Raimon de Miraval(h) (c. 1135/1160 – c. 1220) was a

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 '' trobair ...

(

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1180–1220) and, according to his '' vida'', "a poor knight from

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the Aud ...

who owned less than a quarter of the castle of Miraval."Graham-Leigh, 28. Favoured by

Raymond VI of Toulouse Raymond VI ( oc, Ramon; October 27, 1156 – August 2, 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190. Early life Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, ...

, he was also later associated with

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowle ...

and

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army a ...

. His senhal for Raymond VI was Audiart. Raimon has been identified with a person of the same name who undersigned a charter of 1151, which led some to place his birth date as early as c. 1135, while others reject the identification with the Raimon de Miraval of the charter and estimate his birth date at 1160 based on the height of his career c. 1200. That Raimon owned only a quarter of his family's ancestral castle is an indication either of

partible inheritance Partible inheritance is a system of inheritance in which property is apportioned among heirs. It contrasts in particular with primogeniture, which was common in feudal society and requires that the whole or most of the inheritance passes to the el ...

or clan structure. Miraval was captured by

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...

during the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crow ...

. After the

Battle of Muret The Battle of Muret ( Occitan: Batalha de Murèth), fought on 12 September 1213 near Muret, 25 km south of Toulouse, was the last major battle of the Albigensian Crusade and one of the most notable pitched battles of the Middle Ages. Alth ...

in 1213 Raimon probably fled to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, after swearing never to sing again until he had regained his castle. At some point he separated from his wife, Gaudairença (or Caudairenga), herself the author of the (now lost) song ''Coblas e dansas'', for uncourtly behaviour. Now a single man, he pursued, with little amatory success but great poetic inspiration, his muses, first Étiennette de Pennautier, wife of Jourdain de Cabaret, “la loba”, the she-wolf, who eventually settled with the Raymond-Roger, Count of Foix, and then with Azalaïs de Boissézon, another married lady, who used his graphic descriptions of her to lure

into her bed. Of Raimon's works 45 remain, of which 22 have melodies: one of the highest survival rates among troubadours.Topsfield, "Raimon de Miraval and the Art of Courtly Love", 33. Most of these works are of the ''

trobar leu The ''trobar leu'' (), or light style of poetry, was the most popular style used by the troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since t ...

'' style. Raimon addressed many works to one named "Pastoret", but the identification of this person has been problematic, though he is usually identified as

Raymond Roger Trencavel Raymond Roger Trencavel (also Raimond, oc, Raimon Rogièr; 1185 – 10 November 1209) was a member of the noble Trencavel family. He was viscount of Béziers and Albi (and thus a vassal of the count of Toulouse), and viscount of Carcassonn ...

.Topsfield, 'Les Poésies du troubadour Raimon de Miraval'', 26. Raimon was admired by contemporaries and by most poets of later generations and he is famous for his handling of the subject of

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 var ...

. Raimon represents a move away from the traditional '' cansos'' celebrating the ''jois d'amor'' ("joys of love") or ''amor de lonh'' ("love from afar"), but rather emphasizing courtliness, honor, and reputation.Topsfield, "Raimon de Miraval and the Art of Courtly Love", 35–36. The highest virtue is faithfulness, but this hinges on courtliness (''pretz e valor'').

Notes

References

*Graham-Leigh, Elaine. ''The Southern French Nobility and the Albigensian Crusade''. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005. * *Topsfield, L. T
"Raimon de Miraval and the Art of Courtly Love."
''The Modern Language Review'', Vol. 51, No. 1. (Jan., 1956), pp 33–41. *Topsfield, L. T. (ed). ''Les Poésies du troubadour Raimon de Miraval''. Paris: Les Classiques d'Oc IV, 1971.

External links

Cunnan wiki source (GFDL)Raimon de Miravalh: Complete Works
(in Provençal) {{DEFAULTSORT:Raimon De Miraval 12th-century French troubadours 12th-century births 1220 deaths 13th-century French troubadours