Troubadour Poetry: Origins, Themes, and Catalan Masters
Troubadour Poetry: Origins, Themes, and Legacy
Troubadour poetry was the first great literary expression in a Romance language. While Latin remained the consistent language of culture throughout the Middle Ages, Romance languages, like Catalan, began to develop their own distinct literary roles, particularly in prose. Literary history distinguishes between poets who wrote in Latin and the troubadours, who wrote in Occitan and also composed the music for their poems. This poetic tradition began with Guilhem de Poitiers and reached its classical period between the 12th and 13th centuries.
Characteristics of Troubadour Poetry
- It is a cultured poetry, with elaborate texts from a rhetorical and metrical perspective.
- It is lyric poetry, expressing the author’s feelings, encompassing themes like love, death, or religion.
- It is poetry written in Occitan, which became a common literary language, even adopted by Catalan troubadours and those from Northern Italy. Consequently, the history of Catalan literature begins with authors who wrote in a language other than Catalan.
The Concept of Courtly Love
The central theme of troubadour poetry is courtly love (fin’amor), a refined feeling of love cultivated within the courtly environment. The key characters are the troubadour (who acts as a “vassal” to the lady), the noble lady (the midons, meaning “my lady”), and her husband (the gilós, or “jealous one”), who is often unaware of the relationship between the first two. These loving feelings ennobled the troubadour, imbuing him with values of courtesy, politeness, and humility. In contrast to conventional medieval marriage, often understood as a pact of interests, troubadour love often involved a refined form of adultery. Through his relationship with the lady, the troubadour underwent a process of personal improvement, aspiring to a full experience of love through a range of complex feelings.
Troubadour Poetic Styles and Genres
Three main styles are distinguished based on their linguistic and rhetorical complexity, focusing either on meaning or formal artistry:
- The trobar leu (light style) is characterized by poetic simplicity of expression, aiming to directly engage the audience.
- The trobar clus (closed style) is characterized by secrecy and obscurity in the meaning of words.
- The trobar ric (rich style) emphasizes literary development and formal beauty, where words are chosen for their aesthetic sound.
Key Troubadour Genres
As for genres, these include the canso (love song), balada (ballad) and dansa (dance), alba (dawn song), pastorela (pastoral), tensó and partimen (debates), sirventes (satirical or political song), and planh (lament or cry).
Notable Catalan Troubadours
Troubadour lyric became a linguistic and literary model for poets across Europe. The most prominent Catalan troubadours who contributed to the lyric of courtly love during the 12th and 13th centuries include:
- Guilhem de Berguedà (c. 1138-1192): Known for his elegant love songs and, notably, for his sirventesos, such as the one blaming Mataplana, and a celebrated planh (lament) composed upon his own death. His compositions vividly reflect the feudal conflicts of his era.
- King Alfonso I of Aragon (1154-1196): The first King of the Crown of Aragon. He recognized the importance of Occitan poetry and culture, composing songs himself. He attracted major troubadours to his court, who often composed sirventesos favorable to his policies.
- Guilhem de Cabestany (late 12th – early 13th century): A Roussillon troubadour celebrated for his love songs in the trobar leu (light style).
- Cerverí de Girona (Guillem de Cervera, documented 1259-1285): The most important Catalan troubadour of the second half of the 13th century. A large and diverse collection of his songs has been preserved. His work encompasses various themes and expressive forms of poetic tradition, often incorporating moral considerations.
Troubadour Legacy: 14th and 15th Centuries
Poetry in the 14th and 15th centuries shows two crucial differences from the classical troubadour era, evident after Cerverí de Girona’s disappearance at the end of the 13th century: the decline of the shared literary space with Occitan courts, and the progressive Catalanization of the lyric language. Poets of this period are grouped into two main successive moments: the last third of the 14th century and the transitional years of the 15th century.
Poetry in the Late 14th Century
The last third of the 14th century saw the courtly poetic model remain predominant, as evidenced by texts preserved in the Cançoneret de Ripoll and the initiatives of the Toulouse bourgeoisie, supported by John I. This poetry, linked to the royal court, maintained Occitan as its language of expression, though influenced by French poetry.