Trobairitz
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The trobairitz were Provençal women troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries who wrote in Langue d'oc. The word trobairitz was first used in the 13th-century romance Flamenca. It comes from the Provençal word trobar, the colloquial meaning of which is "to find", and the technical meaning of which is "to compose".Bruckner 1995, xi Trobairitz composed, wrote complicated verses, and performed for the Occitan noble courts. They are exceptional as the first known female composers of Western secular music: all earlier known women composers wrote sacred music. The trobairitz generally were part of courtly society, as opposed to their lower class counterparts the joglaresse. Although troubadours frequently came from humble origins— Bernart de Ventadorn may have been the son of a castle's baker— the trobairitz were generally nobly born. The most important trobairitz we know of are Alamanda Castelnau (1160–1223), Azalais de Porcairagues, Maria de Ventadorn, Tibors, Castelloza, Garsenda de Proença and the Comtessa de Dia.
Sources of information
There are very few sources of information about these women. Almost all information which exists about them come from their vidas and razos, the brief descriptions that were assembled in song collections called chansonniers. The vidas are notoriously unreliable, since they frequently consisted of little more than romanticized extrapolations from the works of the trobairitz.Stephens The names of about twenty female poets from this time period survive, among whom between 23 and 46 works are attributed. Only one survives with music intact. Some works which are anonymous in the sources are ascribed by certain modern editors to women, as are some works which are attributed to men in the manuscripts. For comparison, of the 460 troubadours, about 2600 of their poems survive. Of these, about one in 10 survive with music intact.Interestingly, the first chansonniers which contained their works did not separate the troubadours from the trobairitz. It was only in later Italian and Catalan chansonniers that trobairitz were in a separate section of the books.Bruckner 1995, xxxiii
Trobairitz in Medieval society
!["A chantar" by Comtessa de Día (first page; see also [second page])](http://encycl.opentopia.com/enimages/thumb/4147/4146500/180px-A_chantar_pg._1crop.jpg "\"A chantar\" by Comtessa de Día (first page; see also [second page])")
Throughout the 13th century, among the accomplishments necessary for a woman at court were the ability to sing, play instruments, and write jocs partis. The cultivation of these womanly accomplishments may have led to the accomplishments of the trobairitz.Judith Tick. "Women in music, 500-1500", Grove Music Online.
The trobairitz may also have been a result of the power women held in southern France during this time period. Women had far more control over land ownership, and Occitan society was far more accepting of women than were other societies of the time. During the Crusades many men were away, which left women with more administrative responsibility, and thus power. Nevertheless, it is important to remember that this society was not "feminist", nor was fin' amor, which exalted women while at the same time circumscribing many aspects of their lives and behavior.Bruckner 1992
There is difficulty in labeling the trobairitz as either amateurs or professionals. The distinction between these two rôles was complicated in the medieval era, since professionals were generally lower class, and amateurs had as much time as professionals to devote to their craft. Professional women composers were generally referred to as joglaresse, and were far less respected than the trobairitz.
They generally wrote of fin' amors, or courtly love. Women were generally the subject of the writings of troubadours, however: "No other group of poets give women so exalted a definition within so tightly circumscribed a context of female suppression." The trobairitz wrote in the canso and tenso (debate poem) genres.
Attribution
The number of works attributed to the trobairitz ranges from 23 to 46. There are a number of reasons for this. In the courtly love tradition it was common for poems to be written as an exchange of letters, or a debate, as in a tenso. Some of these may have been originally written by one poet. However, some were certainly originally an actual exchange of epistles, later gathered together in a manuscript. Some of these were between men, and some were between a man and a woman. Certain modern editors attribute these solely to the man who originated the exchange, and some attribute them to both the man and the woman involved. There is a long history of attributing these solely to men, even when all evidence points to the contrary.Dronke, Peter. Women Writers of the Middle Ages, Cambridge University Press (New York, 1984)Since poetry was highly stylized, it is difficult to determine when a poet speaking as a woman actually was a woman, or a man speaking as a woman. This adds to the difficulty of attribution, especially of anonymous writers. There is some debate as to whether or not the poems by the trobairitz represent genuine feminine voices, since they worked within the highly circumscribed conventions of the troubadours. Bruckner suggests that the trobairitz "spoke in her own voice as channeled through the voices of many others". By manipulating the strict constructs of troubadour lyric, the trobairitz were able to create their own "fictions of the female voice".
There is one notable instance where clear attribution is given to a woman, Bieiris de Romans (also given as Beatritz), but the subject of the poem is another woman, Na Maria. In this poem Beatritz expresses her love for Maria in the traditional fin' amors style, both in terms of physical longing and courtly admiration. This poem, if not clearly marked as by a woman, would be assumed to be by a man.
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.The trobairitz
Azalais de Porcairagues
Azalais de Porcairagues (flourished mid 12th century) was possibly from the village now called Portiragnes, just east of Béziers. She was said to have loved Gui Guerrejat, the brother of William VII of Montpellier, which suggests that she moved in courtly society. Only one of her works is extant, a poem of 52 lines; no music is attached to it.Maria V. Coldwell. "Azalais de Porcairagues", Grove Music Online.
Comtessa de Día
Comtessa de Día or Beatriz de Día (flourished late 12th/early 13th century), the daughter of Count Isoard II of Día, a town on the Drôme in the marquisate of Provence, was married, according to her vida, to a Guillem or Guilhem de Poitiers, Count of Viennois. Her song "A chantar m'er de so qu'eu no volria" is the only canso by a woman troubadour to survive with its music intact.Elizabeth Aubrey. "Comtessa de Dia", Grove Music Online.
Castelloza
Castelloza (flourished 13th century) was a noblewoman from Auvergne and wife to Turc de Mairona. The subject of her poems is generally courtly love. Three of her poems are extant, but no music survives.Maria V. Coldwell. "Castelloza", Grove Music Online.
List of other trobairitz and their works
References
Sources
Notes
See also
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