The Comtessa de Dia (Countess of

Die Die, as a verb, refers to death, the cessation of life. Die may also refer to: Games * Die, singular of dice, small throwable objects used for producing random numbers Manufacturing * Die (integrated circuit), a rectangular piece of a semicondu ...

), possibly named Beatritz or Isoarda (fl. c. 1175 or c. 1212), was a

trobairitz The ''trobairitz'' () were Occitania, 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-c ...

(female troubadour). She is only known as the ''comtessa de Dia'' in contemporary documents, but was most likely the daughter of Count Isoard II of Diá (a town northeast of Montelimar now known as

in southern France). According to her ''

vida Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to: Geography * Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica * U.S. settled places: ** Vida, Montana ** Vida, Oregon ** Vida, Missour ...

'', she was married to William of Poitiers, but was in love with and sang about

Raimbaut of Orange Raimbaut of Orange (Old Provençal: Raimbaut d'Aurenga; 1147 – 1173) was the lord of Orange and Aumelas and an influential troubadour in the Kingdom of Arles in the Holy Roman Empire. His properties included the towns of Frontignan and ...

(1146-1173).Bruckner, Matilda Tomaryn. (1995). Songs of the Women Troubadours. Bruckner, Shepard, and White cite Angela Rieger's analysis of the songs, which associates them, through intertextual evidence, with the circle of poets composed of

Raimbaut d'Aurenga Raimbaut of Orange (Old Provençal: Raimbaut d'Aurenga; 1147 – 1173) was the lord of Orange, France, Orange and Aumelas and an influential troubadour in the Kingdom of Arles in the Holy Roman Empire. His properties included the towns of F ...

Bernart de Ventadorn Bernart de Ventadorn (also Bernard de Ventadour or Bernat del Ventadorn; – ) was an Occitan poet-composer troubadour of the classical age of troubadour poetry. Generally regarded as the most important troubadour in both poetry and music, hi ...

, and

Azalais de Porcairagues Azalais de Porcairagues (also ''Azalaïs'') or Alasais de Porcaragues was a trobairitz (woman troubadour), composing in Occitan in the late 12th century. The sole source for her life is her '' vida'', which tells us that she came from the country ...

. Marcelle Thiébaux, and Claude Marks have associated her not with

but with his nephew or great nephew of the same name.Thiébaux, Marcelle. (1994). The Writings of Medieval Women.Marks, Claude. (1975). Pilgrims, Heretics, and Lovers. If her songs are addressed to Raimbaut d'Aurenga's nephew Raimbaut IV, the ''Comtessa de Dia'' may have been urging the latter to support

Raymond V Raymond is a male given name of Germanic origin. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷ� ...

of Toulouse. It has been hypothesised that the ''Comtessa de Dia'' was in fact married to Guillem's son,

Ademar de Peiteus Adémar II de Poitiers, known in Old Occitan as Ademar or Aimeric de Peiteus, was the count of Valentinois and ''de facto'' ruler of Diois from 1188 or 1189 until 1230. He was the son of Count Guillaume and grandson of Count Adémar I. He married Ph ...

, whose wife's name was Philippa de Fay, and that her real lover was

Raimbaut de Vaqueiras __NOTOC__ Raimbaut de Vaqueiras or Vaqueyras (fl. 1180 – 1207) was a Provençal troubadour and, later in his life, knight. His life was spent mainly in Italian courtsAmelia E. Van Vleck, ''The Lyric Texts'' p. 33, in ''Handbook of the Troub ...

Five of the Comtessa's works survive, including 4 cansos and 1 tenson.Troubadour Music at the Music Encyclopedia. Scholars have debated whether or not the Comtessa authored ', a

tenso A ''tenso'' (; ) 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 whic ...

typically attributed to

. One reason for this is the similarities between this composition and her own '. A second reason references the words in her ''vida'', ' ("And she fell in love with Sir Raimbaut d'Aurenga, and made about him many good ''cansos''").Paden, William D. The Voice of the Trobairitz. A tenso between

Giraut de Bornelh Giraut de Bornelh (; c. 1138 – 1215), whose first name is also spelled Guiraut and whose toponym is de Borneil or de Borneyll, was a troubadour connected to the castle of the viscount of Limoges. He is credited with the formalisation, if not the ...

and

Alamanda de Castelnau Alamanda was a trobairitz whose only surviving work is a '' tenso'' with Giraut de Bornelh called '. In the past she was usually considered fictitious and the "''tenso''" was considered a piece of Giraut's writing. However, an Alamanda is mentione ...

closely matches the structure of ' ("I must sing a song I'd rather not"). The phrase in it, ' ("dressed nor nude") echoes ' ("in bed and when I am dressed") in ' ("I dwell in sorrow"). The tenso may have been composed as a response to these songs. Her song ' in the

Occitan language Occitan (; ), also known by its native speakers as (; ), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, ...

is the only '' canso'' by a ''

'' to survive with its music intact. The music to ''A chantar'' is found only in ''Le manuscript di roi,'' a collection of songs copied around 1270 for

Charles of Anjou Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou or Charles d'Anjou, was King of Sicily from 1266 to 1285. He was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the House of Anjou-Sicily. Between 1246 a ...

, the brother of

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

.Pendle, Karin. Women and Music: A History. Her extant poems are: :*' :*' :*' :*' Typical subject matter used by Comtessa de Dia in her lyrics includes optimism, praise of herself and her love, as well as betrayal. In ', Comtessa plays the part of a betrayed lover, and although she has been betrayed, continues to defend and praise herself. In ', however, the Comtessa makes fun of the , a person known for gossiping, comparing those who gossip to a "cloud that obscures the sun."Earnshaw, Doris. The Female Voice in Medieval Romance Lyric In writing style, Comtessa uses a process known as ' in ', repeating the same

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...

in each

strophe A strophe () is a poetic term originally referring to the first part of the ode in Ancient Greek tragedy, followed by the antistrophe and epode. The term has been extended to also mean a structural division of a poem containing stanzas of var ...

, but changing the ''a'' rhyme each strophe. ', on the other hand, uses ', changing the rhyme sounds every two strophes, with a rhyme scheme of ab' ab' b' aab'. ' uses some of the motifs of Idyll II of

Theocritus Theocritus (; , ''Theokritos''; ; born 300 BC, died after 260 BC) was a Greek poet from Sicily, Magna Graecia, and the creator of Ancient Greek pastoral poetry. Life Little is known of Theocritus beyond what can be inferred from his writings ...

In popular culture

She is the subject of a series of historical novels by the East German author

Irmtraud Morgner Irmtraud Morgner (22 August 19336 May 1990) was a German writer, best known for works of magical realism concerned predominantly with the role of gender in East German society. Life Irmtraud Morgner was born in 1933 in Chemnitz, the daughter of ...

.Irmtraud Morgner's Trobadora Beatrice by Elizabeth Morier

Notes

References

Troubadour Music
at the Music Encyclopedia. Accessed February 2008.

Irmtraud Morgner's Trobadora Beatrice by Elizabeth Morier. The Complete Review, Volume II, Issue 2- May, 2001. Accessed February 2008. * * * * * * * *

In popular culture

Notes

References

Further reading