's origins in classical or post-classical Latin can be constructed, but that has not deterred some, who believe that a pre-existing Latin corpus must merely be lost to us.[22] That many troubadours received their grammatical training in Latin through the Church (fromclerici, clerics) and that many were trained musically by the Church is well-attested. The musical school ofSaint Martial's atLimoges has been singled out in this regard.[23] "Para-liturgical"tropes were in use there in the era preceding the troubadours' appearance.
This theory or set of related theories has gained ground in the 20th century. It is more a methodological approach to the question than a theory; it asks not from where the content or form of the lyric came but rather in what situation or circumstances did it arise.[24] UnderMarxist influence,Erich Köhler,Marc Bloch, andGeorges Duby have suggested that the "essential hegemony" in the castle of the lord's wife during his absence was a driving force. The use offeudal terminology in troubadour poems is seen as evidence. This theory has been developed away from sociological towardspsychological explanation.
This theory may relate to spring folk rituals. According toMaría Rosa Menocal,Alfred Jeanroy first suggested thatfolklore andoral tradition gave rise to troubadour poetry in 1883. According to F. M. Warren, it wasGaston Paris, Jeanroy's reviewer, in 1891 who first located troubadour origins in the festive dances of women hearkening the spring in theLoire Valley. This theory has since been widely discredited, but the discovery of thejarchas raises the question of the extent of literature (oral or written) in the 11th century and earlier.[24]
Hans Spanke analysed the intertextual connexion between vernacular andmedieval Latin (such asGoliardic) songs. This theory is supported by Reto Bezzola, Peter Dronke, and musicologistJacques Chailley. According to them,trobar means "inventing a trope", the trope being a poem where the words are used with a meaning different from their common signification, i.e.metaphor andmetonymy. This poem was originally inserted in a serial of modulations ending a liturgic song. Then the trope became an autonomous piece organized in stanza form.[25] The influence of late 11th-century poets of the "Loire school", such asMarbod of Rennes andHildebert of Lavardin, is stressed in this connexion by Brinkmann.[26]
This theory is one of the more intellectualising. The "ennobling effects of love" in specific have been identified asneoplatonic.[27] It is viewed either as a strength or weakness that this theory requires a second theory about how the neoplatonism was transmitted to the troubadours; perhaps it can be coupled with one of the other origins stories or perhaps it is just peripheral. Käte Axhausen has "exploited" this theory and A. J. Denomy has linked it with the Arabist (throughAvicenna) and the Cathar (throughJohn Scotus Eriugena).[28]
The earliest troubadour whose work survives is Guilhèm de Peitieus, better known as DukeWilliam IX of Aquitaine (1071–1126). Peter Dronke, author ofThe Medieval Lyric, however, believes that "[his] songs represent not the beginnings of a tradition but summits of achievement in that tradition."[29] His name has been preserved because he was theDuke of Aquitaine, but his work plays with already established structures;Eble II of Ventadorn is often credited as a predecessor, though none of his work survives.Orderic Vitalis referred to William composing songs about his experiences on his return from theCrusade of 1101 (c. 1102). This may be the earliest reference to troubadour lyrics. Orderic also provides us (1135) with what may be the first description of a troubadour performance: an eyewitness account of William of Aquitaine.
Picauensis uero dux ... miserias captiuitatis suae ... coram regibus et magnatis atque Christianis coetibus multotiens retulit rythmicis uersibus cum facetis modulationibus. (X.21)
Then the Poitevin duke ... the miseries of his captivity ... before kings, magnates, and Christian assemblies many times related with rhythmic verses and witty measures.[30]
The first half of the 12th century saw relatively few recorded troubadours. Only in the last decades of the century did troubadour activity explode. Almost half of all troubadour works that survive are from the period 1180–1220.[31]In total, moreover, there are over 2,500 troubadour lyrics available to be studied as linguistic artifacts (Akehurst, 23).The troubadour tradition seems to have begun in western Aquitaine (Poitou andSaintonge) andGascony, from there spreading over into eastern Aquitaine (Limousin andAuvergne) andProvence. At its height it had become popular inLanguedoc and the regions ofRouergue,Toulouse, andQuercy (c. 1200). Finally, in the early 13th century it began to spread into first Italy and thenCatalonia, whence to the rest of modern Spain and then Portugal. This development has been called therayonnement des troubadours (pronounced[ʁɛjɔnəmɑ̃detʁubaduːʁ]).[32]
The classical period of troubadour activity lasted from about 1170 until about 1213. The most famous names among the ranks of troubadours belong to this period. During this period the lyric art of the troubadours reached the height of its popularity and the number of surviving poems is greatest from this period. During this period thecanso, or love song, became distinguishable as a genre. The master of thecanso and the troubadour who epitomises the classical period isBernart de Ventadorn. He was highly regarded by his contemporaries, as wereGiraut de Bornelh, reputed by his biographer to be the greatest composer of melodies to ever live, andBertran de Born, the master of thesirventes, or political song, which became increasingly popular in this period.
The classical period came to be seen by later generations, especially in the 14th and 15th centuries and outside of Occitania, as representing the high point of lyric poetry and models to be emulated. The language of the classic poets, its grammar and vocabulary, their style and themes, were the ideal to which poets of the troubadour revival inToulouse (creation of theConsistori del Gay Saber in 1323) and their Catalan and Castilian contemporaries aspired. During the classical period the "rules" of poetic composition had first become standardised and written down, first byRaimon Vidal and then byUc Faidit.
The 450 or so troubadours known to historians came from a variety of backgrounds. They made their living in a variety of ways, lived, and travelled in many different places, and were actors in many types of social context. The troubadours were not wandering entertainers. Typically, they stayed in one place for a lengthy period of time under the patronage of a wealthy nobleman or woman. Many did travel extensively, however, sojourning at one court and then another.
Later troubadours especially could belong to lower classes, ranging from the middle class of merchants and "burgers" (persons of urban standing) to tradesmen and others who worked with their hands.Salh d'Escola andElias de Barjols were described as the sons of merchants andElias Fonsalada was the son of a burger and jongleur.Perdigon was the son of a "poor fisherman" andElias Cairel of a blacksmith.Arnaut de Mareuil is specified in hisvida as coming from a poor family, but whether this family was poor by noble standards or materially is not apparent.
The Occitan wordstrobador andtrobaire are relatively rare compared with the verbtrobar (compose, invent), which was usually applied to the writing of poetry. It signified that a poem was original to an author (trobador) and was not merely sung or played by one. The term was used mostly for poetry only and in more careful works, like thevidas, is not generally applied to the composition of music or to singing, though the troubadour's poetry itself is not so careful. Sometime in the middle of the 12th century, however, a distinction was definitely being made between an inventor of original verse and the performers of others'. The latter were calledjoglars in both Occitan and Catalan, from the Latinioculatores, giving rise also to the Frenchjongleur, Castilianjuglar, and Englishjuggler, which has come to refer to a more specific breed of performer. The medievaljongleur/joglar is really aminstrel.
At the height of troubadour poetry (the "classical period"), troubadours are often found attackingjongleurs and at least two small genres arose around the theme: theensenhamen joglaresc and thesirventes joglaresc. These terms are debated, however, since the adjectivejoglaresc seems to imply "in the manner of thejongleurs". Inevitably, however, pieces of these genres are verbal attacks atjongleurs, in general and in specific, with named individuals being called out. It is clear, for example from the poetry ofBertran de Born, thatjongleurs were performers who did not usually compose. They often performed the troubadours' songs: singing, playing instruments, dancing, and even doing acrobatics.[note 1]
In the late 13th centuryGuiraut Riquier bemoaned the inexactness of his contemporaries and wrote a letter toAlfonso X of Castile, a noted patron of literature and learning of all kinds, for clarification on the proper reference of the termstrobador andjoglar. According to Riquier, every vocation deserved a name of its own and the sloppy usage ofjoglar assured that it covered a multitude of activities, some, no doubt, with which Riquier did not wish to be associated. In the end Riquier argued—and Alfonso X seems to agree, though his "response" was probably penned by Riquier—that ajoglar was a courtly entertainer (as opposed to popular or low-class one) and a troubadour was a poet and composer.
Avida is a brief prose biography, written inOccitan, of a troubadour. The wordvida means "life" in Occitan. In thechansonniers, the manuscript collections of medieval troubadour poetry, the works of a particular author are often accompanied by a short prose biography. Thevidas are important early works of vernacular prose nonfiction.[33] Nevertheless, it appears that many of them derive their facts from literal readings of their objects' poems, which leaves their historical reliability in doubt. Most of thevidas were composed in Italy in the 1220s, many byUc de Saint Circ.
Arazo (from Occitan for "reason") was a similar short piece of Occitan prose detailing the circumstances of a particular composition. Arazo normally introduced the poem it explained; it might, however, share some of the characteristics of avida. Therazos suffer from the same problems as thevidas in terms of reliability. Many are likewise the work of Uc de Saint Circ.
Late 16th-century Italian cursive on paper, recording a song of Perceval Doria
A phenomenon arose in Italy, recognised around the turn of the 20th century by Giulio Bertoni, of men serving in several cities aspodestàs on behalf of either theGuelph or Ghibelline party and writing political verse in Occitan rhyme. These figures generally came from the urban middle class. They aspired to high culture and though, unlike the nobility, they were not patrons of literature, they were its disseminators and its readers.
The firstpodestà-troubadour wasRambertino Buvalelli, possibly the first troubadour native to the Italian Peninsula, who waspodestà ofGenoa between 1218 and 1221. Rambertino, a Guelph, served at one time or another aspodestà ofBrescia,Milan,Parma,Mantua, andVerona. It was probably during his three-year tenure there that he introduced Occitan lyric poetry to the city, which was later to develop a flourishing Occitan literary culture.
Mention should be made of the Provençal troubadourIsnart d'Entrevenas, who waspodestà of Arles in 1220, though he does not fit the phenomenon Giulio Bertoni first identified in Italy.
Thetrobairitz were the female troubadours, the first female composers ofsecular music in the Western tradition. The wordtrobairitz was first used in the 13th-centuryRomance of Flamenca and its derivation is the same as that oftrobaire but in feminine form. There were also female counterparts to thejoglars: thejoglaresas. The number of trobairitz varies between sources: there were twenty or twenty-one named trobairitz, plus an additional poet known only asDomna H. There are several anonymous texts ascribed to women; the total number of trobairitz texts varies from twenty-two (Schultz-Gora),[34] twenty-five (Bec), thirty-six (Bruckner, Shepard, and White),[35] and forty-six (Rieger).[36] Only one melody composed by a trobairitz (theComtessa de Dia) survives. Out of a total of about 450 troubadours and 2,500 troubadour works, the trobairitz and their corpus form a minor but interesting and informative portion. They are, therefore, quite well studied.
Castelloza
The trobairitz were in most respects as varied a lot as their male counterparts, with the general exceptions of their poetic style and their provenance. They wrote predominantlycansos andtensos; only onesirventes by a named woman,Gormonda de Monpeslier, survives (though two anonymous ones are attributed to women). Onesalut d'amor, by a woman (Azalais d'Altier) to a woman (Clara d'Anduza) is also extant and one anonymousplanh is usually assigned a female authorship. They wrote almost entirely within thetrobar leu style; only two poems, one byLombarda and anotherAlais, Yselda, and Carenza, are usually considered to belong to the more demandingtrobar clus. None of the trobairitz were prolific, or if they were their work has not survived. Only two have left us more than one piece: the Comtessa de Dia, with four, andCastelloza, with three or four. One of the known trobairitz,Gaudairença, wrote a song entitledCoblas e dansas, which has not survived; no other piece of hers has either.
The trobairitz came almost to a woman fromOccitania. There are representatives from theAuvergne,Provence,Languedoc, theDauphiné,Toulousain, and theLimousin. One trobairitz,Ysabella, may have been born inPérigord, Northern Italy,Greece, orPalestine. All the trobairitz whose families we know were high-born ladies; only one, Lombarda, was probably of the merchant class. All the trobairitz known by name lived around the same time: the late 12th and the early 13th century (c. 1170 – c. 1260). The earliest was probablyTibors de Sarenom, who was active in the 1150s (the date of her known composition is uncertain). The latest was eitherGarsenda of Forcalquier, who died in 1242, though her period of poetic patronage and composition probably occurred a quarter century earlier, orGuilleuma de Rosers, who composed atenso withLanfranc Cigala, known between 1235 and 1257. There exist brief prose biographies—vidas—for eight trobairitz:Almucs de Castelnau (actually arazo),Azalais de Porcairagues, the Comtessa de Dia, Castelloza,Iseut de Capio (also arazo), Lombarda,Maria de Ventadorn, and Tibors de Sarenom.
Three main styles of Occitan lyric poetry have been identified: thetrobar leu (light),trobar ric (rich), andtrobar clus (closed,hermetic). The first was by far the most common: the wording is straightforward and relatively simple compared to theric and literary devices are less common than in theclus. This style was the most accessible and it was immensely popular. The most famous poet of thetrobar leu wasBernart de Ventadorn. Thetrobar clus regularly escapes modern scholarly interpretation. Words are commonly used metaphorically and symbolically and what a poem appears to be about on its surface is rarely what is intended by the poet or understood by audiences "in the know". Theclus style was invented early byMarcabru but only favoured by a few masters thereafter. Thetrobar ric style is not as opaque as theclus, rather it employs a rich vocabulary, using many words, rare words, invented words, and unusual, colourful wordings.
Modern scholars recognise several "schools" in the troubadour tradition. Among the earliest is a school of followers of Marcabru, sometimes called the "Marcabrunian school":Bernart Marti,Bernart de Venzac,Gavaudan, andPeire d'Alvernhe. These poets favoured thetrobar clus orric or a hybrid of the two. They were often moralising in tone and critical of contemporary courtly society. Another early school, whose style seems to have fallen out of favour, was the "Gascon school" ofCercamon,Peire de Valeira, andGuiraut de Calanso. Cercamon was said by his biographer to have composed in the "old style" (la uzansa antiga) and Guiraut's songs wered'aquella saison ("of that time"). This style of poetry seems to be attached to early troubadours fromGascony and was characterised by references to nature: leaves, flowers, birds, and their songs. This Gascon "literary fad" was unpopular inProvence in the early 13th century, harming the reputation of the poets associated with it.
In the late 13th century a school arose atBéziers, once the centre of pre-Albigensian Languedoc and of the Trencavel lordships, in the 1260s–80s. Four poets epitomise this "school":Bernart d'Auriac,Joan Esteve,Joan Miralhas, andRaimon Gaucelm. The latter three were natives of Béziers and all four lived there. All were members of the urban middle class and no courtesans: Miralhas was possibly a potter and Bernart was amayestre (teacher). All wrote in Occitan but were supporters of the French kingLouis IX and the French aristocracy against the native Occitan nobility. They have been described as "Gallicised". Raimon Gaucelm supported theEighth Crusade and even wrote aplanh, the only known one of its kind, to a burgher of Béziers. Joan Esteve and Bernart both composed in support of the French in theAragonese Crusade. The Béziers poets are a shining example of the transformation of Occitania in the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade, but also of the ability of troubadours to survive it.[37]
Troubadours, at least after their style became established, usually followed some set of "rules", like those of theLeys d'amors (compiled between 1328 and 1337). Initially all troubadour verses were called simplyvers, yet this soon came to be reserved for only love songs and was later replaced bycanso, though the term lived on as an antique expression for the troubadours' early works and was even employed with a more technically meaning by the last generation of troubadours (mid-14th century), when it was thought to derive from the Latin wordverus (truth) and was thus used to describe moralising or didactic pieces. The early troubadours developed many genres and these only proliferated as rules of composition came to be put in writing. The known genres are:
Alba (morning song) – the song of a lover as dawn approaches, often with a watchman warning of the approach of a lady's jealous husband
Arlabecca – a song defined by poetic metre, but perhaps once related to therebec
Canso, originallyvers, alsochanso orcanço – the love song, usually consisting of five or sixstanzas with anenvoi
All these genres were highly fluid. A cross between asirventes and acanso was ameg-sirventes (half-sirventes).[note 2] Atenso could be "invented" by a single poet; analba orcanso could be written with religious significance, addressed to God or the Virgin; and asirventes may be nothing more than a political attack. Themaldit and thecomiat were often connected as amaldit-comiat and they could be used to attack and renounce a figure other than a lady or a lover, like a commanding officer (when combined, in a way, with thesirventes).
Peire Bremon Ricas Novas uses the termmieja chanso (half song) andCerverí de Girona uses a similar phrase,miga canço, both to refer to a shortcanso and not a mixture of genres as sometimes supposed. Cerverí'smig (ormeig)vers e miga canço was avers in the new sense (a moralising song) that was also highly critical and thus combined thecanso and thesirventes. Among the more than one hundred works of Cerverí de Girona are many songs with unique labels, which may correspond more to "titles" than "genres", but that is debatable:peguesca (nonsense),espingadura (flageolet song),libel (legal petition),esdemessa (leap),somni (dream),acuyndamen (challenge),desirança (nostalgia),aniversari (anniversary),serena (serene).[38]
Most "Crusading songs" are classified either ascansos orsirventes but sometimes separately. Some styles became popular in other languages and in other literary or musical traditions. InFrench, thealba became theaubade, thepastorela thepastourelle, and thepartimen thejeu parti. Thesestina became popular inItalian literature. The troubadours were not averse to borrowing either. Theplanh developed out of the Latinplanctus and the sonnet was stolen from theSicilian School. Thebasse danse (bassa dansa) was first mentioned in the troubadour tradition (c. 1324), but only as being performed by jongleurs.
Troubadours performed their own songs. Jongleurs (performers) andcantaires (singers) also performed troubadours' songs. They could work fromchansonniers, many of which have survived, or possibly from more rudimentary (and temporary) songbooks, none of which have survived, if they even existed. Some troubadours, likeArnaut de Maruelh, had their own jongleurs who were dedicated to singing their patron's work. Arnaut'sjoglar et cantaire, probably both a singer and a messenger, who carried his love songs to his lady, wasPistoleta. The messenger was commonplace in troubadour poetry; many songs reference a messenger who will bring it to its intended ear. A troubadour often stayed with a noble patron of his own and entertained his court with his songs. Court songs could be used not only as entertainment but also as propaganda, praising the patron, mocking his enemies, encouraging his wars, teaching ethics and etiquette, and maintaining religious unity.
The court was not the only venue for troubadour performance. Competitions were held from an early date. According to thevida of theMonge de Montaudon, he received asparrow hawk, a prized hunting bird, for his poetry from thecour du Puy, some sort of poetry society associated with the court ofAlfonso II of Aragon. The most famous contests were held in the twilight of the troubadours in the 14th and 15th centuries. Thejocs florals held by theConsistori del Gay Saber atToulouse, byPeter IV of Aragon atLleida, and theConsistori de la Gaya Sciència atBarcelona awarded floral prizes to the best poetry in various categories, judging it by its accordance with a code called theLeys d'amors.
Troubadour songs are still performed and recorded today, albeit rarely.
Troubadour songs were usuallymonophonic. Fewer than 300 melodies out of an estimated 2500 survive.[39] Most were composed by the troubadours themselves. Some were set to pre-existing pieces of music.Raimbaut de Vaqueyras wrote hisKalenda maya ("The Calends of May") to music composed by jongleurs atMontferrat.
Beginning in the early 13th century, the spread of Occitan verse demanded grammars and dictionaries, especially for those whose native tongue was not Occitan, such as the Catalan and Italian troubadours, and their imitators. The production of such works only increased with the academisation of the troubadour lyric in the 14th century.
A piousencyclopedia, the last section of which, "Perilhos tractatz d'amor de donas, seguon qu'en han tractat li antic trobador en lurs cansos", is an Occitan grammar.
Some 2,600 poems or fragments of poems have survived from around 450 identifiable troubadours. They are largely preserved in songbooks calledchansonniers made for wealthy patrons.
Troubadour songs are generally referred to by theirincipits, that is, their opening lines. If this is long, or after it has already been mentioned, an abbreviation of the incipit may be used for convenience. A few troubadour songs are known by "nicknames", thusD'un sirventes far byGuilhem Figueira is commonly called theSirventes contra Roma. When a writer seeks to avoid using unglossed Occitan, the incipit of the song may be given in translation instead or a title may even be invented to reflect the theme of the work. Especially in translations designed for a popular audience, such as Ezra Pound's, English titles are commonly invented by the translator/editor. There are examples, however, of troubadour songs given Occitan titles in the manuscripts, such as an anonymouspastorela that beginsMentre per una ribeira, which is entitledPorquieira.
The number of Occitan parchment chansonniers given as extant varies between authors, depending on how they treat fragmentary and multilingual manuscripts. Conventionally, fragments are classified as fragments of the surviving chansonnier they most closely resemble and not as chansonniers in their own right. Some chansonniers have received both Occitan and French letters: troubadour D is trouvère H, W is M and X is U. The lettering (siglas) was introduced byKarl Bartsch, who placed sources he considered more reliable higher in the alphabet. This system is imperfect, however, since many of the chansonniers produced for an Italian audience are heavily edited and do not necessarily more closely resemble the original compositions. While parchment chansonniers are more durable, paper ones also exist and have received lower-casesiglas.[40][41]
Image
Troubadour manuscript letter (sigla)
Provenance (place of origin, date)
Location (library, city)
Shelfmark (with external link to digitization, where available)
^SometimesVers e regles de trobar: "Verses and rules of composition".
^abcFullyLas flors del Gay Saber, estiers dichas las leys d'amors: "The flowers of the Gay Science, which are called the laws of love".
^FullyCompendi de la conexença dels vicis que.s podon esdevenir en las dictats del Gay Saber: "Compendium of the knowledge of the vices that can be expressed in the Gay Science".
^Abu-Haidar, JA (1989). "The Diminutives in the "dīwān" of Ibn Quzmān: A Product of Their Hispanic Milieu?".Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.52 (2): 241.doi:10.1017/S0041977X00035448.S2CID162509292.
^Veldeman, Marie-Christine (2001). "Egypt, or the quest for syncretism and spiritual wholeness in Lawrence Durrell's Avignon Quintet".Equivalences.28 (2):87–100.doi:10.3406/equiv.2001.1233.
^abBeech, George T. (1992). "Troubadour Contacts with Muslim Iberia and Knowledge of Arabic: New Evidence Concerning William IX of Aquitaine".Romania.113 (449):14–26.doi:10.3406/roma.1992.2180.
^Bogin, Magda; Bogin, Meg (1995).The Women Troubadours. WW Norton. pp. 46–47.ISBN978-0393009651.
^Mona Baker and Kirsten Malmkjaer, ed. (1997). "Spanish tradition".Routledge Encyclopedia of Translation Studies. Routledge. p. 553.ISBN978-0415609845.
^Gerald A. Bond, "Origins", in Akehurst and Davis, p. 246.
^Gerald A. Bond, "Origins", in Akehurst and Davis, p. 243.
Akehurst, F. R. P.; Davis, Judith M. (1995).A Handbook of the Troubadours. Berkeley: University of California Press.ISBN0-520-07976-0.
Aubrey, Elizabeth (1989). "References to Music in Old Occitan Literature".Acta Musicologica.61 (2 (May–August)):110–149.doi:10.2307/932607.JSTOR932607.
Boase, Roger (1977).The Origin and Meaning of Courtly Love: A Critical Study of European Scholarship. Manchester: Manchester University Press.ISBN0-87471-950-X.
Bruckner, Matilda; Shepard, Laurie; White, Sarah (2000).Songs of the Women Troubadours. New York: Garland Publishing.ISBN978-0-81533-568-9.
Chaytor, Henry John (1912).The Troubadours. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gaunt, Simon;Kay, Sarah (1999).The Troubadours: An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.ISBN0-521-57473-0.
Jones, W. Powell (1931). "The Jongleur Troubadours of Provence".PMLA.46 (2 (June)):307–311.
Menocal, María Rosa (1981). "Close Encounters in Medieval Provence: Spain's Role in the Birth of Troubadour Poetry".Hispanic Review.49 (1 (Williams Memorial Issue, Winter)):43–64.doi:10.2307/472655.JSTOR472655.
Paden, William D. (2005). "Troubadours and History". In Marcus Bull; Catherine Léglu (eds.).The world of Eleanor of Aquitaine : literature and society in southern France between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. Woodbridge: Boydell Press. pp. 157–182.ISBN1-84383-114-7.
Rieger, Angelica (1991).Trobairitz: Der Beitrag der Frau in der altokzitanischen höfischen Lyrik. Edition des Gesamtkorpus [Trobairitz: The Contribution of Women in Old Occitan Courtly Poetry. Edition of the entire corpus] (in German). Tübingen: Niemeyer.ISBN978-3-4845-223-36.
de Riquer, Martín (1975).Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos [Troubadours: Literary History and Texts] (in Spanish). Barcelona: Planeta.ISBN978-8434405479.
Silverstein, Theodore (1949). "Andreas, Plato, and the Arabs: Remarks on Some Recent Accounts of Courtly Love".Modern Philology.47 (2 (November)):117–126.doi:10.1086/388831.JSTOR434698.
Smythe, Barbara (1966).Trobador Poets: Selections from the Poems of Eight Trobadors, Translated from the Provençal with Introduction & Notes. New York: Cooper Square Publishers.
Warren, F. M. (1912). "The TroubadourCanso and Latin Lyric Poetry".Modern Philology.9 (4 (April)):469–487.doi:10.1086/386873.JSTOR432644.
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