Raimon Gaucelm de Bezers
Encyclopedia
Raimon Gaucelm de Bezers (fl.
1262–1275) was a Languedoc
ian troubadour
with nine surviving works. Many of his works appear with dates in the rubrics
in manuscript C, a 14th-century work now "BN f.f. 856" in the Bibliothèque nationale de France
, Paris
, allowing his career to be dated with ease.
Raimon was from Béziers
, where he was a contemporary resident with Joan Esteve and Bernart d'Auriac
. The poets of Béziers in that day were Gallicised heavily and supported the French over and against the native Occitan aristocracy. In this vein he wrote, in 1268, Qui vol aver complida amistansa, a canso
about Louis IX of France
and his preparations for the Eighth Crusade
. In 1270 he wrote Ab grans trebalhs et ab grans marrimens, another canso and this time also a planh for Louis IX after his failed Crusade and death.
Raimon was a middle-class, urban poet, and certainly no courtesan. He was also a non-noble opponent of the artificial courtliness which surrounded aristocratic life in his day. He wrote A penas vauc en loc qu'om nom deman to encourage generosity to the poor. It is an indicator of his status in society that he penned Quascus planh le sieu damnatge, a planh (1262) for a local bourgeois named Guiraut de Linhan and the only such poem surviving for a middle-class figure.
Raimon was fairly popular in his own lifetime, as evidenced by the first stanza of Un sirventes, si pogues, volgra far, a sirventes
. In it Raimon says that he wishes to go somewhere where the people don't ask him avetz fag res novel? ("have you made anything new?"). This poem was dedicated to Raimon Gaucelm de Sabran, lord of Uzès
, whom Raimon calls fraire (brother) because they share a first name. Another poem, Belh Senher Dieus, quora veirai mo fraire, was dedicated, according to its rubric, to the senhor d’Uzest que avia nom aissi quon elh Raimon Gaucelm: "lord of Uzès who has the same name as Raimon Gaucelm."
Raimon composed one humorous partimen
(a tenso
with a proposed dilemma) with Joan Miralhas
in which Raimon poses the following question:
Raimon also wrote religious songs, including A Dieu done m'arma de bon'amor and Dieus m'a dada febre tersana dobla. This last was, according to the rubric, so son coblas que fes R. Gaucelm quan fo malautes: "the stanzas R. Gaucelm made when he was ill." It was composed on the model of A Dieu done m'arma as a prayer to God for delivery from illness and from sin, possibly on the poet's deathbed (c. 1285).
Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
1262–1275) was a Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
ian 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....
with nine surviving works. Many of his works appear with dates in the rubrics
Rubric (typography)
A rubric is a word or section of text which is traditionally written or printed in red ink to highlight it. The word derives from the , meaning red ochre or red chalk, and originates in Medieval illuminated manuscripts from the 13th century or earlier...
in manuscript C, a 14th-century work now "BN f.f. 856" in the Bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, allowing his career to be dated with ease.
Raimon was from Béziers
Béziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
, where he was a contemporary resident with Joan Esteve and Bernart d'Auriac
Bernart d'Auriac
Bernat or Bernart d'Auriac was a minor troubadour notable mainly for initiating a cycle of five short sirventes in the summer of 1285. According to a rubric of the chansonnier in which the cycle is preserved, Bernart was a mayestre de Bezers .The sirventes cycle was prompted by the Aragonese...
. The poets of Béziers in that day were Gallicised heavily and supported the French over and against the native Occitan aristocracy. In this vein he wrote, in 1268, Qui vol aver complida amistansa, a canso
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...
about Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
and his preparations for the Eighth Crusade
Eighth Crusade
The Eighth Crusade was a crusade launched by Louis IX, King of France, in 1270. The Eighth Crusade is sometimes counted as the Seventh, if the Fifth and Sixth Crusades of Frederick II are counted as a single crusade...
. In 1270 he wrote Ab grans trebalhs et ab grans marrimens, another canso and this time also a planh for Louis IX after his failed Crusade and death.
Raimon was a middle-class, urban poet, and certainly no courtesan. He was also a non-noble opponent of the artificial courtliness which surrounded aristocratic life in his day. He wrote A penas vauc en loc qu'om nom deman to encourage generosity to the poor. It is an indicator of his status in society that he penned Quascus planh le sieu damnatge, a planh (1262) for a local bourgeois named Guiraut de Linhan and the only such poem surviving for a middle-class figure.
Raimon was fairly popular in his own lifetime, as evidenced by the first stanza of Un sirventes, si pogues, volgra far, a 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...
. In it Raimon says that he wishes to go somewhere where the people don't ask him avetz fag res novel? ("have you made anything new?"). This poem was dedicated to Raimon Gaucelm de Sabran, lord of Uzès
Uzès
Uzès is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.It lies about 25 km north-northeast of Nîmes.-History:Originally Ucetia, Uzès was a small Gallo-Roman oppidum, or administrative settlement. The town lies at the source of the Eure, from where a Roman aqueduct was built in the first...
, whom Raimon calls fraire (brother) because they share a first name. Another poem, Belh Senher Dieus, quora veirai mo fraire, was dedicated, according to its rubric, to the senhor d’Uzest que avia nom aissi quon elh Raimon Gaucelm: "lord of Uzès who has the same name as Raimon Gaucelm."
Raimon composed one humorous partimen
Partimen
The partimen is a genre of Occitan lyric poetry composed between two troubadours, a subgenre of the tenso or cobla exchange in which one poet presents a dilemma in the form of a question and the two debate the answer, each taking up a different side. It was especially popular in poetic contests....
(a 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 a proposed dilemma) with Joan Miralhas
Joan Miralhas
Joan Miralhas was troubadour of Béziers in the late 13th century. Nothing is known of him besides this and that he wrote a partimen with Raimon Gaucelm, Joan Miralhas, si Dieu vos gart de dol...
in which Raimon poses the following question:
|
|
Raimon also wrote religious songs, including A Dieu done m'arma de bon'amor and Dieus m'a dada febre tersana dobla. This last was, according to the rubric, so son coblas que fes R. Gaucelm quan fo malautes: "the stanzas R. Gaucelm made when he was ill." It was composed on the model of A Dieu done m'arma as a prayer to God for delivery from illness and from sin, possibly on the poet's deathbed (c. 1285).
Sources
- Riquer, Martín de. Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos. 3 vol. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975.