''Trouvère'' (, ), sometimes spelled ''trouveur'' (, ), is the Northern

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

('' langue d'oïl'') form of the '' langue d'oc'' (Occitan) word ''trobador'', the precursor of the modern French word ''

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 ...

''. ''Trouvère'' refers to poet-composers who were roughly contemporary with and influenced by the ''trobadors'', both composing and performing

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'' equi ...

during the

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, 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 ...

, but while the ''trobadors'' composed and performed in

Old Occitan Old Occitan ( oc, occitan ancian, label= Modern Occitan, ca, occità antic), also called Old Provençal, was the earliest form of the Occitano-Romance languages, as attested in writings dating from the eighth through the fourteenth centuries. Ol ...

, the ''trouvères'' used the northern dialects of France. One of the first known ''trouvère'' was

Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ...

( 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 verses". (For a discussion of the etymology of the word ''troubadour'' and its cognates, see troubadour - etymology.)

History

The modern popular image of the ''troubadour'' or ''trouvère'' is that of the itinerant musician wandering from town to town,

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

on his back. Itinerant singers and performers existed, but they were called jongleurs and minstrels—professional entertainers, usually of somewhat lower social status. ''Troubadours'' and ''trouvères'', on the other hand, were often of higher social class and did not typically rely on music making as a trade. They were either poets and composers who were supported by the aristocracy or, just as often, were aristocrats themselves, for whom the creation and performance of music was part of the courtly tradition. However, these distinctions were not always clear, and varied by community The texts of these songs are a natural reflection of the society that created them. They often revolve around idealized treatments 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 ...

("fine amors", see '' grand chant'') and religious devotion, although many can be found that take a more frank, earthy look at love. Other genres well represented in the surviving works by ''trouvères'' are debate songs known as '' jeu-partis, pastourelles'', dance songs, and ''

chansons de femme A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic so ...

'' (songs with a female perspective). Johannes de Grocheio, a

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

ian musical theorist of the early 14th century, believed that the most elevated ''trouvère'' songs, known as ''grand chants'', inspired kings and noblemen to do great things: "This kind of song is customarily composed by kings and nobles and sung in the presence of kings and princes of the land so that it may move their minds to boldness and fortitude, magnanimity and liberality...". The surviving music by ''trouvères'' is vocal music that is

monophonic Monaural or monophonic sound reproduction (often shortened to mono) is sound intended to be heard as if it were emanating from one position. This contrasts with stereophonic sound or ''stereo'', which uses two separate audio channels to reproduc ...

and mostly syllabic, meaning that only a single melodic line was notated, and the text is presented simply with only one or a few notes per syllable of text. Rhythm is not recorded for most songs, and no instrumentation is specified. Because narrative and visual evidence tells us that instruments were widely used, it is likely that instruments were used in some cases, but ''trouvère'' songs were likely also performed unaccompanied. Modern scholars and performers take a variety of approaches to rhythmic interpretation, including using a free rhythmic approach or relatively equal note values throughout, deriving rhythmic ideas from the text, or applying rhythmic modes found in contemporary polyphonic music. Most ''trouvère'' music is strophic, with a single verse of music repeated with multiple verses of text. In some, a repeated one- or two-line refrain is used in each stanza. Some ''trouvere'' refrains were also used across multiple different songs and other literary works, creating a network of references.

Women trouvères

There are no extant ''trouvère'' songs "in which a woman explicitly claims authorship by naming herself". There are, however, poems in which a woman is named as the author in a

rubric A rubric is a word or section of text that is traditionally written or printed in red ink for emphasis. The word derives from the la, rubrica, meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th ...

or table of contents in a manuscript and others in which a female voice, named or unnamed, participates in a ''

jeu parti ''Jeu'' is a 2006 animated short by Georges Schwizgebel. Described as a film about the frenetic pace of modern life, ''Jeu'' is set to the scherzo of Prokofiev's Concerto for Piano No. 2, Opus 16. The film has received 12 international awards, i ...

'' (debate poem). Many others are written from a woman's point of view and may have been written by women authors. While early scholars often denied the existence of women ''trouvères,'' since the 1980s their existence has been generally accepted and an effort has been made to identify anonymous songs composed by women on the basis of lyrics and contextual clues. The latest monograph on women ''trouvères'' identifies eight known by name or title, plus a further six named women who judged ''jeux partis''. The term ''troveresse'' has sometimes been used for women trouvères. The lexicographer Frédéric Godefroy defined the

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...

word ''trouverresse'' as "she who composes, invents", citing a manuscript of a continuation of Robert of Auxerre's ''Chronicle''. The spelling ''troverresse'' also appears in the late 14th-century French–

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

dictionary '' Aalma'', where it corresponds to Latin ''inuentrix'' (inventor). The eight named women trouvères are: * Blanche of Castile (1188–1252) * Dame de la Chaucie * Dame de Gosnai * Gertrude, Duchess of Lorraine (1205–1225) * Lorete * Margot * Maroie de Diergnau * Sainte des Prez

List of trouvères

This is only a partial list. There are 256 named male trouvères known. * Adam de Givenchi * Adam de la Halle () * Adenet Le Roi (–) *

Andrieu Contredit d'Arras Andrieu Contredit d'Arras ( 1200 – 1248) was a trouvère from Arras and active in the Puy d'Arras. "Contredit" is probably a nickname. He wrote mostly ''grand chants'', but also a ''pastourelle'', a '' lai'', and a ''jeu-parti'' with Guillaume ...

(† ) * Aubertin d'Airaines * Aubin de Sézanne *

Audefroi le Bastart Audefroi le Bastart (modern French Bâtard) was a French trouvère from Artois, who flourished in the early thirteenth century. Of his life nothing is known, though he is certainly the illegitimate child of a noble or upper-class bourgeoisie fami ...

( ) * Baudouin des Auteus *

Benoît de Sainte-Maure Benoît de Sainte-Maure (; died 1173) was a 12th-century French poet, most probably from Sainte-Maure-de-Touraine near Tours, France. The Plantagenets' administrative center was located in Chinon, west of Tours. ''Le Roman de Troie'' His 40,00 ...

* Bestournés * Blondel de Nesle ( ) * Carasaus * Chastelain de Couci ( ; †1203) * Chardon de Croisilles *

Charles d'Anjou Charles of Anjou (count, 1246–1285) was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. Charles of Anjou may also refer to: *Charles II of Anjou (count, 1285–1290), also king of Naples * Charles III of Anjou (count, 1290–1325), also count of Valois *Charle ...

* Châtelain d'Arras *

() * Colart le Boutellier *

Colart le Changeur Colart, or the Colart Group, is a large international supplier of art materials, with subsidiaries and brands such as Winsor & Newton, Liquitex and Lefranc & Bourgeois.

* Colin Muset ( ) *

Conon de Béthune Conon de Béthune (before 1160 in the former region of Artois, today Pas-de-Calais - 17 December 1219, possibly at Adrianople) was a French crusader and trouvère poet who became a senior official and finally regent of the Latin Empire of Consta ...

( –; †1220) * Coupart * Ernoul Caupain * Ernoul le Vieux * Étienne de Meaux * Eustache le Peintre de Reims * Gace Brulé (–after 1212) *

Gaidifer d'Avion Gaidifer (Gadifer) d'Avion (fl. 1230–50) was an Artesian trouvère from Avion. He entered the Church and was associated with the poets of the so-called "School of Arras". Gaidifer was well-connected to contemporary poets. He was a responden ...

Gautier de Coincy Gautier de Coincy (1177–1236) was a French abbot, trouvère and musical arranger, chiefly known for his devotion to the Virgin Mary. While he served as prior of Vic-sur-Aisne he compiled ''Les Miracles de Nostre-Dame'' (known in English as '' ...

(1177/8–1236) *

Gautier de Dargies Gautier de Dargies (ca. 1170 – ca. 1240) was a trouvère from Dargies. He was one of the most prolific of the early trouvères; possibly twenty-five of his lyrics survive, twenty-two with accompanying melodies, in sixteen separate ''chansonn ...

(–after 1236) * Gautier d'Espinal († before July 1272) * Gillebert de Berneville ( ) * Gilles de Beaumont * Gilles de Vieux-Maisons * Gilles le Vinier * Gobin de Reims *

Gontier de Soignies Gontier de Soignies was a medieval trouvère and composer who was active from around 1180 to 1220. Biography Gontier was from the region of Soignies in the County of Hainaut, a region that was then a state of the Holy Roman Empire. His life is m ...

( ) * Guibert Kaukesel * Guillaume d'Amiens * Guillaume de Ferrières (recorded as the

Vidame de Chartres Vidame de Chartres was a title in the French nobility. There are a few vidame titles in France, of which that of Chartres is probably the best known, because a number of holders have been notable in widely different ways over the centuries. Vi ...

) * Guillaume le Vinier ( ; †1245) * Guillaume Veau *

Guiot de Dijon Guiot de Dijon ('' fl.'' 1215–25) was a Burgundian trouvère. The seventeen ''chansons'' ascribed to him in the standard listing of Raynaud-Spanke are found in fifteen chansonniers, some without attribution or with conflicting attributions w ...

( ) * Guiot de Provins * Henry Amion * Henry le Débonnaire * Henri de Lacy (1249–1311) * Hue de la Ferté * Hugues de Berzé ( ) * Huon d'Oisi * Huon de Saint-Quentin * Jaque de Dampierre * Jacques Bretel * Jacques de Cambrai * Jacques de Cysoing * Jacques le Vinier *

Jean Bodel Jean Bodel (c. 1165 – c. 1210), was an Old French poet who wrote a number of ''chansons de geste'' as well as many fabliaux. He lived in Arras. Writings Bodel wrote ("Song of the Saxons") about the war of King Charlemagne with the Saxons and ...

* Jean Renaut *

Jehan de Braine Jehan de Braine (''c''. 1200 – 1240) was, '' jure uxoris'', the Count of Mâcon and Vienne from 1224 until his death. He was a younger son of Robert II of Dreux and his second wife, Yolanta de Couci. His wife was Alix, granddaughter of Will ...

Jehan Bretel Jehan Bretel (''c''.1210 – 1272) was a trouvère. Of his known oeuvre of probably 97 songs, 96 have survived. Judging by his contacts with other trouvères he was famous and popular. Seven works by other trouvères ( Jehan de Grieviler, Jehan Erar ...

() * Jehan le Cuvelier d'Arras ( ) * Jehan Erart († ) * Jehan Fremaux *

Jehan de Grieviler Jehan de Grieviler (''fl.'' mid- to late 13th century) was an Artesian cleric and trouvère. Jehan was probably born at Grévillers near Arras. A certain "Grieviler" is mentioned in the necrology (''registre'') of the Confrérie des jongleurs et ...

Jehan de Louvois Jehan de Louvois gives his name and title as it appears in Latin documents as ''dominus Johannes de Lovois'', in French ''Monsigneur J. de Lovoies'' or ''vyconte de Lovoies''. In 1270, he called himself ''Jehan, dit Bernard de Louvois''. ( 1252–1 ...

* Jean le Roux * Jehan de Nuevile * Jehan de Trie * Jocelin de Dijon * Lambert Ferri * Lorris Acot *

Mahieu de Gant Mahieu de Gant ('' fl.'' mid–late 13th century) was a Flemish trouvère (poet- composer) from Ghent associated with the so-called "school of Arras". He has been conflated with Mahieu le Juif, but the same manuscript containing both their work ...

Mahieu le Juif Mahieu le Juif was an Old French trouvère. His name means "Matthew the Jew" and, if his own songs are to be believed, he was a convert from Judaism to Christianity. Only two of his songs survive, one with a melody. He has been conflated with Ma ...

Moniot d'Arras Moniot d'Arras ('' fl.'' 1213–1239) was a French composer and poet of the trouvère tradition. He was a monk ("Moniot" is a diminutive for monk) of the abbey of Arras in northern France; the area was at the time a center of ''trouvère'' activ ...

( ) *

Moniot de Paris Moniot de Paris (fl. post-1250) was a trouvère and probably the same person as the Monniot who wrote the ''Dit de fortune'' in 1278. He was once thought to have flourished around 1200, but his dates have been pushed back. Moniot wrote nine survivi ...

( ) * Oede de la Couroierie *

Othon de Grandson Otto de Grandson (c. 1238–1328), sometimes numbered Otto I to distinguish him from later members of his family with the same name, was the most prominent of the Savoyard knights in the service of King Edward I of England, to whom he was the cl ...

* Perrin d'Angicourt ( ) * Perrot de Neele * Philippe de Nanteuil * Philippe de Remy (–) * Pierre de Corbie * Pierre de Molins * Pierrekin de la Coupele *

Raoul de Beauvais Raoul de Beauvais ('' fl.'' mid-13th century) was a trouvère from northeast of Paris. His period of activity is estimated based on his works being clumped with those of other mid-13th-century trouvères in the chansonniers. Six songs are attribu ...

* Raoul de Ferier * Raoul de Soissons () *

Richard de Fournival Richard de Fournival or Richart de Fornival (1201 – ?1260) was a medieval philosopher and trouvère perhaps best known for the '' Bestiaire d'amour'' ("The Bestiary of Love"). Life Richard de Fournival was born in Amiens on October 10, 1201. ...

(1201–) * Richart de Semilli *

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Aquitaine and Duchy of Gascony, Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Co ...

Robert de Blois Robert de Blois ('' fl.'' second third of the 13th century) was an Old French poet and trouvère, the author of narrative, lyric, didactic, and religious works. He is known only through his own writings, but one lyric poem ascribed to him, ''Li ...

Robert de Castel Robert de Castel (d'Arras) (Floruit, fl. 1272) was a trouvère active in and around Arras in the late thirteenth century. He is mentioned in the ''Congés'' of Baude Fastoul, written in 1272, which place him Arras at that date. He is the addressee o ...

* Robert de Reims *

Robert de la Piere Robert de la Piere (died 1258) was a trouvère of the so-called "school" of Arras. In his time Robert's bourgeois family was prominent in Arras, though the earliest known member is only recorded in 1212. Robert served as a magistrate in 1255, as ...

Rutebeuf Rutebeuf (or Rustebuef) (fl. 1245 – 1285) was a French trouvère (poet-composers who worked in France's northern dialects). Early life He was born in the first half of the 13th century, possibly in Champagne (he describes conflicts in Troy ...

* Simon d'Authie * Sauvage d'Arraz *

Thibaut de Bar Thibaut is a name of French origin, a form of Theobald. Surname * Anton Friedrich Justus Thibaut (17721840), German jurist * Bernhard Friedrich Thibaut (17751832), German mathematician * François Thibaut (born 1948), American educator * George ...

* Thibaut de Blazon * Thibaut le Chansonnier (1201–53) * Thierri de Soissons * Thomas de Herier * Vielart de Corbie *

Walter of Bibbesworth Walter of Bibbesworth (1235–1270) was an English knight and Anglo-Norman poet. Documents confirm that he held land in the parish of Kimpton, Hertfordshire at the farm now called Bibbsworth Hall ("Bibbs Hall" on some maps). About 1250 he serv ...

List of chansonniers

The following is a list of

chansonnier A chansonnier ( ca, cançoner, oc, cançonièr, Galician and pt, cancioneiro, it, canzoniere or ''canzoniéro'', es, cancionero) is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings ...

s containing trouvère texts and/or music listed by '' sigla'' (usually a letter). It is not complete. The same manuscripts may be signified by different ''sigla'' in different contexts (i.e., trouabdours or motets) if it contains works of different kinds. These ''sigla'' are standard in trouvère studies.Based on Elizabeth Eva Leach
"The Wonders of Gallica: Some Troubadour and Trouvère Sources"
(2012, retrieved 31 October 2022), who provides links to digitizations an
this PDF
*''A'' — Arras, Bibliothèque municipale, 657, the Chansonnier d'Arras *''B'' — Bern, Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek, 231 *''C'' — Bern, Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek, 389 *''D'' — Frankfurt, Universitätsbibliothek, lat. fol. 7 *''E'' — London, British Library, Egerton 274 *''F'' — Florence, Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Pluteus 29.1 *''G'' — London, Lambeth Palace, Misc. Rolls 1435 *''H'' — Modena, Biblioteca Estense, α.R.4.4 *''I'' — Oxford, Bodleian Library, Douce 308 *''K'' — Paris, Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, 5198, the Chansonnier de l'Arsenal *''L'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 765 *''M'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 844, the

Chansonnier du Roi The ''Manuscrit du Roi'' or ''Chansonnier du Roi'' ("King's Manuscript" or "King's Songbook" in English) is a prominent songbook compiled towards the middle of the thirteenth century, probably between 1255 and 1260 and a major testimony of Europea ...

*''N'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 845 *''O'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 846, the *''P'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 847 *''Q'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 1109 *''R'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 1591 *''S'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 12581 *''T'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 12615, the Chansonnier de Noailles *''U'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 20050, the Chansonnier St-Germain-des-Prés *''V'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 24406 *''W'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 25566 *''X'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, nouv. acq. fr. 1050, the Chansonnier de Clairambault *''Z'' — Siena, Biblioteca Comunale, H.X.36 *''a'' — Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1490 *''b'' — Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1522 *''c'' — Bern, Stadt- und Universitätsbibliothek, A. 95 *''d'' — Cambridge, Corpus Christi College, 450 *''f'' — Montpellier, Faculté de Médecine, 236 *''g'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 1593 *''i'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 12483 *''j'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, nouv. acq. fr. 21677 *''k'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 12786 *''l'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 22495 *''m'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 11412 *''n'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, lat. 11724 *''o'' — London, British Library, Harley 1717 *''p'' — Pavia, Biblioteca Universitaria, CXXX.E.5 *''u'' — Rome, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1725 *''v'' — Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 1553 *''za'' — Zagreb, Metropolitan Library, MR 92 *''α'' — Madrid, Biblioteca del Monasterio de El Escorial, S.I.3

References

Bibliography

* * * *. * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Trouvère Medieval literature Medieval French literature * Poets