Garin lo Brun or le Brun was an early Auvergnat

Auvergne (province)

Auvergne was a historic province in south central France. It was originally the feudal domain of the Counts of Auvergne. It is now the geographical and cultural area that corresponds to the former province....

 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....

.

Life

Garin lived in the Diocese of Le Puy-en-Velay, where his family owned castles. He was himself lord of Châteauneuf-de-Randon

Châteauneuf-de-Randon

Châteauneuf-de-Randon is a village and commune in the Lozère department in southern France.-History:The battle of Châteauneuf-de-Randon was fought in 1380 between the English and the French. In 1380 the fortress of Châteauneuf-de-Randon was besieged by the French, under the command of Bertrand du...

 in the Limousin

Limousin (province)

Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France around the city of Limoges. Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter...

 and a vassal of Ermengarde of Narbonne

Ermengarde of Narbonne

Ermengarde , was a viscountess of Narbonne from 1134 to 1192...

 and of Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine

Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...

. His origins were either in the Diocese of Mende or in Randon 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 :...

. If he was of Randon, then his father was Garin (Guérin) de Randon, a vassal of Raymond Berengar III

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona

Ramon Berenguer III the Great was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1082 , Besalú from 1111, Cerdanya from 1117, and Provence, in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1112, all until his death in Barcelona in 1131...

, Count of Barcelona, of whom Guérin and his brother Odilon held the castle of Randon. This is likely, as a Garin paid homage to the count of Barcelona for this castle in 1150. In 1162, Garin lo Brun appears to have died, as in that year his brother William (Guillaume), called Randon protecteur des troubadours ("Randon, Protector of Troubadours"), arranged a requiem

Requiem

A Requiem or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead or Mass of the dead , is a Mass celebrated for the repose of the soul or souls of one or more deceased persons, using a particular form of the Roman Missal...

 mass

Mass (liturgy)

"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...

 for him and granted Grosvialla (Groviala) to the Knights Templar

Knights Templar

The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

 for the rest of his soul.

Tenso

Garin composed mostly tenso

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...

s, but only one of these has survived and is an imaginary dialogue between Mezura (moderation) and Leujaria (lightness), that is, both sides of the debate are written by Garin. For Lightness, the true wisdom in love is folly: a man must get on, lose no chances, and show boldness to obtain the favour of ladies of the highest possible rank. Moderation, on the other hand, advises self-restraint in love, treading softly without showing impatience. Moderation's advice to women is not to give all they have suddenly, leaving nothing to offer. This tenso was dedicated to one Eblon de Saignes.

The medievalist Mark Johnston notes that Garin's work is similar to that of another 12th-century troubadour poet, Arnaut Guilhem de Marsan

Arnaut Guilhem de Marsan

Arnaut Guilhem de Marsan was a Landais nobleman and troubadour. He was descended from a cadet branch of the viscounts of Marsan and was himself lord of Roquefort and Montgaillard and co-lord of Marsan....

.

Ensenhamen

The author of Garin's 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...

 (biography) comments that "he went to the trouble of telling the ladies how they should behave themselves."

Garin wrote the earliest known example of an ensenhamen

Ensenhamen

An ensenhamen was an Occitan didactic poem associated with the troubadours. As a genre of Occitan literature, its limits have been open to debate since it was first defined in the 19th century...

 or didactic (teaching) poem to have survived, which has the title El termini d'estiu. This is written in isometric rhyme

Rhyme

A rhyme is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs. The word "rhyme" may also refer to a short poem, such as a rhyming couplet or other brief rhyming poem such as nursery rhymes.-Etymology:...

d hexameter

Hexameter

Hexameter is a metrical line of verse consisting of six feet. It was the standard epic metre in classical Greek and Latin literature, such as in the Iliad and Aeneid. Its use in other genres of composition include Horace's satires, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. According to Greek mythology, hexameter...

 and has been dated to 1155. Perhaps the earliest known text is contained in the Pierpont Morgan Library's MS 819, an illuminated manuscript

Illuminated manuscript

An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

 of the 13th century, in which Garin's poem is contained together with another similar didactic work by Arnaut de Mareuil

Arnaut de Mareuil

Arnaut de Mareuil was a troubadour, composing lyric poetry in the Occitan language. Twenty-five, perhaps twenty-nine, of his songs, all cansos, survive, six with music....

, in the first fifty-two folios.

Garin's work has over a hundred verses on the beauty of nature and the sorry state of contemporary mores, but its main theme is the courtly behaviour of women. It is therefore sometimes called Ensenhamen de la donzela ("Ensenhamen of the girl") or L'ensegnamen alla dama ("The ensenhamen to woman"). It is part of the medieval "conduct literature" which urges women to adapt themselves to their husbands, to be merry or sad as their men are merry or sad. Garin counsels also that women should sing and recite poetry for their guests.

An excerpt from the Ensenhamen says:

Joglars e chantadors, que paraulan d'amors e canton sons e lais, per que l'om es plus gais, e meton in corage de tot prez vassallage, retenez amoros.

Joglars and singers, who speak of love and sing melodies and lai Lai A lai is a lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance.Lais were mainly composed in France and Germany, during the 13th and 14th centuries. A Provençal term for a similar kind of poem is descort.The English term lay is a... s, which gladden people, and who inspire courage to undertake all feats of bravery, you should honor with your affection.

Another passage of the Ensenhamen which is sometimes quoted advises women to "welcome entertainers and poets who chatter of love and sing verses and melodies. At least, show them a good face, for if you give them nothing, they will make your name known far and wide."