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105-402: These poets drew inspiration from the troubadour poetry of Occitania written in langue d'oc , which applied the feudal code of honor to the relation between a man (acting as the vassal) and a woman (acting as king or superior). This is a reversal of the traditional role of women, traditionally dependent on men, and marks a new awareness in medieval society: the decadence of feudalism with

210-592: A burgher of Béziers. Joan Esteve and Bernart both composed in support of the French in the Aragonese 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. Troubadours, at least after their style became established, usually followed some set of "rules", like those of

315-649: A courtly entertainer (as opposed to popular or low-class one) and a troubadour was a poet and composer. Despite the distinctions noted, many troubadours were also known as jongleurs, either before they began composing or alongside. Aimeric de Belenoi , Aimeric de Sarlat , Albertet Cailla , Arnaut de Mareuil , Elias de Barjols , Elias Fonsalada , Falquet de Romans , Guillem Magret , Guiraut de Calanso , Nicoletto da Torino , Peire Raimon de Tolosa , Peire Rogier , Peire de Valeira , Peirol , Pistoleta , Perdigon , Salh d'Escola , Uc de la Bacalaria , Uc Brunet , and Uc de Saint Circ were jongleur-troubadours. A vida

420-461: A distinction was definitely being made between an inventor of original verse and the performers of others'. The latter were called joglars in both Occitan and Catalan, from the Latin ioculatores , giving rise also to the French jongleur , Castilian juglar , and English juggler , which has come to refer to a more specific breed of performer. The medieval jongleur/joglar is really a minstrel . At

525-490: A few notaries and dignitaries of the emperors, such poetry shows for the first time uniform linguistic traits and a richness in vocabulary far exceeding that of the Sicilian language by which it was inspired. The Magna curia was not based in any given city, but always moving across Southern Italy, a fact which helped the school avoid the temptation of choosing any local dialect as the starting point for their new language. That

630-409: A lot as their male counterparts, with the general exceptions of their poetic style and their provenance. They wrote predominantly cansos and tensos ; only one sirventes by a named woman, Gormonda de Monpeslier , survives (though two anonymous ones are attributed to women). One salut d'amor , by a woman ( Azalais d'Altier ) to a woman ( Clara d'Anduza ) is also extant and one anonymous planh

735-699: A new genre: a stil novo . Poetry from this school is marked by adoration of the human form, incorporating vivid descriptions of female beauty and frequently comparing the desired woman to a creature from paradise. The woman is described as an "angel" or as "a bridge to God". Rather than being material in nature, the Love of the Dolce Stil Novo is a sort of Divine Love. Poetry of this movement also often includes profound introspection . Many literary critics have argued that introspection in Italian literary works

840-439: A poem appears to be about on its surface is rarely what is intended by the poet or understood by audiences "in the know". The clus style was invented early by Marcabru but only favoured by a few masters thereafter. The trobar ric style is not as opaque as the clus , rather it employs a rich vocabulary, using many words, rare words, invented words, and unusual, colourful wordings. Modern scholars recognise several "schools" in

945-648: A poem" by regular phonetic change . This reconstructed form is based on the Latin root tropus , meaning a trope . In turn, the Latin word derives ultimately from Greek τρόπος ( trópos ), meaning "turn, manner". Intervocal Latin [p] shifted regularly to [b] in Occitan (cf. Latin sapere → Occitan saber , French savoir "to know"). The Latin suffix -ātor , -ātōris explains the Occitan suffix, according to its declension and accentuation : Gallo-Romance * tropātor → Occitan trobaire (subject case) and * tropātōre → Occitan trobador (oblique case). There

1050-439: 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. Scholars like Ramón Menéndez Pidal stated that the troubadour tradition was created by William, who had been influenced by Moorish music and poetry while fighting with

1155-537: A pre-existing Latin corpus must merely be lost to us. That many troubadours received their grammatical training in Latin through the Church (from clerici , clerics) and that many were trained musically by the Church is well-attested. The musical school of Saint Martial's at Limoges has been singled out in this regard. "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

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1260-512: A quarter century earlier, or Guilleuma de Rosers , who composed a tenso with Lanfranc Cigala , known between 1235 and 1257. There exist brief prose biographies— vidas —for eight trobairitz: Almucs de Castelnau (actually a razo ), Azalais de Porcairagues , the Comtessa de Dia, Castelloza, Iseut de Capio (also a razo ), Lombarda, Maria de Ventadorn , and Tibors de Sarenom. Three main styles of Occitan lyric poetry have been identified:

1365-495: A single poet; an alba or canso could be written with religious significance, addressed to God or the Virgin; and a sirventes may be nothing more than a political attack. The maldit and the comiat were often connected as a maldit-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 the sirventes ). Peire Bremon Ricas Novas uses

1470-455: A solution in the end. That meant no interchangeable lines as in troubadour poetry and fewer repetitions: for a French jongleur who sang his poems these were necessary, but they sounded redundant to the Sicilian authors. Their legacy is apparent in Dante and Petrarch's lyrics. The sonnet is even more exacting on this point: the separation between the octave and the sestet is purely a logical one,

1575-578: A source of much contention. Dante, the character, claims "I am one who, when Love inspires me, takes note, and, as he dictates within me, so I set it forth" ( Purg. XXIV, 52–54) . What "Love" means in this tercet has divided many Dante scholars, who question whether it is Amore , the god of Love, or whether it is another name for the Christian God. Robert Hollander hypothesizes that the phrase can be understood in theological terms. By using Bonagiunta to describe his style as dolce stil novo , Dante

1680-416: A step further, expanding and enriching it with even more words of Latin and Florentine origin, carefully working on the style to create volgare illustre , a higher standard quite close to today's Standard Italian. Troubadour A troubadour ( English: / ˈ t r uː b ə d ʊər , - d ɔːr / , French: [tʁubaduʁ] ; Occitan : trobador [tɾuβaˈðu] )

1785-477: A tale intendimento,      perch'io pecato ci volesse fare;      se non veder lo suo bel portamento e lo bel viso e 'l morbido sguardare:      che 'l mi teria in gran consolamento,      veggendo la mia donna in ghiora stare. I have a place in my heart for God reserved,      So that I may go to Heaven,      To

1890-421: A trope", the trope being a poem where the words are used with a meaning different from their common signification, i.e. metaphor and metonymy . 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. The influence of late 11th-century poets of the "Loire school", such as Marbod of Rennes and Hildebert of Lavardin ,

1995-477: 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. The earliest known troubadour, the Duke of Aquitaine, came from

2100-559: A young suitor sneaks into the garden of a young lady from a noble family and declares his love for her. He tries to seduce the girl with one-liners, each of them a brutal parody of the Sicilian School's clichés relating to love poetry . In reply, the girl berates him for his "ill" intentions, vowing to protect her honour, but her prudishness is just a façade to force her admirer to keep trying harder, until at last she gives in completely to his bold advances. The language lampoons

2205-399: Is trobadors , found in a 12th-century Occitan text by Cercamon . The French word itself is borrowed from the Occitan trobador . It is the oblique case of the nominative trobaire "composer", related to trobar "to compose, to discuss, to invent" ( Wace , Brut , editions I. Arnold, 3342). Trobar may come, in turn, from the hypothetical Late Latin * tropāre "to compose, to invent

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2310-513: Is "Michele".), about which modern critics have much exercised themselves. This Contrasto is written in a Sicilian language close to that spoken in the city of Messina , with several influences from mainland Italian dialects. The subject is humorous debate between two young lovers, a kind of poetry quite common in the Middle Ages (as contrasti or pastorelle ). Similarly to the balcony scene from William Shakespeare 's Romeo and Juliet ,

2415-565: Is a brief prose biography, written in Occitan , of a troubadour. The word vida means "life" in Occitan. In the chansonniers , the manuscript collections of medieval troubadour poetry, the works of a particular author are often accompanied by a short prose biography. The vidas are important early works of vernacular prose nonfiction. 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

2520-616: Is an alternative theory to explain the meaning of trobar as "to compose, to discuss, to invent". It has the support of some historians , specialists of literature, and musicologists to justify the troubadours' origins in Arabic Andalusian musical practices. According to them, the Arabic word ṭaraba "music" (from the triliteral root ṭ–r–b ط ر ب "provoke emotion, excitement, agitation; make music, entertain by singing" as in طرب أندلسي , ṭarab ʾandalusī ) could partly be

2625-448: Is clear, for example from the poetry of Bertran de Born , that jongleurs were performers who did not usually compose. They often performed the troubadours' songs: singing, playing instruments, dancing, and even doing acrobatics. In the late 13th century Guiraut Riquier bemoaned the inexactness of his contemporaries and wrote a letter to Alfonso X of Castile , a noted patron of literature and learning of all kinds, for clarification on

2730-459: Is debatable: peguesca (nonsense), espingadura ( flageolet song), libel (legal petition), esdemessa (leap), somni (dream), acuyndamen (challenge), desirança (nostalgia), aniversari (anniversary), serena (serene). Dolce Stil Novo Dolce Stil Novo ( Italian pronunciation: [ˈdoltʃe ˌstil ˈnɔːvo] , 'sweet new style') is the name given to a literary movement in 13th and 14th century Italy . Influenced by

2835-429: Is described as the son of a noble jongleur, presumably a petty noble lineage. 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 and Elias de Barjols were described as the sons of merchants and Elias Fonsalada was the son of a burger and jongleur. Perdigon

2940-514: Is just peripheral. Käte Axhausen has "exploited" this theory and A. J. Denomy has linked it with the Arabist (through Avicenna ) and the Cathar (through John Scotus Eriugena ). The earliest troubadour whose work survives is Guilhèm de Peitieus, better known as Duke William IX of Aquitaine (1071–1126). Peter Dronke, author of The Medieval Lyric , however, believes that "[his] songs represent not

3045-446: Is perhaps the closest to a kind of poetry that has perished or which was smothered by the Sicilian literature of Frederick's. Its distinguishing feature was its hilarity and down-to-earthedness as opposed to the abstract verse of the Sicilian School. But it has been argued that its style betrays a profound knowledge of Frederick's movement and some critics have hinted the man who penned it must have been acquainted with or even been part of,

3150-440: Is presenting himself as more than just a usual love poet because of the theological significance of Beatrice . Beatrice embodies God's love for him, and she, who also acts as his guide, can lead to God. Hollander and Furio Brugnolo also argue that Cino da Pistoia , whom Dante believed was the only one who understood this significance of Beatrice, also falls in this "school" of poetry. Dante scholar Zygmunt G. Barański states that

3255-423: Is seen as evidence. This theory has been developed away from sociological towards psychological explanation. This theory may relate to spring folk rituals. According to María Rosa Menocal , Alfred Jeanroy first suggested that folklore and oral tradition gave rise to troubadour poetry in 1883. According to F. M. Warren, it was Gaston Paris , Jeanroy's reviewer, in 1891 who first located troubadour origins in

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3360-409: Is stressed in this connexion by Brinkmann. This theory is one of the more intellectualising. The "ennobling effects of love" in specific have been identified as neoplatonic . 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

3465-451: Is usually assigned a female authorship. They wrote almost entirely within the trobar leu style; only two poems, one by Lombarda and another Alais, Yselda, and Carenza , are usually considered to belong to the more demanding trobar 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, and Castelloza , with three or four. One of

3570-517: Is why the new standard was a Koiné language , a melting pot of many different vernaculars. The reason for moving from city to city was mainly political. Although his experiment was short-lived, Frederic successfully created the first modern state in Europe, run by an efficient bureaucracy: its members were neither appointed from the aristocracy nor the clergy with good reason, since the former were far more interested in defending their own privileges than

3675-579: Is worth anything. When referring to themselves seriously, troubadours almost invariably use the word chantaire ("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 the Grove Dictionary of Music and Roger Boase's The Origins and Meaning of Courtly Love ): The sixteenth century Italian historian Giammaria Barbieri

3780-714: The dolce stil novo are found in the Provençal works of the troubadours , such as the Genoese Lanfranc Cigala . The artists of the stil novo are called stilnovisti . The importance of the Dolce Stil Novo lies in the fact that apart from being the manifestation of the first true literary tradition in Italy, it ennobled the Tuscan vernacular , which was destined to become the Italian national language . In Dante Alighieri 's Purgatorio XXIV, on

3885-454: The Leys d'amors (compiled between 1328 and 1337). Initially all troubadour verses were called simply vers , yet this soon came to be reserved for only love songs and was later replaced by canso , 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

3990-412: The tornada , the strophe which in troubadour poetry contains a dedication to a famous person with a congedo , where the poet bids goodbye to his reader and asks the song to bear his message to his lady. The re-shaping of the Occitan language model also involved the suppression of music. The authors' work was intended for reading, which called for logical unity, posing a question, proposing, and finding

4095-530: The trobar leu (light), trobar ric (rich), and trobar clus (closed, hermetic ). The first was by far the most common: the wording is straightforward and relatively simple compared to the ric and literary devices are less common than in the clus . This style was the most accessible and it was immensely popular. The most famous poet of the trobar leu was Bernart de Ventadorn . The trobar clus regularly escapes modern scholarly interpretation. Words are commonly used metaphorically and symbolically and what

4200-491: The Cluniac Reform ) and Guido Errante. Mario Casella and Leo Spitzer have added " Augustinian " influence to it. The survival of pre-Christian sexual mores and warrior codes from matriarchal societies, be they Celtic , Germanic , or Pictish , 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

4305-563: The Imperial court , and the scraps of Plato then available to scholars have all been cited as classical influences on troubadour poetry. According to this thesis, troubadour poetry is a reflection of Cathar 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 the Albigensian Crusade (first half of

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4410-584: The Minnesang in Germany, trovadorismo in Galicia and Portugal , and that of the trouvères in northern France. Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia defined the troubadour lyric as fictio 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

4515-540: The Reconquista . 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

4620-688: The Sicilian School and Tuscan poetry, its main theme is Divine Love. The name Dolce Stil Novo was used for the first time by Dante Alighieri in Purgatorio , the second canticle of the Divina Commedia . In the Divina Commedia Purgatory he meets Bonagiunta Orbicciani , a 13th-century Italian poet , who tells Dante that Dante himself, Guido Guinizelli , and Guido Cavalcanti had been able to create

4725-494: The etymon of the verb trobar . Another Arabic root had already been proposed before: ḍ–r–b ( ض ر ب ) "strike", by extension "play a musical instrument". 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: Peire d'Alvernha also begins his famous mockery of contemporary authors cantarai d'aquest trobadors , after which he proceeds to explain why none of them

4830-739: The podestà -troubadours to follow Rambertino, four were from Genoa: the Guelphs Luca Grimaldi , who also served in Florence, Milan, and Ventimiglia , and Luchetto Gattilusio , who served in Milan, Cremona , and Bologna, and the Ghibellines Perceval Doria , who served in Arles , Avignon , Asti , and Parma , and Simon Doria , sometime podestà of Savona and Albenga . Among the non-Genoese podestà -troubadours

4935-688: The sonnet , a literary form later perfected by Dante and, most of all, Petrarch. He uses it in a number of poems. We quote here the most famous that probably inspired the whole school: Io m'aggio posto in core a Dio servire,      com'io potesse gire in paradiso,      al santo loco c'aggio audito dire,      o' si mantien sollazzo, gioco e riso. sanza mia donna non vi voria gire,      quella c'ha blonda testa e claro viso,      che sanza lei non poteria gaudere,      estando da la mia donna diviso. Ma no lo dico

5040-433: The vidas were composed in Italy in the 1220s, many by Uc de Saint Circ . A razo (from Occitan for "reason") was a similar short piece of Occitan prose detailing the circumstances of a particular composition. A razo normally introduced the poem it explained; it might, however, share some of the characteristics of a vida . The razos suffer from the same problems as the vidas in terms of reliability. Many are likewise

5145-632: 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 Christian liturgy and hymnody . The influence of the Song of Songs has even been suggested. There is no preceding Latin 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

5250-484: The 14th century and around the time of the Black Death (1348) and since died out. The texts of troubadour songs deal mainly with themes of chivalry and courtly love . Most were metaphysical , intellectual, and formulaic. Many were humorous or vulgar satires . Works can be grouped into three styles: the trobar leu (light), trobar ric (rich), and trobar clus (closed). Likewise there were many genres ,

5355-453: 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. Under Marxist influence, Erich Köhler , Marc Bloch , and Georges Duby have suggested that the "essential hegemony" in the castle of the lord's wife during his absence was a driving force. The use of feudal terminology in troubadour poems

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5460-601: The Arabic language. 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", citing Ibn Hazm 's " The Ring of the Dove " as an example of a similar Arab tradition. Methods of transmission from Arab Iberia to the rest of Europe did exist, such as the Toledo School of Translators , though it only began translating major romances from Arabic into Latin in

5565-833: The Holy Place where, I have heard,      People are always happy and joyous and merry. I wouldn't want to go there without my lady      The one with fair hair and pale complexion,      Because without her I could never be happy,      Being separated from my lady. But I do not say that with blasphemous intent,      As if I wanted to sin with her:      If I did not see her shapely figure And her beautiful face and tender look:      Since it would greatly comfort me      To see my woman shine in glory. The main inhibiting factor on Sicilian poetry

5670-481: The Occitan repertoire of chivalry terms is adapted to the Siculo-Italian phonetics and morphology , so that new Italian words are actually coined, some adapted, but none really loaned. A most famous specimen is Io m'aggio posto in core by Giacomo da Lentini , who apparently inspired the movement. Giacomo da Lentini is also widely credited by scholars (as Francesco Bruni, Cesare Segre et al.) for inventing

5775-487: The Sicilian School from the troubadours, however, is the introduction of a kinder, gentler type of woman than that found in their Occitan models; one who was nearer to Dante 's madonnas and Petrarch 's Laura, though much less characterised psychologically. The poems of the Sicilians hardly portray real women or situations (Frederick's song cannot be read as autobiographical), but the style and language are remarkable, since

5880-610: The Sicilian School which he quotes widely in his studies, especially in his De Vulgari Eloquentia . The Sicilian school was later re-founded by Guittone d'Arezzo in Tuscany following the death of Manfredi, Frederick's son, so many of these poems were later copied in manuscripts that widely circulated in Florence . This first standard in which they were written, was, however, modified in Tuscany. In fact, Tuscan scriveners perceived

5985-627: The Sicilian school combines many traits typical of the Sicilian, Latin, Provençal and to a lesser, but not negligible extent, Apulian and certain southern dialects. Such a melting pot greatly helped the new Italian language : the Occitan suffixes -ièra and -ça , for example, generated hundreds of new Italian words in -iera and -za as it. riv-iera ("river") or costan-za ("constancy"). Such affixes would be then adopted by Dante and his contemporaries, and handed on to future generations of Italian writers. Dante's styles illustre, cardinale, aulico, curiale were partly developed from his close study of

6090-402: The Sicilians (as Dante called them) created the first Italian literary standard by enriching the existing vernacular base, probably inspired by popular love songs, with new words of Latin and Provençal origin. "It is lyric poetry to be in the forefront of literature, inspiring a widespread enthusiasm whose effects will be felt for centuries. The initial boost given by the Sicilian poets from

6195-588: The South, making Bari (as witnessed by Cielo in his Contrasto ) one of the richest cities in the Mediterranean . But, keeping this modern state afloat, meant that his barons had no power to collect taxes, their greatest source of revenues. Hence the necessity for Frederick to bring law and order by moving his court to and fro. Though the Sicilian School is generally considered conventional in theme or content it rather "stands out for his refined lexicon, near to

6300-678: The Svevs' court, the first to use a standardised vernacular to make art poetry will be passed on to many others: and all of them, not just the pedantic imitators of the Siculo-Tuscan school (such as Bonagiunta Orbicciani ) but also Guinizzelli , the poets of Dolce Stil Novo and more widely all writers of verse, will have to deal, though by different degrees, with the Sicilian models, so that some peculiarities will be assimilated into standard usage of Italian poetry ." ( Bruno Migliorini , Storia della letteratura italiana ) Though yet confined to

6405-520: The author often being the soldier or the knight involved in the strife, as in Guittone d'Arezzo 's Rotta di Montaperti (Defeat of Montaperti), a bloody battle where Manfred of Sicily , Frederick's son, defeated the Guelphs . Dante commemorated this event in his epic La Divina Commedia many years later. Frederick's censorship is also apparent from the structure of the song: the Sicilians transformed

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6510-538: The beginnings of a tradition but summits of achievement in that tradition." His name has been preserved because he was the Duke 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 the Crusade of 1101 (c. 1102). This may be

6615-463: The court itself. Given the highly satiric and erotic vein Ciullo d'Alcamo may well be a fictitious name. His Contrasto shows vigor and freshness in the expression of feelings: Such "low" treatment of the love-theme shows that its subject-matter is certainly popular. This poem sounds real and spontaneous, marked as it is by the sensuality characteristic of the people of southern Italy. The standard of

6720-492: The courtly language of lyric poetry. The Contrasto belongs to the time of the emperor Frederick II (it can be dated between 1230 and 1250, but probably closer to the latter), and is also important as a proof that there once existed a popular, independent of literary, poetry prior to Frederick's times. Now most critics agree that the Contrasto of Cielo d'Alcamo is probably a scholarly re-elaboration of some lost popular song. It

6825-451: The definition of the phrase should not be searched for externally as it can be found in the text of the poem itself: it is a style where form and content are in harmony, and this harmony is what makes the style "sweet." Another word for dulcis is clarity, and Dante himself believed that for poetry to be sweet, it should be as intelligible as possible. In the nineteenth century, scholars began considering and studying dolce stil novo as

6930-463: 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 ...

7035-573: The festive dances of women hearkening the spring in the Loire Valley . This theory has since been widely discredited, but the discovery of the jarchas raises the question of the extent of literature (oral or written) in the 11th century and earlier. Hans Spanke analysed the intertextual connexion between vernacular and medieval Latin (such as Goliardic ) songs. This theory is supported by Reto Bezzola, Peter Dronke, and musicologist Jacques Chailley . According to them, trobar means "inventing

7140-557: The first female composers of secular music in the Western tradition. The word trobairitz was first used in the 13th-century Romance of Flamenca and its derivation is the same as that of trobaire but in feminine form. There were also female counterparts to the joglars : the joglaresas . The number of trobairitz varies between sources: there were twenty or twenty-one named trobairitz, plus an additional poet known only as Domna H. There are several anonymous texts ascribed to women;

7245-636: The five-vowel system used by southern Italian dialects (i, e, a, o, u) as a seven-vowel one (i, é, è, a, ó, ò, u). As a consequence, the Italian texts may contain lines that no longer rhyme with each other (sic. -i > tusc. -é, sic. -u > tusc. -ó). Tuscans also changed words as gloria [pron. glɔria] to ghiora , aju [pron. aju] ("I have) to aggio [pron. addʒo] etc. Though some original texts have been restored to their original Sicilian, we must see such remakes only as tentative reconstructions of originals that, unfortunately, may have been lost forever. Dante and his contemporaries would take this newborn language

7350-423: The following troubadours note their clerical status: Aimeric de Belenoi , Folquet de Marselha (who became a bishop), Gui d'Ussel , Guillem Ramon de Gironella , Jofre de Foixà (who became an abbot), Peire de Bussignac , Peire Rogier , Raimon de Cornet , Uc Brunet , and Uc de Saint Circ . The Occitan words trobador and trobaire are relatively rare compared with the verb trobar (compose, invent), which

7455-467: The greatest composer of melodies to ever live, and Bertran de Born , the master of the sirventes , 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

7560-487: The height of troubadour poetry (the "classical period"), troubadours are often found attacking jongleurs and at least two small genres arose around the theme: the ensenhamen joglaresc and the sirventes joglaresc . These terms are debated, however, since the adjective joglaresc seems to imply "in the manner of the jongleurs ". Inevitably, however, pieces of these genres are verbal attacks at jongleurs , in general and in specific, with named individuals being called out. It

7665-537: The high nobility. He was followed immediately by two poets of unknown origins, known only by their sobriquets, Cercamon and Marcabru , and by a member of the princely class, Jaufre Rudel . Many troubadours are described in their vidas as poor knights. It was one of the most common descriptors of status. Berenguier de Palazol , Gausbert Amiel , Guilhem Ademar , Guiraudo lo Ros , Marcabru , Peire de Maensac , Peirol , Raimon de Miraval , Rigaut de Berbezilh , and Uc de Pena are all so described. Albertet de Sestaro

7770-555: The ideal to which poets of the troubadour revival in Toulouse (creation of the Consistori 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 by Raimon Vidal and then by Uc Faidit . The 450 or so troubadours known to historians came from a variety of backgrounds. They made their living in

7875-516: The increasing power of the middle class , causes a shift in the reading public, the epic (traditionally devoted to great military pursuits) gradually giving way to the lyric (generally focused on love). In the lower Middle Ages more and more women were reading books than ever before and poetry tried to adapt to their point of view and their newly acquired role in society. This features Occitan poetry, then very influential in Italy . What distinguishes

7980-643: The known trobairitz, Gaudairença , wrote a song entitled Coblas e dansas , which has not survived; no other piece of hers has either. The trobairitz came almost to a woman from Occitania . There are representatives from the Auvergne , Provence , Languedoc , the Dauphiné , Toulousain , and the Limousin . One trobairitz, Ysabella , may have been born in Périgord , Northern Italy, Greece , or Palestine . All

8085-810: The miseries of his captivity ... before kings, magnates, and Christian assemblies many times related with rhythmic verses and witty measures. 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. 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 and Saintonge ) and Gascony , from there spreading over into eastern Aquitaine ( Limousin and Auvergne ) and Provence . At its height it had become popular in Languedoc and

8190-513: The most popular being the canso , but sirventes and tensos were especially popular in the post-classical period. The English word troubadour 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 , p. 14 in Gdf. Compl.). The first use and earliest form of troubador

8295-545: 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 between Ovid , especially his Amores and Ars amatoria , and the lyric of courtly love. The aetas ovidiana that predominated in the 11th century in and around Orléans , the quasi- Ciceronian ideology that held sway in

8400-401: The proper reference of the terms trobador and joglar . According to Riquier, every vocation deserved a name of its own and the sloppy usage of joglar 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 a joglar was

8505-498: 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 the canso , or love song, became distinguishable as a genre. The master of the canso and the troubadour who epitomises the classical period is Bernart de Ventadorn . He was highly regarded by his contemporaries, as were Giraut de Bornelh , reputed by his biographer to be

8610-464: The reforming Robert of Arbrissel on "matronage" to achieve his ends can explain the troubadour attitude towards women. 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

8715-447: The regions of Rouergue , Toulouse , and Quercy (c. 1200). Finally, in the early 13th century it began to spread into first Italy and then Catalonia , whence to the rest of modern Spain and then Portugal. This development has been called the rayonnement des troubadours ( pronounced [ʁɛjɔnəmɑ̃ de tʁubaduːʁ] ). The classical period of troubadour activity lasted from about 1170 until about 1213. The most famous names among

8820-563: The rimes drawing a visual line between the first and last part. However, the fact that Italian poetry was being made for the reading public may have facilitated its circulation. Though lyric poetry prevailed at Frederick's (and later Manfredi's) court, it is at this time that we have an interesting exception in Rosa fresca aulentissima (transl: "Fresh very perfumed rose"), widely known as Contrasto and attributed to Cielo d'Alcamo (also known as Ciullu di Vincenzullu . The modern form of "Cielo"

8925-648: The second half of the thirteenth century, with objectionable sexual content removed in deference to the Catholic Church . According to the Bernardine-Marianist (or Christian) theory, it was the theology espoused by Bernard of Clairvaux and the increasingly important Mariology 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

9030-552: The sixth terrace of Purgatory , the poet and glutton Bonagiunta Orbicciani , after confirming that Dante is the poet who wrote "Ladies that have intelligence of love", a poem from Vita Nuova , uses the phrase dolce stil novo ("sweet new style", mentioned for the first time in the Italian vernacular) to describe Dante's style as a poet, and how it marked a shift from the styles of poets that came before him like of Giacomo da Lentini and Guittone d'Arezzo . Dante scholars have tried to define this "sweet new style", and it remains

9135-496: The style of trobar clus and for the wise treatment of figures of speech and metaphors of stylnovistic taste taken from natural philosophy" (Cesare Segre). There is a visible move towards neoplatonic models, which will be embraced by Dolce Stil Novo in the later 13th century Bologna and Florence , and more markedly by Petrarch . Unlike the Northern Italian troubadours , no line is ever written in Occitan . Rather,

9240-515: The term mieja chanso (half song) and Cerverí de Girona uses a similar phrase, miga canço , both to refer to a short canso and not a mixture of genres as sometimes supposed. Cerverí's mig (or meig ) vers e miga canço was a vers in the new sense (a moralising song) that was also highly critical and thus combined the canso and the sirventes . 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

9345-540: The total number of trobairitz texts varies from twenty-two (Schultz-Gora), twenty-five ( Bec ), thirty-six (Bruckner, Shepard, and White), and forty-six (Rieger). Only one melody composed by a trobairitz (the Comtessa 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. The trobairitz were in most respects as varied

9450-503: 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 probably Tibors de Sarenom , who was active in the 1150s (the date of her known composition is uncertain). The latest was either Garsenda of Forcalquier , who died in 1242, though her period of poetic patronage and composition probably occurred

9555-423: The troubadour tradition. Among the earliest is a school of followers of Marcabru, sometimes called the "Marcabrunian school": Bernart Marti , Bernart de Venzac , Gavaudan , and Peire d'Alvernhe . These poets favoured the trobar clus or ric 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,

9660-463: The urban middle class and no courtesans: Miralhas was possibly a potter and Bernart was a mayestre (teacher). All wrote in Occitan but were supporters of the French king Louis IX and the French aristocracy against the native Occitan nobility. They have been described as " Gallicised ". Raimon Gaucelm supported the Eighth Crusade and even wrote a planh , the only known one of its kind, to

9765-540: The welfare of the country and often plotted against him in the hope of regaining their power, while the latter were basically faithful to the Pope, his biggest enemy. Frederic was in fact dismantling the feudal system of government inherited from the Normans, his magna curia and minor dignitaries were usually chosen from lay orders (like his poet-notaries). He also abolished internal barriers: free trade brought prosperity to

9870-561: The work of Uc de Saint Circ. A phenomenon arose in Italy, recognised around the turn of the 20th century by Giulio Bertoni, of men serving in several cities as podestàs on behalf of either the Guelph 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 first podestà -troubadour

9975-479: Was Alberico da Romano , a nobleman of high rank who governed Vicenza and Treviso as variously a Ghibelline and a Guelph. He was a patron as well as a composer of Occitan lyric. Mention should be made of the Provençal troubadour Isnart d'Entrevenas , who was podestà of Arles in 1220, though he does not fit the phenomenon Giulio Bertoni first identified in Italy. The trobairitz were the female troubadours,

10080-510: Was Rambertino Buvalelli , possibly the first troubadour native to the Italian Peninsula, who was podestà of Genoa between 1218 and 1221. Rambertino, a Guelph, served at one time or another as podestà of Brescia , Milan , Parma , Mantua , and Verona . 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. Among

10185-579: Was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word troubadour is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a trobairitz . The troubadour school or tradition began in the late 11th century in Occitania , but it subsequently spread to the Italian and Iberian Peninsulas . Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe:

10290-497: Was first introduced by the Stil Novo poets, and later developed by Francesco Petrarca .The two main concepts (introspection and love) are thus brought together as the poet enters his interior world to express his most inner feelings, which are caused by an excessively divine female beauty. The first expression of this style of writing is credited to Guido Guinizelli and his poem " Al cor gentil rempaira sempre amore ". Precursors to

10395-509: Was perhaps the first to suggest Arabian (also Arabist or Hispano-Arabic ) influences on the music of the troubadours. Later scholars like J.B. Trend have asserted that the poetry of troubadours is connected to Arabic poetry written in the Iberian Peninsula, while others have attempted to find direct evidence of this influence. In examining the works of William IX of Aquitaine , Évariste Lévi-Provençal and other scholars found three lines that they believed were in some form of Arabic, indicating

10500-667: Was probably the political censorship imposed by Frederick: literary debate was confined to courtly love. In this respect, the poetry of the north, though stuck to the langues d'oïl , provided fresher blood for satire . The north was fragmented into communes or little city-states which had a relatively democratic self-government, and that is precisely why the sirventese genre , and later, Dante's Divina Commedia and sonnets were so popular: they referred to real people and feelings, though often idealised like Beatrice. A sirventese is, in effect, eminently political: it usually refers to real battles and attacks real military or political enemies,

10605-432: Was the "Gascon school" of Cercamon , Peire de Valeira , and Guiraut de Calanso . Cercamon was said by his biographer to have composed in the "old style" ( la uzansa antiga ) and Guiraut's songs were d'aquella saison ("of that time"). This style of poetry seems to be attached to early troubadours from Gascony and was characterised by references to nature: leaves, flowers, birds, and their songs. This Gascon "literary fad"

10710-474: Was the son of a "poor fisherman" and Elias Cairel of a blacksmith. Arnaut de Mareuil is specified in his vida as coming from a poor family, but whether this family was poor by noble standards or materially is not apparent. Many troubadours also possessed a clerical education. For some this was their springboard to composition, since their clerical education equipped them with an understanding of musical and poetic forms as well as vocal training. The vidas of

10815-421: Was thought to derive from the Latin word verus (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: All these genres were highly fluid. A cross between a sirventes and a canso was a meg-sirventes (half- sirventes ). A tenso could be "invented" by

10920-570: Was unpopular in Provence in the early 13th century, harming the reputation of the poets associated with it. In the late 13th century a school arose at Béziers , 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 , and Raimon Gaucelm . The latter three were natives of Béziers and all four lived there. All were members of

11025-415: 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 the vidas , 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,

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