THE TROUBADOURS IN SPAIN
The South of France had been connected with the North of Spain from a
period long antecedent to the first appearance of troubadour poetry. As
early as the Visigoth period, Catalonia had been united to Southern
France; in the case of this province the tie was further strengthened by
community of language. On the western side of the Pyrenees a steady
stream of pilgrims entered the Spanish peninsula on their way to the
shrine of St James of Compostella in Galicia; this road was, indeed,
known in Spain as the "French road." Catalonia was again united with
Provence by the marriage of Raimon Berengar III. with a Provençal
heiress in 1112. As the counts of Barcelona and the kings of Aragon held
possessions in Southern France, communications between the two countries
were naturally frequent.
We have already had occasion to refer to the visits of various
troubadours to the courts of Spain. The "reconquista," the reconquest of
Spain from the Moors, was in progress during the twelfth and thirteenth
centuries, and various crusade poems were written by troubadours [110]
summoning help to the Spaniards in their struggles. Marcabrun was the
author of one of the earliest of these, composed for the benefit of
Alfonso VIII. of Castile and possibly referring to his expedition
against the Moors in 1147, which was undertaken in conjunction with the
kings of Navarre and Aragon. The poem is interesting for its repetition
of the word _lavador_ or piscina, used as an emblem of the crusade in
which the participants would be cleansed of their sins.[32]
Pax in nomine Domini!
Fetz Marcabrus los motz e·l so.
Aujatz que di:
Cum nos a fait per sa doussor,
Lo Seignorius celestiaus
Probet de nos un lavador
C'ane, fors outramar, no·n' fon taus,
En de lai deves Josaphas:
E d'aquest de sai vos conort.
"Pax, etc.,---Marcabrun composed the words and the air. Hear what he
says. How, by his goodness, the Lord of Heaven, has made near us a
piscina, such as there never was, except beyond the sea, there by
Josaphat, and for this one near here do I exhort you."
Alfonso II. of Aragon (1162-1196) was a constant patron of the
troubadours, and himself an exponent of their art. He belonged to the
family of the counts of Barcelona which became in his time one of the [111]
most powerful royal houses in the West of Europe. He was the grandson of
Raimon Berengar III. and united to Barcelona by marriage and diplomacy,
the kingdom of Aragon, Provence and Roussillon. His continual visits to
the French part of his dominions gave every opportunity to the
troubadours to gain his favour: several were continually about him and
there were few who did not praise his liberality. A discordant note is
raised by Bertran de Born, who composed some violent _sirventes_ against
Alfonso; he was actuated by political motives: Alfonso had joined the
King of England in his operations against Raimon V. of Toulouse and
Bertran's other allies and had been present at the capture of Bertran's
castle of Hautefort in 1183. The biography relates that in the course of
the siege, the King of Aragon, who had formerly been in friendly
relations with Bertran, sent a messenger into the fortress asking for
provisions. These Bertran supplied with the request that the king would
secure the removal of the siege engines from a particular piece of wall,
which was on the point of destruction and would keep the information
secret. Alfonso, however, betrayed the message and the fortress was
captured. The _razo_ further relates the touching scene to which we have
already referred when Bertran moved Henry II. to clemency by a reference [112]
to the death of the "young king." The account of Alfonso's supposed
treachery is probably no less unhistorical: the siege lasted only a week
and it is unlikely that the besiegers would have been reduced to want in
so short a time. It was probably invented to explain the hostility on
Bertran's part which dated from the wars between Alfonso and Raimon V.
of Toulouse. This animosity was trumpeted forth in two lampooning
_sirventes_ criticising the public policy and the private life of the
Spanish King. His accusations of meanness and trickery seem to be based
on nothing more reliable than current gossip.
Peire Vidal, with the majority of the troubadours, shows himself a
vigorous supporter of Alfonso. Referring to this same expedition of 1183
he asserted "Had I but a speedy horse, the king might sleep in peace at
Balaguer: I would keep Provence and Montpelier in such order that
robbers and freebooters should no longer plunder Venaissin and Crau.
When I have put on my shining cuirass and girded on the sword that Guigo
lately gave me, the earth trembles beneath my feet; no enemy so mighty
who does not forthwith avoid out of my path, so great is their fear of
me when they hear my steps." These boasts in the style of Captain
Matamoros are, of course, not serious: the poet's personal appearance
seems to have been enough to preclude any suppositions of the kind. In [113]
another poem he sings the praises of Sancha, daughter of Alfonso VIII.
of Castile, who married Alfonso II. of Aragon in 1174. With the common
sense in political matters which is so strangely conjoined with the
whimsicality of his actions, he puts his finger upon the weak spot in
Spanish politics when he refers to the disunion between the four kings,
Alfonso II. of Aragon, Alfonso IX. of Leon, Alfonso VIII. of Castile and
Sancho Garcés of Navarre: "little honour is due to the four kings of
Spain for that they cannot keep peace with one another; since in other
respects they are of great worth, dexterous, open, courteous and loyal,
so that they should direct their efforts to better purpose and wage war
elsewhere against the people who do not believe our law, until the whole
of Spain professes one and the same faith."
The Monk of Montaudon, Peire Raimon of Toulouse, Uc de San Circ, Uc
Brunet and other troubadours of less importance also enjoyed Alfonso's
patronage. Guiraut de Bornelh sent a poem to the Catalonian court in
terms which seemed to show that the simple style of poetry was there
preferred to complicated obscurities. The same troubadour was
sufficiently familiar with Alfonso's successor, Pedro II., to take part
in a _tenso_ with him.
Pedro II. (1196-1213) was no less popular with the troubadours than his [114]
father. Aimeric de Pegulhan, though more closely connected with the
court of Castile, is loud in his praises of Pedro, "the flower of
courtesy, the green leaf of delight, the fruit of noble deeds." Pedro
supported his brother-in-law, Raimon VI. of Toulouse, against the
crusaders and Simon de Montfort during the Albigeois crusade and was
killed near Toulouse in the battle of Muret. The Chanson de la Croisade
does not underestimate the impression made by his death.
Mot fo grans lo dampnatges e·l dols e·l perdementz
Cant lo reis d'Arago remas mort e sagnens,
E mot d'autres baros, don fo grans l'aunimens
A tot crestianesme et a trastotas gens.
"Great was the damage and the grief and the loss when the King of Aragon
remained dead and bleeding with many other barons, whence was great
shame to all Christendom and to all people."
The Court of Castile attracted the attention and the visits of the
troubadours, chiefly during the reign of Alfonso VIII. (or III.;
1158-1214) the hero of Las Navas de Tolosa, the most decisive defeat
which the Arab power in the West had sustained since the days of Charles
Martel. The preceding defeat of Alfonso's forces at Alarcos in 1195 had
called forth a fine crusade _sirventes_ from Folquet of Marseilles
appealing to Christians in general and the King of Aragon in particular [115]
to join forces against the infidels. The death of Alfonso's son,
Fernando, in 1211 from an illness contracted in the course of a campaign
against the infidels was lamented by Guiraut de Calanso, a Gascon
troubadour.
Lo larc e·l franc, lo valen e·l grazitz,
Don cuiavon qu'en fos esmendatz
Lo jove reys, e·n Richartz lo prezatz
E·l coms Jaufres, tug li trey valen fraire.
"The generous and frank, the worthy and attractive of whom men thought
that in him were increased the qualities of the young king, of Richard
the high renowned, and of the Count Godfrey, all the three valiant
brothers." Peire Vidal in one of the poems which he addressed to Alfonso
VIII., speaks of the attractions of Spain. "Spain is a good country; its
kings and lords are kindly and loving, generous and noble, of courteous
company; other barons there are, noble and hospitable, men of sense and
knowledge, valiant and renowned." Raimon Vidal of Bezaudun, a Catalonian
troubadour has given a description of Alfonso's court in one of his
_novelas_. "I wish to relate a story which I heard a joglar tell at the
court of the wisest king that ever was, King Alfonso of Castile, where
were presents and gifts, judgment, worth and courtesy, spirit and
chivalry, though he was not anointed or sacred, but crowned with praise, [116]
sense, worth and prowess. The king gathered many knights to his court,
many _joglars_ and rich barons and when the court was filled Queen
Eleanor came in dressed so that no one saw her body. She came wrapped
closely in a cloak of silken fabric fine and fair called sisclaton; it
was red with a border of silver and had a golden lion broidered on it.
She bowed to the king and took her seat on one side at some distance.
Then, behold, a _joglar_ come before the king, frank and debonair, who
said 'King, noble emperor, I have come to you thus and I pray you of
your goodness that my tale may be heard,'" The scene concludes, "Joglar,
I hold the story which you have related as good, amusing and fair and
you also the teller of it and I will order such reward to be given to
you that you shall know that the story has indeed pleased me."
The crown of Castile was united with that of Leon by Fernando III.
(1230-1262) the son of Alfonso IX. of Leon. Lanfranc Cigala, the
troubadour of Genoa, excuses the Spaniards at this time for their
abstention from the Crusades to Jerusalem on the ground that they were
fully occupied in their struggles with the Moors. Fernando is one of the
kings to whom Sordello refers in the famous _sirventes_ of the divided
heart, as also is Jaime I. of Aragon (1213-1276), the "Conquistador," of
whom much is heard in the poetry of the troubadours. He was born at [117]
Montpelier and was fond of revisiting his birthplace; troubadours whom
he there met accompanied him to Spain, joined in his expeditions and
enjoyed his generosity. His court became a place of refuge for those who
had been driven out of Southern France by the Albigeois crusade; Peire
Cardenal, Bernard Sicart de Marvejols and N'At de Mons of Toulouse
visited him. His popularity with the troubadours was considerably shaken
by his policy in 1242, when a final attempt was made to throw off the
yoke imposed upon Southern France as the result of the Albigeois
crusade. Isabella of Angoulême, the widow of John of England, had
married the Count de la Marche; she urged him to rise against the French
and induced her son, Henry III. of England, to support him. Henry hoped
to regain his hold of Poitou and was further informed that the Count of
Toulouse and the Spanish kings would join the alliance. There seems to
have been a general belief that Jaime would take the opportunity of
avenging his father's death at Muret. However, no Spanish help was
forthcoming; the allies were defeated at Saintes and at Taillebourg and
this abortive rising ended in 1243. Guillem de Montanhagol says in a
_sirventes_ upon this event, "If King Jaime, with whom we have never
broken faith, had kept the agreement which is said to have been made [118]
between him and us, the French would certainly have had cause to grieve
and lament." Bernard de Rovenhac shows greater bitterness: "the king of
Aragon is undoubtedly well named Jacme (jac from jazer, to lie down) for
he is too fond of lying down and when anyone despoils him of his land,
he is so feeble that he does not offer the least opposition." Bernard
Sicart de Marvejols voices the grief of his class at the failure of the
rising: "In the day I am full of wrath and in the night I sigh betwixt
sleeping and waking; wherever I turn, I hear the courteous people crying
humbly 'Sire' to the French." These outbursts do not seem to have roused
Jaime to any great animosity against the troubadour class. Aimeric de
Belenoi belauds him, Peire Cardenal is said to have enjoyed his favour,
and other minor troubadours refer to him in flattering terms.
The greatest Spanish patron of the troubadours was undoubtedly Alfonso
X. of Castile (1254-1284). El Sabio earned his title by reason of his
enlightened interest in matters intellectual; he was himself a poet,
procured the translation of many scientific books and provided Castile
with a famous code of laws. The Italian troubadours Bonifaci Calvo and
Bartolomeo Zorzi were welcomed to his court, to which many others came
from Provence. One of his favourites was the troubadour who was the last [119]
representative of the old school, Guiraut Riquier of Narbonne. He was
born between 1230 and 1235, when the Albigeois crusade was practically
over and when troubadour poetry was dying, as much from its own inherent
lack of vitality as from the change of social and political environment
which the upheaval of the previous twenty years had produced. Guiraut
Riquier applied to a Northern patron for protection, a proceeding
unexampled in troubadour history and the patron he selected was the King
of France himself. Neither Saint Louis nor his wife were in the least
likely to provide a market for Guiraut's wares and the Paris of that day
was by no means a centre of literary culture. The troubadour, therefore,
tried his fortune with Alfonso X. whose liberality had become almost
proverbial. There he seems to have remained for some years and to have
been well content, in spite of occasional friction with other suitors
for the king's favour. His description of Catalonia is interesting.
Pus astres no m'es donatz
Que de mi dons bes m'eschaia,
Ni nulho nos plazers no·l platz,
Ni ay poder que·m n'estraia,
Ops m'es qu'ieu sia fondatz
En via d'amor veraia,
E puesc n'apenre assatz
En Cataluenha la gaia, [120]
Entrels Catalas valens
E las donas avinens.
Quar dompneys, pretz e valors,
Joys e gratz e cortesia,
Sens e sabers et honors,
Bels parlars, bella paria,
E largueza et amors,
Conoyssensa e cundia,
Troban manten e socors
En Cataluenha a tria,
Entrels, etc.
"Since my star has not granted me that from my lady happiness should
fall to me, since no pleasure that I can give pleases her and I have no
power to forget her, I must needs enter upon the road of true love and I
can learn it well enough in gay Catalonia among the Catalonians, men of
worth, and their kindly ladies. For courtesy, worth, joy, gratitude and
gallantry, sense, knowledge, honour, fair speech, fair company,
liberality and love, learning and grace find maintenance and support in
Catalonia entirely."
Between thirty and forty poets of Spanish extraction are known to have
written Provençal poetry. Guillem de Tudela of Navarre wrote the first
part of the _Chanson de la Croisade albigeoise_; Serveri de Gerona wrote
didactic and devotional poetry, showing at least ingenuity of technique;
Amanieu des Escas has left love letters and didactic works for the [121]
instruction of young people in the rules of polite behaviour. But the
influence of Provençal upon the native poetry of Spain proper was but
small, in spite of the welcome which the troubadours found at the courts
of Castile, Aragon, Leon and Navarre. Troubadour poetry required a
peaceful and an aristocratic environment, and the former at least of
these conditions was not provided by the later years of Alfonso X.
Northern French influence was also strong: numerous French immigrants
were able to settle in towns newly founded or taken from the Moors. The
warlike and adventurous spirit of Northern and Central Spain preferred
epic to lyric poetry: and the outcome was the _cantar de gesta_ and the
_romance_, the lyrico-narrative or ballad poem.
This was not the course of development followed either in the Eastern or
Western coasts of the peninsula. Catalonia was as much a part of the
Provençal district as of Spain. To the end of the thirteenth century
Catalonian poets continued to write in the language of the troubadours,
often breaking the strict rules of rime correspondence and of grammar,
but refusing to use their native dialect. Religious poems of popular and
native origin appear to have existed, but even the growth of a native
prose was unable to overcome the preference for Provençal in the [122]
composition of lyrics. Guiraut de Cabreira is remembered for the 213
lines which he wrote to instruct his _joglar_ Cabra; Guiraut upbraids
this performer for his ignorance, and details a long series of legends
and poems which a competent _joglar_ ought to know. Guiraut de Calanso
wrote an imitation of this diatribe. The best known of the Catalonian
troubadours is Raimon Vidal of Besadun, both for his _novelas_ and also
for his work on Provençal grammar and metre, _Las rasos de trobar_,[33]
which was written for the benefit of his compatriots who desired to
avoid solecisms or mistakes when composing. "For as much as I, Raimon
Vidal, have seen and known that few men know or have known the right
manner of composing poetry (trobar) I desire to make this book that men
may know and understand which of the troubadours have composed best and
given the best instruction to those who wish to learn how they should
follow the right manner of composing.... All Christian people, Jews,
Saracens, emperors, princes, kings, dukes, counts, viscounts, vavassors
and all other nobles with clergy, citizens and villeins, small and
great, daily give their minds to composing and singing.... In this
science of composing the troubadours are gone astray and I will tell you
wherefore. The hearers who do not understand anything when they hear a
fine poem will pretend that they understand perfectly... because they [123]
think that men would consider it a fault in them if they said that they
did not understand.... And if when they hear a bad troubadour, they do
understand, they will praise his singing because they understand it; or
if they will not praise, at least they will not blame him; and thus the
troubadours are deceived and the hearers are to blame for it." Raimon
Vidal proceeds to say that the pure language is that of Provence or of
Limousin or of Saintonge or Auvergne or Quercy: "wherefore I tell you,
that when I use the term Limousin, I mean all those lands and those
which border them or are between them." He was apparently the first to
use the term Limousin to describe classical Provençal, and when it
became applied to literary Catalonian, as distinguished from _plá
Catalá_, the vulgar tongue, the result was some confusion. Provençal
influence was more permanent in Catalonia than in any other part of
Spain; in 1393, the Consistorium of the _Gay saber_ was founded in
imitation of the similar association at Toulouse. Most of the troubadour
poetical forms and the doctrines of the Toulouse _Leys d'Amors_ were
retained, until Italian influence began to oust Provençal towards the
close of the fifteenth century.
On the western side of Spain, Provençal influence evoked a brief and
brilliant literature in the Galician or Portuguese school. Its most [124]
brilliant period was the age of Alfonso X. of Castile, one of its most
illustrious exponents, and that of Denis of Portugal (1280-1325). The
dates generally accepted for the duration of this literature are
1200-1385; it has left to us some 2000 lyric poems, the work of more
than 150 poets, including four kings and a number of nobles of high
rank. French and Provençal culture had made its way gradually and by
various routes to the western side of the Spanish peninsula.
We have already referred to the pilgrim route to the shrine of
Compostella, by which a steady stream of foreign influence entered the
country. The same effect was produced by crusaders who came to help the
Spaniards in their struggle against the Moors, and by foreign colonists
who helped to Christianise the territories conquered from the
Mohammedans. The capture of Lisbon in 1147 increased maritime
intercourse with the North. Individuals from Portugal also visited
Northern and Southern France, after the example of their Spanish
neighbours. References to Portugal in the poetry of the troubadours are
very scarce, nor is there any definite evidence that any troubadour
visited the country. This fact is in striking contrast with the loud
praises of the Spanish courts. None the less, such visits must have
taken place: Sancho I. had French _jongleurs_ in his pay during [125]
the twelfth century and the Portuguese element in the five-language
_descort_ of Raimbaut de Vaqueiras shows that communication between
Provençal poets and Portuguese or Galician districts must have existed.
The general silence of the troubadours may be due to the fact that
communication began at a comparatively late period and was maintained
between Portugal and Spanish courts, and not directly between Portugal
and Southern France.
Alfonso X. of Castile himself wrote many poems in the Galician or
Portuguese dialect; perhaps his choice was dictated by reasons analogous
to those which impelled Italian and Catalonian poets to write in
Provençal. The general body of Portuguese poetry declares itself by form
and content to be directly borrowed from the troubadours: it appeals to
an aristocratic audience; the idea of love as a feudal relation is
preserved with the accompanying ideas of _amour courtois_, and the lyric
forms developed in Southern France are imitated. The Provençal manner
took root in Portugal as it failed to do in Spain, because it found the
ground to some extent prepared by the existence of a popular lyric
poetry which was remodelled under Provençal influence. The most popular
of the types thus developed were _Cantigas de amor e de amigo_ and
_Cantigas de_ _escarnho e de maldizer_; the former were love
songs: when the poet speaks the song was one _de amor_; when the lady
speaks (and she is unmarried, in contrast to Provençal usage) the song was
_de amigo_. This latter is a type developed independently by the
Portuguese school. _Cantigas de escarnho_ correspond in intention [126]
to the Provençal _sirventes_; if their satire was open and unrestrained
they were _cantigas de maldizer_. They dealt for the most part with
trivial court and personal affairs and not with questions of national policy
upon which the troubadours so often expressed their opinions. Changes in
taste and political upheavals brought this literature to an end about
1385 and the progress of Portuguese poetry then ceases for some fifty
years.