Jehan Bretel (''c''.1210 – 1272) was a

trouvère ''Trouvère'' (, ), sometimes spelled ''trouveur'' (, ), is the Northern French ('' langue d'oïl'') form of the '' langue d'oc'' (Occitan) word ''trobador'', the precursor of the modern French word '' troubadour''. ''Trouvère'' refers to po ...

. 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 Erart, Jaques le Vinier, Colart le Boutellier, and Mahieu de Gant) are dedicated to Bretel and he was for a time the "Prince" of the Puy d'Arras. Bretel held the hereditary post of

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

at the Abbey of Saint Vaast in

Arras Arras ( , ; ; historical ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department, which forms part of the region of Hauts-de-France; before the reorganization of 2014 it was in Nord-Pas-de-Calais. The historic centre of the Artois region, with a ...

, in which capacity he oversaw the rights of the abbacy on the river Scarpe. He is referred to as ''sergens iretavles de la riviere Saint-Vaast'' in a document of 1256. His father, Jehan, had held this same post from 1241 (at the latest) until his death in 1244. His grandfather, Jacques, was described as ''sergent héréditaire'' around the turn of the century, when there were eight such officials associated with the abbey. The trouvère and his brother were modestly wealthy property owners near Arras, where Jehan died in 1272. Bretel wrote eight known '' chansons courtoises'',Preserved in the

Vatican Library The Vatican Apostolic Library (, ), more commonly known as the Vatican Library or informally as the Vat, is the library of the Holy See, located in Vatican City, and is the city-state's national library. It was formally established in 1475, alth ...

(V-CVbav Reg.lat.1490). of which seven survive. Bretel dedicated the ''chanson'' ''Li miens chanters'' to the countess Beatrice, wife of

William III of Dampierre William III (1224 – 6 June 1251) was the lord of Dampierre from 1231 and count of Flanders from 1247 until his death. He was the son of William II of Dampierre and Margaret II of Flanders. Reign Margaret inherited Flanders and Hainault i ...

and sister of Henry III,

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I, Duke of Brabant, Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Le ...

. Bretel also participated in eighty-nine '' jeux partis'', nearly half of all recorded ''jeux partis''. Many of these are assigned on the basis of internal evidence (the poets are often named) since they lack

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 Latin , meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century or ...

s. A few of these are addressed only to a ''Sire Jehan'' or just ''Sire'' and their ascription to Bretel, though likely, is not certain. About forty different poets from the region around Arras participated in these ''jeux partis'', either as judges or correspondents. Generally these poems are grouped with others by Bretel in the

chansonnier A chansonnier (, , Galician and , or ''canzoniéro'', ) is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally " song-books"; however, some manuscripts are call ...

s, even if he did not initiate them, though those he initiated with the famous trouvère

Adam de la Halle Adam de la Halle (1245–50 – 1285–8/after 1306) was a French poet-composer '' trouvère''. Among the few medieval composers to write both monophonic and polyphonic music, in this respect he has been considered both a conservative and pro ...

are usually grouped with Adam's works.

List of works

''Chansons courtoises''

*' *' *' *' *' *' *'

''Jeux partis''

*With

**' **' **' **' **',Attributed by scholarship, but not in the manuscripts. no music **' **' **' **' **' **' **' **' **' **' **', proposed by Adam, no music **', proposed by Adam *With Audefroi **', proposed by Audefroi **' *With Jehan le Cuvelier d'Arras **', no music **' **', two melodies **' **', no music *With Gaidifer d'Avion **' **' *With Gerart de Boulogne **', proposed by Gerart, no music *With Jehan de Grieviler **' **', no music **' **' **' **', no music **' **', no music **' **', no music **' **' **' **', no music **' **', two melodies **' **', proposed by Grieviler **', proposed by Grieviler **', no music **' **', no music **' **', no music **', proposed by Grieviler **', two melodies **', proposed by Grieviler, no music **', proposed by Grieviler, no music *With

Jehan de Marli Jehan is a predominantly male given name. It is the old orthography of Jean (male given name), Jean in Old French, and is rarely given anymore. It is also a variant of the Persian name Jahan (name), Jahan in some South Asian languages. People with ...

**' *With Jehan de Renti **', proposed by Jehan de Renti, no music *With Jehan Simon **', two melodies *With Jehan de Vergelai **' *With

Lambert Ferri Lambert Ferri (fl. c. 1250–1300) was a trouvère and cleric at the Benedictine monastery at Saint-Léonard, Pas-de-Calais. By 1268 he was a canon and a deacon of the monastery; he is last associated with the monastery in 1282. He was a popul ...

: **' **' **' **' **', no music **' **' **', proposed by Lambert, two melodies **', no music **' **' **' **' **' **' **', proposed by Lambert **', proposed by Lambert **', proposed by Lambert, no music *With Mahieu li Taillere **' *With

Perrin d'Angicourt Perrin d'Angicourt (''floruit'' 1245–70) was a trouvère associated with the group of poets active in and around Arras. His birthplace was most likely Achicourt, just south of Arras. His surviving oeuvre is large by the standards of the trouvè ...

**' **', proposed by Perrin *With

Perrot de Neele Perrot (Peron, Peros, or Pierrot) de Neele (''fl.'' mid–late 13th century) was an Artesian trouvère and ''littérateur''. He composed four '' jeux partis'' in collaboration with Jehan Bretel (died 1272): "Amis Peron de Neele"; "Jehan Bretel, re ...

**' **', proposed by Perrot **', no music **' *With Prieus de Boulogne **', no music *With Robert de Castel **' *With Robin de Compiegne **', proposed by Robin, no music *With Robert de la Piere **' *With more than two **', proposed jointly by Bretel and

to Jehan le Cuvelier d'Arras and the Tresorier d'Aire **', proposed by Bretel to Jehan le Cuvelier d'Arras,

, and Jehan de Grieviler

Notes

Sources

* Karp, Theodore
"Bretel, Jehan."
''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online''. Accessed 12 November 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Bretel, Jehan Trouvères 1272 deaths Year of birth uncertain French male classical composers