Joan d'Aubusson
Encyclopedia
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1229), known as Johan or Johanet to Occitan contemporaries (Giovanni in Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
), was an 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....
(possibly 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...
) 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....
and a Ghibelline. Only three of his works survive: two 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 and a cobla
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...
.
Joan was often present at the court of the viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
Peter of Aubusson and his wife Margaret. He also stayed at the court of Blacatz
Blacatz
Blacatz, known in French genealogy as Blacas de Blacas III , was feudal lord of Aups and a troubadour. Sordello composed a lament on his death, inviting the kings of his time to share and eat the heart of Blacatz and thus acquire a portion of his courage.He was the father of the troubadour...
sometime between 1200 and 1236. He was apparently often present at the court of the Emperor Frederick II.
Joan wrote songs about Frederick and his war with the Lombard League
Lombard League
The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy , including, among others, Crema, Cremona, Mantua, Piacenza, Bergamo, Brescia, Milan, Genoa, Bologna, Padua, Modena, Reggio Emilia, Treviso, Venice, Vercelli, Vicenza, Verona,...
. Along with Terrisio d'Atina, he described Frederick as the lord of the four elements
Four elements
Four elements may refer to:* Classical elements, such as air, fire, earth and water* 4 Elements, an album by Chronic Future* Group 4 element, one of the chemical elements in Group 4 of the periodic table...
—air, earth, fire, and water—which he could thus command in his campaigns against the enemies of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. The only certain date in Joan's life is 1229, for he mentions the strengthening of the bond between Boniface II of Montferrat and the emperor in that year.
Joan wrote a famous 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...
with Sordello da Goito, "Digatz mi s'es vers zo c'om brui" ("Tell me if you are truly what you proclaim"), in which he informs us that the Italian troubadour was forced to be a jongleur at the court of Azzo VII of Este before becoming a troubadour in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
. Besides his tenso with Sordello, Joan also composed a tenso with another Italian troubadour, Nicoletto da Torino
Nicoletto da Torino
Nicoletto da Torino was a Piedmontese jongleur and troubadour of the first half of the thirteenth century, probably from Turin, though some believe that to be his father's name...
.