Garin lo Brun or le Brun ( la, Garis Bruni; died 1156/1162) was an early Auvergnat

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 '' trobai ...

Life

Garin lived in the Diocese of Le Puy-en-Velay, where his family owned castles. He was himself lord of Châteauneuf-de-Randon in the Gévaudan and a vassal of Ermengarde of Narbonne and of

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

.Ippolito, Marguerite-Marie. (2001). ''Bernard de Ventadour: Troubadour Limousin du XII^e siècle, Prince de l'Amour Courtois et de la Poésie Romane'' (L'Harmattan, ), p. 228Biffière, Félix. (1985). ''« Ce tant rude » Gévaudan'', 2 vol. (SLSA Lozère: Mende), I, p. 729 His origins were either in the Diocese of Mende or in Randon.Moulier, Pierre. (2001). ''Églises romanes de Haute-Auvergne'' (Editions Creer, ), p. 21 If he was of Randon, then his father was Garin (Guérin) de Randon, a vassal of Raymond Berengar III, Count of Barcelona, of whom Guérin and his brother Odilon held the castle of Randon.Garin Le Brun (milieu XIIe siècle)
online at histoire-ma.chez-alice.fr (accessed 5 March 2008) This is likely, as a Garin paid homage to the count of Barcelona for this castle in 1150. In 1162, Garin lo Brun appears to have died, as in that year his brother William (Guillaume), called ''Randon protecteur des troubadours'' ("Randon, Protector of Troubadours"), arranged a

requiem A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead ( la, Missa pro defunctis) or Mass of the dead ( la, Missa defunctorum), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, ...

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different element ...

for him and granted Grosvialla (Groviala) to the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon ( la, Pauperes commilitones Christi Templique Salomonici), also known as the Order of Solomon's Temple, the Knights Templar, or simply the Templars, was a Catholic military order, o ...

for the rest of his soul.

''Tenso''

Garin composed mostly '' tensos'', but only one of these has survived and is an imaginary dialogue between ''Mezura'' (moderation) and ''Leujaria'' (lightness), that is, both sides of the debate are written by Garin. For Lightness, the true wisdom in love is folly: a man must get on, lose no chances, and show boldness to obtain the favour of ladies of the highest possible rank. Moderation, on the other hand, advises self-restraint in love, treading softly without showing impatience. Moderation's advice to women is not to give all they have suddenly, leaving nothing to offer. This ''tenso'' was dedicated to one Eblon de Saignes. The medievalist Mark Johnston notes that Garin's work is similar to that of another 12th-century troubadour poet,

Arnaut Guilhem de Marsan Arnaut Guilhem (or Guillem) de Marsan ( fl. 1160–1180) was a Landais nobleman and troubadour. He was descended from a cadet branch of the viscounts of Marsan and was himself lord of Roquefort and Montgaillard and co-lord of Marsan. Arnaut w ...

''Ensenhamen''

The author of Garin's '' vida'' (biography) comments that "he went to the trouble of telling the ladies how they should behave themselves." Garin wrote the earliest known example of an '' ensenhamen'' or didactic (teaching) poem to have survived, which has the title ''El termini d'estiu''. This is written in isometric

rhyme A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds (usually, the exact same phonemes) in the final stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of perfect rhyming is consciously used for a musical or aesthetic ...

d hexameter and has been dated to 1155. Perhaps the earliest known text is contained in the Pierpont Morgan Library's MS 819, an

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, th ...

of the 13th century, in which Garin's poem is contained together with another similar didactic work by Arnaut de Mareuil, in the first fifty-two folios. Garin's work has over a hundred verses on the beauty of nature and the sorry state of contemporary ''mores'', but its main theme is the courtly behaviour of women. It is therefore sometimes called ''Ensenhamen de la donzela'' ("''Ensenhamen'' of the girl") or ''L'ensegnamen alla dama'' ("The ''ensenhamen'' to woman"). It is part of the medieval "conduct literature" which urges women to adapt themselves to their husbands, to be merry or sad as their men are merry or sad. Garin counsels also that women should sing and recite poetry for their guests. An excerpt from the ''Ensenhamen'' says: Another passage of the ''Ensenhamen'' which is sometimes quoted advises women to "welcome entertainers and poets who chatter of love and sing verses and melodies. At least, show them a good face, for if you give them nothing, they will make your name known far and wide."Zuchetto, Gérard
''Petite introduction au monde des troubadours XIIème–XIIIème siècles: A l'aube de la litterature moderne''
online at musicologie.org (accessed 5 March 2008)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garin Lo Brun 12th-century French troubadours 12th-century deaths Year of birth unknown People from Lozère