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Troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) 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 troubadour 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: 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 the 14th century and around the time of the Black Death (1348) it died out. The texts of troubad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtly Love
Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing various deeds or services for ladies because of their "courtly love". This kind of love is originally a literary fiction created for the entertainment of the nobility, but as time passed, these ideas about love changed and attracted a larger audience. In the high Middle Ages, a "game of love" developed around these ideas as a set of social practices. "Loving nobly" was considered to be an enriching and improving practice. Courtly love began in the ducal and princely courts of Aquitaine, Provence, Champagne, ducal Burgundy and the Norman Kingdom of Sicily at the end of the eleventh century. In essence, courtly love was an experience between erotic desire and spiritual attainment, "a love at once illicit and morally elevating, passionate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trobairitz
The ''trobairitz'' () were Occitan female troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries, active from around 1170 to approximately 1260. ''Trobairitz'' is both singular and plural. The word ''trobairitz'' is first attested in the 13th-century romance '' Flamenca''. It comes from the Provençal word ''trobar'', the literal meaning of which is "to find", and the technical meaning of which is "to compose". The word ''trobairitz'' is used very rarely in medieval Occitan, as it does not occur in lyrical poetry, grammatical treatises or in the biographies (''vidas'') of the ''trobairitz'' or troubadours.Paden It does occur in the treatise ''Doctrina d'acort'' by Terramagnino da Pisa, written between 1282 and 1296. He uses it as an example of a word the plural and singular of which are the same.Elizabeth W. Poe, "Cantairitz e Trobairitz: A Forgotten Attestation of Old Provençal »Trobairitz«," ''Romanische Forschungen'', 114, 2 (2002), pp. 206–215, at 207: "which are correctly use ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tenso
A ''tenso'' (; french: tençon) is a style of troubadour song. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position; common topics relate to love or ethics. Usually, the tenso is written by two different poets, but several examples exist in which one of the parties is imaginary, including God ( Peire de Vic), the poet's horse ( Gui de Cavalhon) or his cloak (Bertran Carbonel). Closely related, and sometimes overlapping, genres include: * the ''partimen'', in which more than two voices discuss a subject * the ''cobla esparsa'' or ''cobla exchange'', a tenso of two stanzas only * the ''contenson'', where the matter is eventually judged by a third party. Notable examples * Marcabru and Uc Catola''Amics Marchabrun, car digam'' possibly the earliest known example. * Cercamon and Guilhalmi''Car vei finir a tot dia'' another candidate for the earliest known example. * Raimbaut d'Aurenga and Giraut de Bornelh''Ara·m platz, Giraut de Borneill'' where major exponents of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Occitania
Occitania ( oc, Occitània , , or ) is the historical region in Western and Southern Europe where the Occitan language was historically spoken and where it is sometimes still used as a second language. This cultural area roughly encompasses the southern third of France (with the exception of the French Basque Country and French Catalonia) as well as part of Spain ( Aran Valley), Monaco, and smaller parts of Italy ( Occitan Valleys, Guardia Piemontese). Occitania has been recognized as a linguistic and cultural concept since the Middle Ages, but has never been a legal nor a political entity under this name. However, the territory was united in Roman times as the '' Seven Provinces'' ( la, Septem Provinciæ) and in the Early Middle Ages (''Aquitanica'' or the Visigothic Kingdom of Toulouse, or the share of Louis the Pious following Thionville ''divisio regnorum'' in 806). Currently, between 200,000–800,000Fabrice BERNISSAN (2012). "Combien l'occitan compte de locuteurs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Canso (song)
The ''canso'' or ''canson'' or ''canzo'' () was a song style used by the troubadours. It was, by far, the most common genre used, especially by early troubadours, and only in the second half of the 13th century was its dominance challenged by a growing number of poets writing ''coblas esparsas''. The ''canso'' became, in Old French, the '' grand chant'' and, in Italian, the ''canzone''. Structure A ''canso'' usually consists of three parts. The first stanza is the ''exordium'', where the composer explains his purpose. The main body of the song occurs in the following stanzas, and usually draw out a variety of relationships with the ''exordium''; formally, aside from the ''envoi''(''s''), which are not always present, a ''canso'' is made of stanzas all having the same sequence of verses, in the sense that each verse has the same number of metrical syllables. This makes it possible to use the same melody for every stanza. The sequence can be extremely simple, as in ''Can vei la ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trouvère
''Trouvère'' (, ), sometimes spelled ''trouveur'' (, ), is the Northern French ('' langue d'oïl'') form of the '' langue d'oc'' (Occitan) word ''trobador'', the precursor of the modern French word ''troubadour''. ''Trouvère'' refers to poet-composers who were roughly contemporary with and influenced by the ''trobadors'', both composing and performing lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages, but while the ''trobadors'' composed and performed in Old Occitan, the ''trouvères'' used the northern dialects of France. One of the first known ''trouvère'' was Chrétien de Troyes ( 1160s–1180s) and the ''trouvères'' continued to flourish until about 1300. Some 2130 ''trouvère'' poems have survived; of these, at least two-thirds have melodies. Etymology The etymology of the word ''troubadour'' and its cognates in other languages is disputed, but may be related to ''trobar'', "to compose, to discuss, to invent", cognative with Old French ''trover'', "to compose something in ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trovadorismo
In the Middle Ages, the Galician-Portuguese lyric, also known as ''trovadorismo'' in Portugal and ''trobadorismo'' in Galicia, was a lyric poetic school or movement. All told, there are around 1680 texts in the so-called secular lyric or ''lírica profana'' (see Cantigas de Santa Maria for the religious lyric). At the time Galician-Portuguese was the language used in nearly all of Iberia for lyric (as opposed to epic) poetry. From this language derives both modern Galician and Portuguese. The school, which was influenced to some extent (mainly in certain formal aspects) by the Occitan troubadours, is first documented at the end of the twelfth century and lasted until the middle of the fourteenth, with its zenith coming in the middle of the thirteenth century, centered on the person of Alfonso X, ''The Wise King''. It is the earliest known poetic movement in Galicia or Portugal and represents not only the beginnings of but one of the high points of poetic history in both count ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cercamon
Cercamon (, fl. 1135-1145) was one of the earliest troubadours. His true name and other biographical data are unknown. He was apparently a Gascony-born jester of sorts who spent most of his career in the courts of William X of Aquitaine and perhaps of Eble III of Ventadorn. He was the inventor of the ''planh'' (the Provençal dirge), of the ''tenso'' (a sort of rhymed debate in which two poets write one stanza each) and perhaps of the ''sirventes''. Most of the information about Cercamon's life is nothing but rumour and conjecture; some of his contemporaries credit him as Marcabru's mentor, and some circumstantial evidence points to his dying on crusade as a follower of Louis VII of France. About seven of his lyrics survive, but not a single melody; the works that most contributed to his fame among his contemporaries, his '' pastorelas'' or pastourelles, are lost. ''Cercamon'' means "world searcher" in medieval Occitan. The fossil primate ''Cercamonius'' was named after him. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lyric Poetry
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equivalent to Ancient Greek lyric poetry, which ''was'' principally limited song lyrics, or chanted verse, hence the confusion. The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics both derive from a form of Ancient Greek literature, the Greek lyric, which was defined by its musical accompaniment, usually on a stringed instrument known as a kithara. The term owes its importance in literary theory to the division developed by Aristotle among three broad categories of poetry: lyrical, dramatic, and epic. Lyric poetry is also one of the earliest forms of literature. Meters Much lyric poetry depends on regular meter based either on number of syllables or on stress – with two short syllables typically being exchangeable for one lo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 1500 (by historiographical convention). Key historical trends of the High Middle Ages include the rapidly increasing population of Europe, which brought about great social and political change from the preceding era, and the Renaissance of the 12th century, including the first developments of rural exodus and urbanization. By 1250, the robust population increase had greatly benefited the European economy, which reached levels that would not be seen again in some areas until the 19th century. That trend faltered during the Late Middle Ages because of a series of calamities, most notably the Black Death, but also numerous wars as well as economic stagnation. From around 780, Europe saw the last of the barbarian invasions and became more soci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sirventes
The ''sirventes'' or ''serventes'' (), sometimes translated as "service song", was a genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry practiced by the troubadours. The name comes from ''sirvent'' ('serviceman'), from whose perspective the song is allegedly written. Sirventes usually (possibly, always) took the form of parodies, borrowing the melody, metrical structure and often even the rhymes of a well-known piece to address a controversial subject, often a current event. The original piece was usually a canso, but there are sirventes written as contrafacta of (at least) sestinas and pastorelas. They were always opinionated, being either highly complimentary or, more often, oozing with vitriol; however, these features are not unique to the sirventes, so a piece can be positively identified as one only if its nature is explicitly stated in the text (which it often is) or the original piece it is based on has been preserved (which is also often the case: for a parody to work, it had to target ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trobar Clus
''Trobar clus'' (), or closed form, was a complex and obscure style of poetry used by troubadours for their more discerning audiences, and it was only truly appreciated by an elite few. It was developed extensively by Marcabru and Arnaut Daniel, but by 1200 its inaccessibility had led to its disappearance. Among the imitators of Marcabru were Alegret and Marcoat, who claimed himself to write ''vers contradizentz'' (contradictory verses), indicative of the incomprehensibility of the ''trobar clus'' style. Below is a sample of the style from Marcoat's ''sirventes'' ''Mentre m'obri eis huisel'', wherein the poet himself remarks on his ''moz clus'' (closed words): :''Mon ''serventes'' no val plus, :''que faitz es de bos moz clus'' :''apren lo, Domeing Sarena.''Chambers, 91. Among the late twelfth-century practitionars of ''trobar clus'' was Peire d'Alvernhe, an imitator of Marcabru, while Raimbaut d'Aurenga of the '' trobar ric'' style was influenced by Marcoat. The only trobairitz ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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