Miquel de Castillon (or Castilho) was a

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 ...

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

. A man of high standing in the city, he was called a ''probus homo'' (good man) in 1270 when consulted by the city

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

s. He was probably the ''Michael de Castilione'' who was of the

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ly class, belonging to family of

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerain ...

s of the

Viscounts of Narbonne The viscount of Narbonne was the secular ruler of Narbonne in the Middle Ages. Narbonne had been the capital of the Visigoth province of Septimania, until the 8th century, after which it became the Carolingian Viscounty of Narbonne. Narbonne was nom ...

. According to a hypothesis of

Joseph Anglade Joseph Anglade (1868 – 1930) was a French philologist. He specialized in Romance languages, particularly Occitan, and studied the lyrics of the troubadours. He was instrumental in formalizing the term ''Occitan'' for the language of Provence. ...

, he may have been the same person as the ''Miquel de Gaucelm de Beziers'' who had ties to the troubadours of

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

and was probably a royal vicar at that city or at the court of Narbonne. Miquel, Codolet, and

Guiraut Riquier Guiraut Riquier de Narbona ( 1230 in Narbonne – 1292 in Narbonne or Rodez) is among the last of the Occitan troubadours. He is well known because of his great care in writing out his works and keeping them together—''The New Grove Dictionary ...

composed a ''

torneyamen A ''torneyamen'' (; ; "tournament") or ''certamen'' was a lyric genre of the troubadours of the thirteenth century. Closely related to the '' tenso'', a debate between two poets, and the '' partimen'', a question posed by one poet and another's ...

'' (a three-way ''

partimen The ''partimen'' (; ; also known as ''partia'' or ''joc partit'') is a cognate form of the French jeu-parti (plural ''jeux-partis''). It is a genre of Occitan lyric poetry composed between two troubadours, a subgenre of the ''tenso'' or ''cobla'' ...

''). Miquel also appears as the judge of another ''partimen'', called ''Falco, dona avinen'', in a poetic contest. Codolet (or Codolen) is probably to be identified with the ''Raymundus de Codoleto'' who is called a ''civis Narbone'' or citizen of Narbonne. He was from Codolet, near

Pont-Saint-Esprit Pont-Saint-Esprit (, literally "Holy Spirit Bridge"; ) is a commune in the Gard département in southern France. It is situated on the river Rhône and is the site of a historical crossing, hence its name. The Ardèche flows into the Rhône, jus ...

References

* Jeanroy, Alfred (1934). ''La poésie lyrique des troubadours''. Toulouse: Privat.
''A·n Miquel de Castilho''
the ''partimen'' with Codolet and Guiraut {{authority control 13th-century French troubadours Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown People from Narbonne