Guillem de Ribes was a Catalan

Catalan people

The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...

 nobleman 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....

, the lord (or 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:...

) of Sant Pere de Ribes

Sant Pere de Ribes

Sant Pere de Ribes is a town in the center of the Garraf comarca , in Barcelona province, Catalonia, Spain. It boasts the remains of a 12th century castle once ruled by the troubadour Guillem de Ribes.-Culture:Main holidays include:...

. He was a known composer of lyric verse

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...

, but none of his works survive. In the song of Peire d'Alvernhe

Peire d'Alvernhe

Peire d'Alvernhe or d'Alvernha was an Auvergnat troubadour with twenty-one or twenty-four surviving works. He composed in an "esoteric" and "formally complex" style known as the trobar clus...

, probably performed for the entourage of Eleanor

Leonora of England

Eleanor of England was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile. She was a daughter of Henry II of England and his wife, Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine.-Early life:...

, daughter of Henry II of England

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

 and fiancée of Alfonso VIII of Castile

Alfonso VIII of Castile

Alfonso VIII , called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate...

, in Gascony

Gascony

Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...

 on its way back to Castile

Kingdom of Castile

Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...

in 1173, Guillem is one of twelve contemporary troubadours (each probably present) satired:

E•N Guillems de Ribas lo quins, qu'es malvatz defors e dedins, e ditz totz sos vers raucamen, per que es avols sos retins, e'atretan se'n fari'us chins; e l'uoil semblan de vout d'argen.

Lord Guillem de Ribes is the fifth, who is wicked outside and in and recites all his poems harshly, for his noises are terrible, like those made by a dog; and his eyes look like those of a silver statue.