Guerau III de Cabrera (died 1160/61), also called Guiraut (or Giraut) de Cabreira, was a Catalan nobleman and

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

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 ...

. He was the viscount of Àger and Cabrera from 1145. He was the son of Ponç II de Cabrera and Sancha. Guerau is today most famous for his ''

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 ...

'', a long didactic poem written for his jongleur, Cabra. Cabra's name, which means goat and is related to the name of his master's viscounty (Cabrera), probably indicates that he was Guerau's

herald A herald, or a herald of arms, is an officer of arms, ranking between pursuivant and king of arms. The title is commonly applied more broadly to all officers of arms. Heralds were originally messengers sent by monarchs or noblemen ...

, since heralds often took the names of the

arms Arms or ARMS may refer to: *Arm or arms, the upper limbs of the body Arm, Arms, or ARMS may also refer to: People * Ida A. T. Arms (1856–1931), American missionary-educator, temperance leader Coat of arms or weapons *Armaments or weapons **Fi ...

of their lords. Guerau's arms bore a goat. The ''ensenhamen'' is divided into 216 lines. The

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 ...

is of two four-syllable rhyming lines followed by an

octosyllabic The octosyllable or octosyllabic verse is a line of verse with eight syllables. It is equivalent to tetrameter verse in trochees in languages with a stress accent. Its first occurrence is in a 10th-century Old French saint's legend, the '' Vie d ...

line ending in ''-on'', repeated. The entire poem is basically a disorderly and wordy catalogue the things (names, songs, and stories) which Cabra ought to know in his capacity as public entertainer, but which in fact he does not know. The eruditeness of the work is impressive, giving evidence of Guerau's learning, the writings he would have had access to in twelfth-century Catalonia, and the typical repertoire of a contemporary jongleur. The ''ensenhamen'' begins with twenty-four lines of criticism concerning what Cabra does not do. He is accused of ''mal saps viular / e pietz chantar'': poor knowledge of how to play the

viol The viola da gamba (), or viol, or informally gamba, is a bowed and fretted string instrument that is played (i.e. "on the leg"). It is distinct from the later violin family, violin, or ; and it is any one of the earlier viol family of bow (m ...

and worse still of singing. He cannot finish with a proper " Breton cadence" (''tempradura de breton''). Guerau goes on: Finally, Guerau lists the various genres and types of song which Cabra does not have in his repertoire: '' sirventesc'', '' balaresc'', '' estribot'', '' retroencha'', and '' contenson''. It is clear that by Guerau's time, Occitan lyric poetry had already witnessed a proliferation of genres. To the historian of culture, these twenty-four lines are an important source for the qualifications of a good jongleur.

References

* Riquer, Martí de (1964). ''Història de la Literatura Catalana'', vol. 1. Barcelona: Edicions Ariel. {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerau 03 De Cabrera 1160s deaths 12th-century Catalan troubadours Year of birth unknown