Troubadours

 Who are Troubadours?

The earliest known troubadour, whose works have survived, is Duke William IX of Aquitaine. Click here for a rendition of one of Duke William IX of Aquitaine’s (also recorded as Guillaume IX d’Aquitaine) songs (2). The cities of Aquitaine and Poitou were seen to be origin cities of troubadours which then spread between other cities and northern Italy and France. Southern France comprised of Troubadours who were often nobility and kings performing for big assemblies or in tournaments of songs where they competed against each other (6). Northern France called their poets trouveres, which comprised of members of the clergy or middle class (5).

                                                                            What is Troubadour Poetry?

An example of troubadour poem
out of a chansonnier.
Source 6: "Francais 844" page 21. 

Troubadour poetry is a type of lyrical poem that is secular in terms of content and dates back to the 11^th century. The word troubadour has many presumed early derivations, but most origin definitions mean to compose. Originally, most troubadour songs were written in the Occitan language and later translated to early French and Italian in the spread of popularity (2).

Troubadour poetry or songs, much like the medieval literature we have studied poses ideals of chivalry and courtly love. The seven subgenres of Troubadour poetry included: albas- dawn songs that warned two lovers of the jealous husband’s approach, cansos- love songs, canso de crozada- crusader songs, dansas or balladas- dance songs, ensenhamens- didactic poems, gaps- boasting songs, and maldits- a song of a lover complaining of a woman’s behavior (2).

The Composition of Troubadour Poetry and Songs

The “golden age” of Troubadour poetry dates from the mid-eleventh century to the early thirteenth century but continues into the late thirteenth century. Those who study classical rhetoric see that Troubadour poetry follows the 5 parts of composition: inventio- appropriate material, disposition- arrangement of material, elocutio- embellishment (either trobar leu- light, trobar clus- hermetic, or trobar ric- rich), memoria- memorization, and then pronuciato- the delivery, which was in song in most cases for this type of poetry (1). There were also 3 styles of rhetoric at the time: gravis- serious, mediocris- polite and decorous, and adtenuata- coarse or vulgar (1). As you can see, the style combined with the subgenres of Troubadour poetry made for some very interesting and enjoyable entertainment in the medieval period. 

An example of a Troubadour composition
Source 3: "Francais 844" page 28

Although Troubadour poetry seems to be just a thing of the past, it heavily influenced later works in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Some of the best-known troubadour poets included Bernart d’Auriac, Joan Mirahas, Raiman Gaucelm, and Joan Esleve (2). Today, we have some troubadour compositions that were composed in manuscripts called chansonniers (5). As Troubadour poetry grew in popularity and made its way down the caste system, it was not uncommon for women to join in on the fun. A well-known author, Dante Alighieri, writer of The Divine Comedy, adopted the stillnovist ideal that derived from troubadour poetry. Whereas Troubadour poetry was emotional and physical, stillnovist ideals were intellectual and often metaphysical (2).

There are not many websites of Troubadours that I can send you, however, if you want to click through a French Medieval Chansonnier Manuscript, click here. If you are also interested in learning more about the composition and history of Troubadour poetry here is a link to a great book. This book is available on the BU library site!

Works Cited

1. Abraham, Mary C. (2010) "The Rhetoric of the Troubadours," Musical Offerings: Vol. 1 : No.1 ,Article 1. DOI:                         10.15385/jmo.2010.1.1.1 Available at:                                                                                                                             https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/musicalofferings/vol1/iss1/1

2. Classen, Albrecht : Handbook of Medieval Culture, edited by Albrecht Classen, De Gruyter, Inc., 2015.                                 ProQuest Ebook Central,  https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bloomsburguniv-ebooks/detail.action?   docID=1713054

3. “Français 844.” Gallica, Bibliothèque nationale de France. Département des Manuscrits.,                                                         gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84192440/f21.item.

4. “Guillaume IX d’Aquitaine : Farai Un Vers Pos Mi Sonelh.” YouTube, uploaded by Eric Boulanger, 9             Apr.                      2011, www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhlCtF7JJ6Q.

5. Haines, John. Eight Centuries of Troubadours and Trouvères : The Changing Identity of Medieval Music,                               Cambridge University Press, 2004. ProQuest Ebook Central,                                                                                        https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/bloomsburguniv-ebooks/detail.action?docID=266561.

6. “Troubadours and Trouvères.” Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia, Jan. 2018, p.                                                             1; EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?                                                                                                       direct=true&db=funk&AN=tr092300&site=eds-live&scope=site.