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Trobairitz

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eras and events

   A medieval depiction of Comtessa de Dia
   Enlarge
   A medieval depiction of Comtessa de Dia

   The trobairitz ( IPA: [truβajˈɾits]) were Provençal female troubadours
   of the 12th century and the 13th century who wrote in Langue d'oc. The
   word trobairitz was first used in the 13th-century romance Flamenca. It
   comes from the Provençal word trobar, the colloquial meaning of which
   is "to find", and the technical meaning of which is "to compose".
   Trobairitz composed, wrote verses, and performed for the Occitan noble
   courts. They are exceptional in musical history as the first known
   female composers of Western secular music; all earlier known female
   composers wrote sacred music. The trobairitz were part of courtly
   society, as opposed to their lower class counterparts the joglaresse.
   Although troubadours frequently came from humble origins— Bernart de
   Ventadorn may have been the son of a castle's baker— the trobairitz
   were nobly born. The most important trobairitz are Alamanda Castelnau,
   Azalais de Porcairagues, Maria de Ventadorn, Tibors, Castelloza,
   Garsenda de Proença and the Comtessa de Dia.
     * A chantar m'er —
          + The only existing song by a trobairitz which survives with
            music.
          +

Trobairitz in medieval society

   "A chantar" by Comtessa de Día (first page; see also second page)
   Enlarge
   "A chantar" by Comtessa de Día (first page; see also second page)

   Throughout the 13th century, among the accomplishments necessary for a
   woman at court were the ability to sing, play instruments, and write
   jocs partis, or partimen (a debate or dialogue in the form of a poem).
   The cultivation of these womanly skills may have led to the writings of
   the trobairitz.

   The trobairitz may also have been a result of the power women held in
   southern France during the 12th and 13th centuries. Women had far more
   control over land ownership, and Occitan society was far more accepting
   of women than were other societies of the time. During the Crusades
   many men were away, which left women with more administrative
   responsibility, and thus power. Nevertheless, this society was not
   "feminist", nor was fin' amor, which exalted women while at the same
   time circumscribing many aspects of their lives and behaviour.

   There is difficulty in labeling the trobairitz as either amateurs or
   professionals. The distinction between these two roles was complicated
   in the medieval era, since professionals were generally lower class,
   and amateurs had as much time as professionals to devote to their
   craft. Joglaresse were lower class, professional composers far less
   respected than the trobairitz.

   Both troubadours and trobairitz wrote of fin' amors, or courtly love.
   Women were generally the subject of the writings of troubadours,
   however: "No other group of poets give women so exalted a definition
   within so tightly circumscribed a context of female suppression." The
   tension between the suppression of women present in the poetry of the
   troubadours and similar themes in the poetry of the trobairitz is a
   major source of discussion for modern commentators. The trobairitz
   wrote in the canso (strophic song) and tenso (debate poem) genres.

Attribution

   The number of works attributed to the trobairitz ranges from 23 to 46.
   There are a number of reasons for this. In the courtly love tradition
   it was common for poems to be written as an exchange of letters, or a
   debate, as in a tenso. Some of these may have been originally written
   by one poet; however, some were originally an actual exchange of
   epistles, later gathered together in a manuscript. Some of these were
   between men, and some were between a man and a woman. Some modern
   editors attribute these solely to the man who originated the exchange,
   and some attribute them to both the man and the woman involved. There
   is a long history of attributing these solely to men, even when all
   evidence points to the contrary.

   Since poetry was highly stylized, it is difficult to determine when a
   poet speaking as a woman actually was a woman, or a man speaking as a
   woman. This adds to the difficulty of attribution, especially of
   anonymous writers. There is some debate as to whether or not the poems
   by the trobairitz represent genuine feminine voices, since they worked
   within the highly circumscribed conventions of the troubadours.
   Bruckner suggests that the trobairitz "spoke in her own voice as
   channeled through the voices of many others". By manipulating the
   strict constructs of troubadour lyric, the trobairitz were able to
   create their own "fictions of the female voice".

   There is one notable instance where clear attribution is given to a
   woman, Bieiris de Romans (also given as Beatritz), but the subject of
   the poem is another woman, Na Maria. In the poem "Na Maria" Beatritz
   expresses her love for Maria in the traditional fin' amors style, both
   in terms of physical longing and courtly admiration. This poem, if not
   clearly marked as by a woman, would be assumed to be by a man.

Individual trobairitz

Azalais de Porcairagues

   Azalais de Porcairagues (flourished mid 12th century) was possibly from
   the village now called Portiragnes, just east of Béziers. She was said
   to have loved Gui Guerrejat, the brother of William VII of Montpellier,
   which suggests that she moved in courtly society. Only one of her works
   is extant, a poem of 52 lines; no music is attached to it.

            Ar em al freg temps vengut
            quel gels el neus e la fainga
            el aucellet estan mut,
            c'us de chanter non s'afrainga;

                                           Now we are come to the cold time
                                           when the ice and the snow and the mud
                                           and the birds' beaks are mute
                                           (for not one inclines to sing);

Comtessa de Día

   Comtessa de Día or Beatriz de Día (flourished late 12th/early 13th
   century) was the daughter of Count Isoard II of Día (a town on the
   Drôme in the marquisate of Provence). According to her vida, she was
   married to Guillem or Guilhem de Poitiers, Count of Viennois but she
   was in love with Raimbaut of Orange. Her song "A chantar m'er de so
   qu'eu no volria" is the only canso by a trobairitz to survive with its
   music intact.

          Extant poems:

     * "A chantar m’er de so q’ieu non volria"
     * "Ab joi et ab joven m’apais"
     * "Estat ai en greu cossirier"

   "A chantar" in modern notation, first verse only.
   Enlarge
   "A chantar" in modern notation, first verse only.

Castelloza

   Castelloza (who flourished during the 13th century) was a noblewoman
   from Auvergne and wife to Turc de Mairona. The subject of her poems is
   courtly love. Three of her poems are extant, but no music survives.

          Extant poems:

     * "Ja de chantar non degra aver talan"
     * "Amics, s’ie-us trobes avinen"
     * "Mout avetz faich lonc estatge"

Incomplete list of other trobairitz and their works

     * Anonymous: "Bona domna, un conseill vos deman", "Jerusalem! grant
       damage me fais"
     * Tibors
     * Alais, Carenza, and Iselda: "Na carenza al bel cors avinen" (trio)
     * Almucs de Castelnau and Iseut de Capio: "Domna n’almucs, si-us
       plages" (duet)
     * Alamanda Castelnau (1160–1223)
     * Isabella
     * Lambarda
     * Clara D'Anduza
     * Beatritz de Romans [Bieris]: "Na maria, pretz e fina valors"
     * Guillelma de Rosers
     * Domna H.
     * Gaudairenca: "Coblas e dansas" (not extant)
     * Azalais d'Altier
     * Garsenda de Proença: "Vos qe’m semblatz dels corals amadors"
     * Maria de Ventadorn: "Gui d'Uisel, be.m pesa de vos"
     * Marie de France: "D’un gupil", "Issi avint q’un cers"

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