Cançoneret de Ripoll
Encyclopedia
The Cançoneret de Ripoll (kənsunəˈɾɛd də riˈpoʎ), now manuscript 129 of Ripoll
in the Arxiu de la Corona d'Aragó, is a short Catalan
-Occitan chansonnier
produced in the mid-fourteenth century but after 1346, when Peter IV of Aragon
held a poetry competition which is mentioned in the chansonnier. Influenced by Cerverí de Girona
, the chansonnier and its ideology serve as transition in the history of Catalan literature
between the dominance of the troubadour
s and the new developments of Ausiàs March
.
The provenance of the manuscript has been debated. Arguments in favour of an origin with the monastic community of Ripoll, where the manuscript is first recorded in the library before heading to the archives in Barcelona
, include the use of Latin
headings to introduce some of the poems and the abundance of authors of clerical background cited. On the other hand, an aristocratic or "courtly" provenance has been taught, notably by Martín de Riquer, on the basis of the references to Peter, Count of Ribagorza, to people and places in the County of Roussillon
and the Kingdom of Majorca
, and evidence of Goliard
ic influence.
The Cançoneret contains a copy of the Regles de trobar of Jaufre de Foixa and an anonymous untitled continuation thereof, dealing mainly with poetic genre
and form
. Eighteen complete poems and one fragment accompany the grammatical treatise to illustrate the points. All the cited poets are Catalans but only five or six are named. The generic classifications of the Cançoneret follow those of the Doctrina de compondre dictats, possibly of Raimon Vidal, and the "rules" of the Consistori del Gay Saber
, codified in the Leys d'amors. The following genres are recognised: cançó
, tençó
, sirventès
(serventesch), cobles d'acuyndamens
, cobles de qüestions
, vers
, dança
(dans), desdança
(desdansa), and viadera. The Cançoneret confirms that the vers was merely a canso de matèria tota moral (of entirely moral material) and that the viadera (traveller's song) was la pus jusana spècies qui és en los cantàs (the most humble genre of song there is). The distinction between cobles, exchanges of stanzas between troubadours, that are d'acuyndamens and those de qüestions is unique to the Cançoneret. Cobles d'acuyndamens broke bonds of vassallage, love, or fidelity.
Among the classical troubadours cited by the treatise are Guillem de Cabestany
, Raimbaut de Vaqueiras
, Arnaut Daniel
, Peire Cardenal
, and Folquet de Marselha
(though the reference is a mistake, the poet should be Pons Fabre d'Uzès). Among the named Catalan poets whose pieces are preserved as exemplars are Dalmau de Castellnou, Pere Alamany, and the Capellà de Bolquera. The incipit
of another Catalan piece, De l'ordre suy de noble infant En Pedro, by Pere de Vilademany is also mentioned in the treatise. There are several unidentifiable authors with works in the Cançoneret: a "poeta anònim" (anonymous poet), a "frare" (friar
), "dos frares" (two friars), a "monja" (nun
), "frayr'Uguó, prior" (brother Hugh, prior
), "Francesc", and an "arxiprest" (archpriest
).
Santa Maria de Ripoll
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, built in the Romanesque style, located in the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain...
in the Arxiu de la Corona d'Aragó, is a short Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
-Occitan chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
produced in the mid-fourteenth century but after 1346, when Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV, , called el Cerimoniós or el del punyalet , was the King of Aragon, King of Sardinia and Corsica , King of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona Peter IV, (Balaguer, September 5, 1319 – Barcelona, January 6, 1387), called el Cerimoniós ("the Ceremonious") or el del punyalet ("the one...
held a poetry competition which is mentioned in the chansonnier. Influenced by Cerverí de Girona
Cerverí de Girona
Cerverí de Girona was a Catalan troubadour born Guillem de Cervera in Girona. He was the most prolific troubadour, leaving behind some 114 lyric poems among other works, including an ensenhamen of proverbs for his son, totaling about 130. He was a court poet to James the Conqueror and Peter the...
, the chansonnier and its ideology serve as transition in the history of Catalan literature
Catalan literature
Catalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to literature written in the Catalan language. The Catalan literary tradition is extensive, starting in the Middle Ages....
between the dominance of the troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
s and the new developments of Ausiàs March
Ausiàs March
Ausiàs March was a Valencian poet who was born in Gandia towards the end of the 14th century. He was the son of Pere March, nephew of Jaume March II, and cousin of Arnau March....
.
The provenance of the manuscript has been debated. Arguments in favour of an origin with the monastic community of Ripoll, where the manuscript is first recorded in the library before heading to the archives in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, include the use of Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
headings to introduce some of the poems and the abundance of authors of clerical background cited. On the other hand, an aristocratic or "courtly" provenance has been taught, notably by Martín de Riquer, on the basis of the references to Peter, Count of Ribagorza, to people and places in the County of Roussillon
County of Roussillon
The County of Roussillon was one of the Catalan counties in the Marca Hispanica during the Middle Ages. The rulers of the county were the Counts of Roussillon, whose interests lay both north and south of the Pyrenees.-Visigothic county:...
and the Kingdom of Majorca
Kingdom of Majorca
The Kingdom of Majorca was founded by James I of Aragon, also known as James The Conqueror. After the death of his first-born son Alfonso, a will was written in 1262 which created the kingdom in order to cede it to his son James...
, and evidence of Goliard
Goliard
The Goliards were a group of clergy who wrote bibulous, satirical Latin poetry in the 12th and 13th centuries. They were mainly clerical students at the universities of France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and England who protested the growing contradictions within the Church, such as the failure of the...
ic influence.
The Cançoneret contains a copy of the Regles de trobar of Jaufre de Foixa and an anonymous untitled continuation thereof, dealing mainly with poetic genre
Literary genre
A literary genre is a category of literary composition. Genres may be determined by literary technique, tone, content, or even length. Genre should not be confused with age category, by which literature may be classified as either adult, young-adult, or children's. They also must not be confused...
and form
Rhyme scheme
A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhyme between lines of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme. In other words, it is the pattern of end rhymes or lines...
. Eighteen complete poems and one fragment accompany the grammatical treatise to illustrate the points. All the cited poets are Catalans but only five or six are named. The generic classifications of the Cançoneret follow those of the Doctrina de compondre dictats, possibly of Raimon Vidal, and the "rules" of the Consistori del Gay Saber
Consistori del Gay Saber
The Consistori del Gay Saber , commonly called the Consistori de Tolosa today, was a poetic academy founded at Toulouse in 1323 to revive and perpetuate the lyric school of the troubadours.-Foundation:...
, codified in the Leys d'amors. The following genres are recognised: cançó
Canso (song)
The canso is a song style used by the troubadours. It consists of three parts. The first stanza is the exordium, where the composer explains his purpose. The main body of the song occurs in the following stanzas, and usually draw out a variety of relationships with the exordium. The canso can end...
, tençó
Tenso
A tenso is a style of Occitan song favoured by the troubadours. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position on a topic relating to love or ethics. Closely related genres include the partimen and the cobla exchange...
, sirventès
Sirventes
The sirventes or serventes is a genre of Occitan lyric poetry used by the troubadours. In early Catalan it became a sirventesch and was imported into that language in the fourteenth century, where it developed into a unique didactic/moralistic type...
(serventesch), cobles d'acuyndamens
Cobla (Occitan literary term)
A cobla is a stanza in Occitan lyric poetry, the art form of the troubadours. Though not usually standalone work in itself, in many instances a cobla or two is all that survives of what was once a complete poem. Each cobla of a song was usually played to the same melody, but a few songs were...
, cobles de qüestions
Cobla (Occitan literary term)
A cobla is a stanza in Occitan lyric poetry, the art form of the troubadours. Though not usually standalone work in itself, in many instances a cobla or two is all that survives of what was once a complete poem. Each cobla of a song was usually played to the same melody, but a few songs were...
, vers
Vers
Vers may refer to:* the rapper signed to Maybach Music Latino * an abbreviation for "versatile"* an abbreviation for the trigonometric function "versine"* an abbreviation or the French word for verse, especially in the musical style vers mesurés...
, dança
Dansa
A dansa was an Occitan form of lyric poetry developed in the late thirteenth century among the troubadours. It is related to the English term "dance" and was often accompanied by dancing. A closely related form, the balada or balaresc, had a more complex structure, and is related to the ballade...
(dans), desdança
Dansa
A dansa was an Occitan form of lyric poetry developed in the late thirteenth century among the troubadours. It is related to the English term "dance" and was often accompanied by dancing. A closely related form, the balada or balaresc, had a more complex structure, and is related to the ballade...
(desdansa), and viadera. The Cançoneret confirms that the vers was merely a canso de matèria tota moral (of entirely moral material) and that the viadera (traveller's song) was la pus jusana spècies qui és en los cantàs (the most humble genre of song there is). The distinction between cobles, exchanges of stanzas between troubadours, that are d'acuyndamens and those de qüestions is unique to the Cançoneret. Cobles d'acuyndamens broke bonds of vassallage, love, or fidelity.
Among the classical troubadours cited by the treatise are Guillem de Cabestany
Guillem de Cabestany
Guillem de Cabestany was a Catalan troubadour from Cabestany in the County of Roussillon. His name in Occitan is Guilhem de Cabestaing, Cabestang, Cabestan, or Cabestanh; in modern Occitan it is spelled Guilhèm....
, Raimbaut de Vaqueiras
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras was a Provençal troubadour and, later in his life, knight. His life was spent mainly in Italian courts until 1203, when he joined the Fourth Crusade....
, Arnaut Daniel
Arnaut Daniel
Arnaut Daniel de Riberac was an Occitan troubadour of the 12th century, praised by Dante as "il miglior fabbro" and called "Grand Master of Love" by Petrarch...
, Peire Cardenal
Peire Cardenal
Peire Cardenal was a troubadour known for his satirical sirventes and his dislike of the clergy...
, and Folquet de Marselha
Folquet de Marselha
Folquet de Marselha, alternatively Folquet de Marseille, Foulques de Toulouse, Fulk of Toulouse came from a Genoese merchant family who lived in Marseille...
(though the reference is a mistake, the poet should be Pons Fabre d'Uzès). Among the named Catalan poets whose pieces are preserved as exemplars are Dalmau de Castellnou, Pere Alamany, and the Capellà de Bolquera. The incipit
Incipit
Incipit is a Latin word meaning "it begins". The incipit of a text, such as a poem, song, or book, is the first few words of its opening line. In music, it can also refer to the opening notes of a composition. Before the development of titles, texts were often referred to by their incipits...
of another Catalan piece, De l'ordre suy de noble infant En Pedro, by Pere de Vilademany is also mentioned in the treatise. There are several unidentifiable authors with works in the Cançoneret: a "poeta anònim" (anonymous poet), a "frare" (friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
), "dos frares" (two friars), a "monja" (nun
Nun
A nun is a woman who has taken vows committing her to live a spiritual life. She may be an ascetic who voluntarily chooses to leave mainstream society and live her life in prayer and contemplation in a monastery or convent...
), "frayr'Uguó, prior" (brother Hugh, prior
Prior
Prior is an ecclesiastical title, derived from the Latin adjective for 'earlier, first', with several notable uses.-Monastic superiors:A Prior is a monastic superior, usually lower in rank than an Abbot. In the Rule of St...
), "Francesc", and an "arxiprest" (archpriest
Archpriest
An archpriest is a priest with supervisory duties over a number of parishes. The term is most often used in Eastern Orthodoxy and Eastern Catholic Churches, although it may be used in the Latin rite of the Roman Catholic Church instead of dean or vicar forane.In the 16th and 17th centuries, during...
).