Simon Doria (, ; fl. 1250–1293) was a Genoese statesman and man of letters, of the important Doria family. As 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 ...

he wrote six surviving ''

tenso A ''tenso'' (; ) is a style of troubadour song. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position; common topics relate to love or ethics. Usually, the tenso is written by two different poets, but several examples exist in whic ...

s'', four with Lanfranc Cigala, one incomplete with Jacme Grils, and another with a certain Alberto. He was the son of a Perceval Doria, but not the Perceval Doria who was also a troubadour and probably his cousin.

Identification

A Simon Doria is first recorded in 1253 at

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

, carrying money and gold cloth. In 1254 and 1256, he is recorded as the husband of a Contessina, sister of Giacomino, of the house of the

margrave Margrave was originally the Middle Ages, medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or a monarchy, kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain Feudal ...

s of

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. In 1257, he accepted some money in ''mutuum''. In 1267, he was absent from Genoa and represented there by a proxy. He was dead by 13 March 1275. Obviously a banker or merchant, this Simon is difficult to identify with the troubadour. It is more probable that the troubadour was the Simon Doria who appears as an ambassador to

Ceuta Ceuta (, , ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain#Autonomous cities, autonomous city of Spain on the North African coast. Bordered by Morocco, it lies along the boundary between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta is one of th ...

in a treaty of 6 September 1262. He was ''

podestà (), also potestate or podesta in English, was the name given to the holder of the highest civil office in the government of the cities of central and northern Italy during the Late Middle Ages. Sometimes, it meant the chief magistrate of a c ...

'' of

Savona Savona (; ) is a seaport and (municipality) in the west part of the northern Italian region of Liguria, and the capital of the Province of Savona. Facing the Ligurian Sea, Savona is the main center of the Riviera di Ponente (the western se ...

in 1265–1266. He would then be one of many such podestà-troubadours of which the 13th century furnishes examples, many from Genoa. On 13 January 1265, this Simon was sent as an ambassador to Genoa to request Tommaso Malocello as the future ''podestà'' of Savona. In 1267, he was in Genoa again, and on 8 July he signed a document ratifying the peace between the Genoese and the

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under Thomas Berard. This Simon is last mentioned in 1293 when he was named ''

'' of

Albenga Albenga (; ) is a city and ''comune'' situated on the Gulf of Genoa on the Italian Riviera in the Province of Savona in Liguria, northern Italy. Albenga has the nickname of ''city of a hundred spires''. The economy is mostly based on tourism, loc ...

. A certain Simon Doria was in possession of a galley at Genoa in 1311. This was probably not the troubadour, but rather the same Simon as he who was ambassador to the pope in 1271 or 1281. There are thus probably three Simons of the Doria family. It is impossible to perfectly distinguish them, but the tenso with Alberto must have been written before 1250, based on a reference to the

Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI of the Ho ...

in line 40, so the mid-century ambassador-''podestà'' is most likely. The ship-owner of 1311 is almost impossible.

Works

The ''tenso'' with Jacme Grils is preserved in two manuscripts: troubadour MS "''O''", which is a 14th-century Italian work on parchment, now "Latin 3208" in the Biblioteca Vaticana in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

; and a¹, an Italian paper manuscript from 1589, now in the Biblioteca Estense in

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

. It is begun by Simon: The ''tenso'' with Alberto, possibly Alberto Fieschi, ''N'Albert, chauçeç la cal mais vos plaira'', is found only in

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 ...

called "troubadour manuscript ''T''", numbered 15211 in the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

, where it is kept today. It is originally a late 13th-century Italian work. This ''tenso'' is the only datable work in Simon's oeuvre, thanks to his stanza #5:

Sources

*Bertoni, Giulio. ''I Trovatori d'Italia: Biografie, testi, tradizioni, note''. Rome: Società Multigrafica Editrice Somu, 1967

915 Year 915 ( CMXV) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays siege to Garigliano (a fortified Ar ...

*Meneghetti, Maria Luisa. "Intertextuality and dialogism in the troubadours." ''The Troubadours: An Introduction''. Simon Gaunt and Sarah Kay, edd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. .

External links

''Tensos'' with Lanfranch at Rialto.unina.it.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doria, Simon 13th-century Genoese people Italian politicians French male poets 13th-century Italian troubadours Simon Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown Italian male poets Italian male composers