Garin d'Apchier was a castellan

Castellan

A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...

 and 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....

 from Apcher in the Diocese of Mende in the Gévaudan

Gévaudan

Gévaudan is a historical area of France, nowadays situated in Lozère département. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni.- History :...

. His life cannot be dated with precision. According to his vida

Vida (Occitan literary form)

Vida is the usual term for a brief prose biography, written in Old Occitan, of a troubadour or trobairitz.The word vida means "life" in Occitan languages. In the chansonniers, the manuscript collections of medieval troubadour poetry, the works of a particular author are often accompanied by a...

he was "a valiant and good warrior ... and a handsome knight. And he knew all there was to know about love and gallantry."

Garin left behind three sirventes

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...

. According to his vida, he invented the descort

Descort

The descort is a subgenre of Occitan lyric poetry used by the troubadours. It is a song heavily discordant in verse form and/or feeling and often used to express disagreement. It was invented by Garin d'Apchier when he wrote Quan foill'e flors reverdezis...

genre of lyric poetry

Lyric poetry

Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...

 when he wrote the piece that begins Quan foill'e flors reverdezis / et aug lo chan del rossignol ("When the leaf and the flower bud / and I hear the song of the nightingale"), but this has now been lost. He wrote a short literary cycle of sirventes with Torcafol.

Sources

• Egan, Margarita, ed. The Vidas of the Troubadours. New York: Garland, 1984. ISBN 0 8240 9437 9.
• Latella, Fortunata. Premessa all’edizione in linea dei sirventesi di Garin d’Apchier e Torcafol. 2002.

External links

• Complete works at Rialto.