Troubadour
Troubadours were lyrical poets from medieval Occitania, a region in southern France, known for their elaborately crafted poetry often centered around themes of romantic love. The term "troubadour" derives from the Occitan word "trobar," meaning "to find" or "to invent." These poets performed primarily in royal courts, where they enjoyed considerable freedom to comment on social and political issues through their verses. Their poetry was typically accompanied by melodies, often composed by the troubadours themselves, and they wrote in the Provençal language, also known as lang d'oc. Notably, women troubadours were referred to as "trobairitz" and contributed to the tradition as well.
The troubadours emerged from a cultural backdrop that included earlier entertainers known as jongleurs, who sang and performed for the public. The first recognized troubadour is William IX, Duke of Aquitaine, who is thought to have been influenced by Arabic poetic forms. The movement flourished across Europe, igniting a wave of poetic creativity that often celebrated courtly love and challenged the moral constraints of the time, particularly those upheld by the Catholic Church. Their works sometimes portrayed extramarital affairs as noble pursuits, leading to tension with religious authorities. The troubadour tradition began to decline in the late thirteenth century, largely due to the Church's disapproval and the sociopolitical upheavals of the era, yet their influence is still evident in later literary and chivalric traditions.
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Troubadour
In medieval times, troubadours were lyrical poets who originated in the European country known as Occitania or Provence, situated south of France. The root of the word is from the Occitanian trobar, meaning to find or invent. Eventually, they became known as troubadours, which is the French equivalent. The troubadours had many varying themes for their prose, with the most popular being romantic love. They usually performed in the royal courts of the time and had wide license to speak freely without fear of consequence even when their lyrics were laced with political rhetoric. They frequently expressed their admiration for lofty ideals such as honor and egalitarianism and how blood and nobility are no obstacle to true love. The poems were usually accompanied by a melody often composed by the troubadours themselves. Early troubadours wrote in the Provençal language, known as lang d’oc, which was also called plana lenga romana or plain Roman tongue. Women could also be troubadours and were called trobairitz.
Brief History
In the late eleventh century, roving entertainers called jongleurs, who were skilled musicians and acrobats, proliferated throughout southern Europe. This was the first time that music was being played for entertainment purposes and not in the church as an accompaniment to sacred worship. These jongleurs, who were not very educated, would travel from city to city reciting verse relating to faraway lands, legends, real historical events, and even the latest news in the form of song and dance. The royalty of the time took note and coveted private entertainers for their courts, so they could enjoy the entertainment without having to mingle on the street with the common folk. These court-appointed musicians were called minstrels. The minstrels gave way to troubadours, who were usually highly educated poets who wrote elaborately of love and chivalry and would occasionally hire jongleurs and minstrels to help them perform in the presence of the nobility. These troubadours could come from any of the classes and included kings, counts, and countesses among their ranks, many of whom were educated by the clergy.
The earliest known troubadour was William IX, Duke of Aquitaine (also known as Guilhelm de Peitieus in Occitainian and in French as Gilliaume d’Aquitaine), who lived from 1071 to 1127. He is generally thought to be the originator of the troubadours’ style, though scholars have posited that he was probably influenced by Arabic metrical forms, which those of the troubadours resemble. Legend has it that William IX was involved in the Church’s Reconquista of Spain from the Moors, and among his Muslim captives were women singers and poets. After hearing them sing, he imitated them and introduced this Spanish style to the Europeans. Eventually, it became wildly popular throughout the European continent, with troubadours abounding in the French, English, and German royal courts. Much of their poetry has survived after compilations of their work collected in songbooks called "chansonniers" were discovered. About three hundred melodies are known to exist, with all of them being simple and monophonic. The late thirteenth century saw a decline in the dominance of the troubadours’ musical and poetic mastery giving way to other forms of lyrical technique.
Overview
The troubadours had many topics that their prose might address. Chief among those, however, was that of courtly love. These might be the pastorela, a tale of a knight’s love of a shepherdess, or a jeu parti, also called a débat, which would be a debate about love between poets. There was the alba, in which lovers were warned of impending morning by the night watchman to take heed of the jealous husband who might find them and come to exact revenge. Their prose regarding convivencia, which means more than just simple conviviality, could often be graphically immodest about topics that were heretofore regarded as extremely immoral. The troubadours’ open discussion of love and romance without any shame, and particularly their romanticizing of extramarital relationships, raised the ire of the Catholic Church. The extramarital affair became the paragon of virtue in the lyrics of the troubadour, and symbolized true love for love’s sake. They would flatter the ladies of the court calling them midons, literally meaning my lord. The woman represented a being that only the noble and chivalrous would be deserving of her winnable love and attention. At times, the lady would be portrayed as a domina and would dominate and control her lover, who would consider himself her servant, submissive to all her needs. She would be wooed by her lover’s lavish gifts and kind words. Romance had become something of a religion to rival the Church.
The troubadours mocking traditional marriage diametrically opposed the view held by the Catholic Church that the desire to procreate was inherently sinful and that celibacy was the ideal sexual state. Those songs of romantic lyrical poetry beloved by the nobles of the time were denounced by the Church as blasphemous and heretical. The troubadours were looked upon as heroes who were not afraid to speak the truth in the face of the growing animosity of the Church. Peire Cardenal, one of the most prolific of the troubadours, wrote scathing criticism of the clergy and how they have no mercy for the victims of the religious wars. The vidas, which were biographies written about the troubadours themselves, only helped to add to their celebrity status, placing an even bigger rift between the desires of the common man and the control of the Church.
The decline of the troubadours came at the height of the Crusades and during the papal inquisition. Church authorities searched for manuscripts of the troubadours’ poems and condemned them to be eradicated. The troubadours’ style and even some of their subjects have lived on through the popular chivalric tales of knights and maidens in the Arthurian legends and the Knights of the Round Table.
Bibliography
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Duke, Charis. "Troubadour: Definition, Music & Instruments." Study.com, 2016. Web. 24 May 2016.
Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. "Troubadour: Medieval Lyrical Poet." Encyclpaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Inc., 2016. Web. 24 May 2016.
"Musical Instruments in the Middle Ages." Siteseen Ltd. www.siteseeninfo, March 2015. Web. 24 May 2016.
Shipsides, Lucas. "Jongluers and Troubadours in the Middle Ages." n.p. n.d. Web. 24 May 2016.
"The Troubadours." Oliver’s Travels. Midi-France Info, n.d. Web. 24 May 2016.
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