Garin lo Brun or le Brun (; died 1156/1162) was an early
Auvergnat
(; ) or (endonym: ) is a northern dialect of Occitan spoken in central and southern France, in particular in the former administrative region of Auvergne.
Currently, research shows that there is not really a true Auvergnat dialect but rath ...
troubadour
A troubadour (, ; ) 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 equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''.
The tr ...
.
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 of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...
.
[Ippolito, Marguerite-Marie. (2001). ''Bernard de Ventadour: Troubadour Limousin du XIIe siècle, Prince de l'Amour Courtois et de la Poésie Romane'' (L'Harmattan, ), p. 228][Biffière, 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
The count of Barcelona (, , , ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, p ...
, 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 mass
Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...
for him and granted Grosvialla (Groviala) to the Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...
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.
]
''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
An (, or ) was an Old Occitan didactic (often Lyric poem, lyric) poem associated with the troubadours. As a genre of Occitan literature, its limits have been open to debate since it was first defined in the 19th century. The word has many varia ...
'' 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 Stress (linguistics), stressed syllables and any following syllables of two or more words. Most often, this kind of rhyming (''perfect rhyming'') is consciou ...
d hexameter
Hexameter is a metrical line of verses consisting of six feet (a "foot" here is the pulse, or major accent, of words in an English line of poetry; in Greek as well as in Latin a "foot" is not an accent, but describes various combinations of s ...
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 manuscript, document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as marginalia, borders and Miniature (illuminated manuscript), miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Churc ...
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