A troubadour ( English: / ˈ t r uː b ə d ʊər , - d ɔːr / , French: [tʁubaduʁ] ; Occitan : trobador [tɾuβaˈðu] ) 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 .
88-693: 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: 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
176-591: 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
264-483: A century earlier by the renowned German musicologist Hugo Riemann . The New Grove entry on Baldini was supported by a fictional reference in the form of an article supposedly in the Archiv für Freiburger Diözesan Geschichte . Though successfully introduced into the encyclopaedia, Baldini appeared in the first printing only: soon exposed as a hoax, the entry was removed. Seven parody entries, written by contributors to
352-423: A cornerstone of Oxford University Press's larger online research tool Oxford Music Online , which remains a subscription-based service. As well as being available to individual and educational subscribers, it is available for use at many public and university libraries worldwide, through institutional subscriptions. Grove Music Online identifies itself as the eighth edition of the overall work. The New Grove
440-649: 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
528-461: 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
616-409: 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
704-441: A more modern style and a large number of entirely new articles. Many of the articles were written by Blom personally, or translated by him. An additional Supplementary Volume prepared by Eric Blom and completed by Denis Stevens after Blom's death in 1959, was issued in 1961. The fifth edition was reprinted in 1966, 1968, 1970, 1973, and 1975, each time with numerous corrections, updates, and other small changes. The next edition
792-439: 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
880-437: 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
968-535: 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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#17327722742801056-512: 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:
1144-495: 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
1232-407: A three-volume dictionary of musical instruments (1984), a four-volume dictionary of opera (1992)., and a volume on women composers (1994). The second edition under this title (the seventh overall) was published in 2001, in 29 volumes. It was also made available by subscription on the internet in a service called Grove Music Online. It was again edited by Stanley Sadie , and the executive editor
1320-469: A total of more than 50,000 articles. The current editor-in-chief of Grove Music, the name given to the complete slate of print and online resources that encompass the Grove brand, is University of Pittsburgh professor Deane Root. He assumed the editorship in 2009. The dictionary, originally published by Macmillan , was sold in 2004 to Oxford University Press . Since 2001 Grove Music Online has served as
1408-420: 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 ,
1496-477: 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
1584-515: 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 a poem" by regular phonetic change . This reconstructed form
1672-621: Is $ 195. The companion four-volume series, New Grove Dictionary of Opera , is the main reference work in English on the subject of opera. Its principal competitor is the Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart ("MGG"), currently ten volumes on musical subjects and seventeen on biographies of musicians, written in German. The 2001 edition contains: Two non-existent composers have appeared in
1760-564: 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
1848-479: Is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart , it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theory of music . Earlier editions were published under the titles A Dictionary of Music and Musicians , and Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians ; the work has gone through several editions since
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#17327722742801936-616: 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
2024-528: 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
2112-447: 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
2200-717: Is debatable: peguesca (nonsense), espingadura ( flageolet song), libel (legal petition), esdemessa (leap), somni (dream), acuyndamen (challenge), desirança (nostalgia), aniversari (anniversary), serena (serene). Occitania Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 546069693 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:37:54 GMT Grove Dictionary of Music The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
2288-429: 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
2376-513: 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
2464-424: Is often the first source that English-speaking musicologists use when beginning research or seeking information on most musical topics. Its scope and extensive bibliographies make it exceedingly valuable to any scholar with a grasp of the English language. The print edition of The New Grove costs between $ 1,100 and $ 1,500, while an annual personal subscription to Grove Music Online as of 2 August 2022
2552-423: 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
2640-407: 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
2728-451: 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
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2816-578: 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
2904-454: 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
2992-627: The trobar leu (light), trobar ric (rich), and trobar clus (closed). Likewise there were many genres , 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
3080-530: 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
3168-491: 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
3256-562: 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
3344-540: 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
3432-490: 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
3520-739: 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
3608-485: 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
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3696-632: 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
3784-464: The 19th century and is widely used. In recent years it has been made available as an electronic resource called Grove Music Online , which is now an important part of Oxford Music Online . A Dictionary of Music and Musicians was first published in London by Macmillan and Co. in four volumes (1879, 1880, 1883, 1889) edited by George Grove with an Appendix edited by J. A. Fuller Maitland in
3872-452: 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
3960-599: 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
4048-646: The Danish organist Henry Palsmar founded an amateur choir, the Esrum-Hellerup Choir, along with several former pupils of the Song School, St. Annae Gymnasium in Copenhagen. Guglielmo Baldini was the name of a non-existent composer who was the subject of a hoax entry in the 1980 edition. Unlike Esrum-Hellerup, Baldini was not a modern creation: his name and biography were in fact created almost
4136-537: 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
4224-463: 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 ...
4312-572: 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
4400-557: 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;
4488-423: 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
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#17327722742804576-456: The fourth volume. An Index edited by Mrs. E. Wodehouse was issued as a separate volume in 1890. In 1900, minor corrections were made to the plates and the entire series was reissued in four volumes, with the index added to volume 4. The original edition and the reprint are now freely available online. Grove limited the chronological span of his work to begin at 1450 while continuing up to his time. The second edition ( Grove II ), in five volumes,
4664-467: 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
4752-411: The hardback set sold for about $ 2,300. A paperback edition was reprinted in 1995 which sold for $ 500. Some sections of The New Grove were also issued as small sets and individual books on particular topics. These typically were enhanced with expanded and updated material and included individual and grouped composer biographies, a four-volume dictionary of American music (1984; revised 2013, 8 vols.),
4840-487: 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
4928-537: 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
5016-555: 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
5104-643: 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
5192-808: 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
5280-418: The omission of sections of Igor Stravinsky 's worklist and Richard Wagner 's bibliography. Publication of the second edition of The New Grove was accompanied by a Web-based version, Grove Music Online . It too, attracted some initial criticism, for example for the way in which images were not incorporated into the text but kept separate. The complete text of The New Grove is available to subscribers to
5368-513: The online service Grove Music Online . Grove Music Online includes a large number of revisions and additions of new articles. In addition to the 29 volumes of The New Grove second edition, Grove Music Online incorporates the four-volume New Grove Dictionary of Opera (ed. Stanley Sadie , 1992) and the three-volume New Grove Dictionary of Jazz , second edition (ed. Barry Kernfeld , 2002), The Grove Dictionary of American Music and The Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments , comprising
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#17327722742805456-545: 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
5544-401: 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
5632-498: 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
5720-463: 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
5808-446: 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
5896-647: 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
5984-515: 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
6072-537: 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
6160-503: 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
6248-607: 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 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:
6336-423: 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,
6424-463: 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
6512-561: 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
6600-432: The work: Dag Henrik Esrum-Hellerup was the subject of a hoax entry in the 1980 New Grove . Esrum-Hellerup's surname derives from a Danish village and a suburb of Copenhagen. The writer of the entry was Robert Layton . Though successfully introduced into the encyclopaedia, Esrum-Hellerup appeared in the first printing only: soon exposed as a hoax, the entry was removed and the space filled with an illustration. In 1983,
6688-479: 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,
6776-550: Was John Tyrrell . It was originally to be released on CD-ROM as well, but this plan was dropped. As Sadie writes in the preface, "The biggest single expansion in the present edition has been in the coverage of 20th-century composers". This edition was subjected to negative criticism (e.g. in Private Eye ) owing to the significant number of typographical and factual errors that it contained. Two volumes were re-issued in corrected versions after production errors originally caused
6864-510: 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
6952-425: Was an extensive revision of the 2nd edition; it was edited by H. C. Colles and published in 1927. The 3rd edition was reprinted several times. An American Supplement was published in the U.S. in 1927, and also later reprinted separately. An extra-large Supplementary Volume also edited by Colles was published in 1940 and called the fourth edition ( Grove IV ). A reprint of the 3rd edition with some corrections,
7040-653: Was edited by Fuller Maitland and published from 1904 to 1910, this time as Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians . The individual volumes of the second edition were reprinted many times. An American Supplement edited by Waldo Selden Pratt and Charles N. Boyd was published in 1920 in Philadelphia by Theodore Presser . This edition removed the first edition's beginning date of 1450, though important earlier composers and theorists are still missing from this edition. These volumes are also now freely available online. The third edition ( Grove III ), also in five volumes,
7128-507: 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
7216-406: Was published in 1980 under the name The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians and was greatly expanded to 20 volumes with 22,500 articles and 16,500 biographies. Its senior editor was Stanley Sadie with Nigel Fortune also serving as one of the main editors for the publication. It was reprinted with minor corrections each subsequent year until 1995, except 1982 and 1983. In the mid-1990s,
7304-555: Was released at the same time. The five-volume 3rd edition, with the Supplementary Volume as volume 6, and the American Supplement of the 3rd edition as volume 7, were reprinted together as a set in 1945. The fifth edition ( Grove V ), in nine volumes, was edited by Eric Blom and published in 1954. This was the most thoroughgoing revision of the work since its inception, with many articles rewritten in
7392-432: 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"
7480-474: 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
7568-420: 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
7656-570: 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
7744-415: 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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