Raimon Vidal de Bezaudu(n) ( Catalan: ''Ramon Vidal de Besalú'') (flourished early 13th century) was a Catalan

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 ...

from Besalú. He is notable for authoring the first tract in a

Romance language The Romance languages, also known as the Latin or Neo-Latin languages, are the languages that are Language family, directly descended from Vulgar Latin. They are the only extant subgroup of the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-E ...

(

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 ...

) on the subject of grammar and poetry, the ''Razós de trobar'' (c. 1210),The similar ''Donatz proensals'' of Uc Faidit was also produced around this time. a title which translates as "Reasons (or Guidelines) of troubadour composition". He began his career as a joglar and he spent his formative years at the court of Hug de Mataplana, which he often recalls fondly in his poems and songs. In the ''Razós'', Raimon distinguishes the "parladura francesa" (French) from the "cella de Lemosin" (Occitan). He also discusses the art of the listener (''li auzidor'') and his responsibility to understand the troubadour works. Raimon's insistence that the audience understand what is sung and that they keep silent during its singing has been regarded as seminal in the history of

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

. To him, listeners have a responsibility to enquire about what they do not understand (which is "one of the wisest things in the world") and to be true to the quality of the work, praising greatness and condemning poor form. Vidal also took pains to argue for the superiority of '' lemosí'' (or ''Lemozi'', i.e., Occitan) over other vernaculars, prompting the Florentine poet

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

to write a ''

De Vulgari Eloquentia ''De vulgari eloquentia'' (, ; "On eloquence in the vernacular") is the title of a Latin essay by Dante Alighieri. Although meant to consist of four books, it abruptly terminates in the middle of the second book. It was probably composed shortly ...

'' justifying the use of the Tuscan vernacular as opposed to the Occitan. The ''Razós'' ends with an Occitan- Italian glossary. Late in the 13th century, Terramagnino of Pisa wrote a condensed verse form of the ''Razós''. Jofre de Foixà wrote an expanded version, the ''Regles de trobar'', for James II of Sicily. Razos de Trobar

In addition to the aforementioned tract, there are preserved several fragments of song lyrics and three narrative '' romans''. Among his most famous is ''So fo e·l temps qu'om era gais'', which is fawning in its treatment of Raimon de Miraval, an earlier troubadour. In the ''nova'', Raimon presents two ladies as fighting over one knight. The ''nova'' or ''ensenhamen'' called ''Abril issi'e mays intrava'', which also refers to Miraval (and to the three sons of

Henry II of England Henry II () was King of England The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the form of government used by the United Kingdom by which a hereditary monarch reigns as the head of state, with the ...

: '' Enricx'', '' Richartz'', and '' Jofrés''), is an assessment of contemporary literature and one of the best descriptions of the joglar that we possess. Finally, the ''Castiagilós'' is much like a fable, which narrates the story of a jealous husband who is eventually convinced that his suspicions are baseless. Vidal wrote at the height of the troubadours' popularity and as he himself said:

"all people wish to listen to troubadour songs and to compose (''trobar'') them, including
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
,
Saracen upright 1.5, Late 15th-century German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to refer to the people who lived in and near what was designated by the Rom ...
s,
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
, emperors, princes, kings, dukes, counts, viscounts, vavassours, knights, clerics, townsmen, and villeins."
''Tota gens Crestiana, Juzeus e Sarazís, emperador, princeps, rei, duc, conte, vesconte, contor, valvasor e tuit autre cavailler e clergues borgés e vilanz.''

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Full text in Occitan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vidal De Bezaudun, Raimon Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown People from Garrotxa 13th-century Catalan troubadours Linguists from Spain 13th-century linguists