Jaufre Rudel (Jaufré in modern Occitan) was the prince of Blaye (''Princes de Blaia'') and a troubadour of the early- to mid-12th century, who probably died during the Second Crusade, in or after 1147. He is noted for developing the theme of "love from afar" (''amor de lonh'' or ''amour de loin'') in his songs. Very little is known about his life, but a reference to him in a contemporary song by Marcabru describes him as being ''oltra mar''—across the sea, probably on the Second Crusade in 1147. Probably he was the son of Girard, also castellan of Blaye, and who was titled "prince" in an 1106 charter. Girard's father was the first to carry the title, being called ''princeps Blaviensis'' as early as 1090. During his father's lifetime the suzerainty of Blaye was disputed between the counts of Poitou and the counts of Angoulême. Shortly after the succession of William VIII of Poitou, who had inherited it from his father, Blaye was taken by Wulgrin II of Angoulême, who probably vested Jaufre with it. According to one hypothesis, based on flimsy evidence, Wulgrin was Jaufre's father. According to his legendary '' vida'', or fictionalised biography, he was inspired to go on crusade upon hearing from returning pilgrims of the beauty of Countess Hodierna of Tripoli, and that she was his ''amor de lonh'', his far-off love. The legend claims that he fell sick on the journey and was brought ashore in Tripoli a dying man. Countess Hodierna is said to have come down from her castle on hearing the news, and Rudel died in her arms. This romantic but unlikely story seems to have been derived from the enigmatic nature of Rudel's verse and his presumed death on the Second Crusade. Seven of Rudel's poems have survived to the present day, four of them with music. His composition ''Lanquan li jorn'' is thought to be the model for the Minnesinger Walther von der Vogelweide's crusade song ''Allerest lebe ich mir werde'' (''Palästinalied'').

Rudel in legend and literature

Nineteenth-century

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found his legend irresistible. It was the subject of poems by Ludwig Uhland,

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

, Robert Browning (''Rudel to the Lady of Tripoli'') and Giosué Carducci (''Jaufré Rudel''). Algernon Charles Swinburne returned several times to the story in his poetry, in ''The Triumph of Time'', ''The Death of Rudel'' and the now-lost ''Rudel in Paradise'' (also titled ''The Golden House''). In ''The Triumph of Time'', he summarises the legend:

There lived a singer in France of old By the tideless dolorous midland sea. In a land of sand and ruin and gold There shone one woman, and none but she. And finding life for her love's sake fail, Being fain to see her, he bade set sail, Touched land, and saw her as life grew cold, And praised God, seeing; and so died he.

Died, praising God for his gift and grace: For she bowed down to him weeping, and said "Live"; and her tears were shed on his face Or ever the life in his face was shed. The sharp tears fell through her hair, and stung Once, and her close lips touched him and clung Once, and grew one with his lips for a space; And so drew back, and the man was dead.

Sir Nizamat Jung Bahadur, of

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, also wrote an epic poem on the subject, ''Rudel of Blaye'', in 1926. The French dramatist Edmond Rostand took the legend of Rudel and Hodierna as the basis for his 1895 verse drama '' La Princesse Lointaine'', but reassigned the female lead from Hodierna to her jilted daughter Melisende, played by

Sarah Bernhardt Sarah Bernhardt (; born Henriette-Rosine Bernard; 22 October 1844 – 26 March 1923) was a French stage actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, including by Alexandre Dumas fils, ...

. However, there are older mentions of Rudel loving Melisende, such as Frederic Mistral's 1878 Provençal dictionary '' Lou Tresor dóu Felibrige'' which states (translation): "Mélisende, Mélissande or Mélissène, countess of Tripoli, daughter of Aimeri de Lusignan, loved by the troubadour Geoffroi Rudel".The article ''Melisendo'' i
Lou Tresor dóu Felibrige
volume 2, 1878. More recently, Finnish

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

Kaija Saariaho has written an

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

about Rudel and Clémence (the name used for Hodierna) called '' L'amour de loin'', with a libretto by Amin Maalouf, which was given its world premiere at the Salzburg Festival in 2000 and its US premiere at the Santa Fe Opera in 2002.

References

External links

Jaufré Rudel: Complete Works
(in English and Provençal, with MIDIs of the extant melodies)

* ttp://jaufre-outremer.blogspot.com/ The afterlife of Jaufré Rudel a growing resource of Rudel-related material and links {{Authority control 12th-century births 1140s deaths 12th-century French troubadours People from Gironde Medieval legends House of Taillefer Christians of the Second Crusade

Rudel in legend and literature

References

Further reading

External links