Xohán de Cangas

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Xohán de Cangas was a troubadour during the Middle Ages. He was born on Cangas de Morrazo, a little town on Pontevedra, Galicia (Spain).

There are not many data on his life, although it is believed that it took place near Galician pazos.

We know that, during Xohán's times, there were both noblemen and commoner who worked as troubadour. De Cangas was clearly a commoner, as he replaced his surname with his birthplace.

He is considered a "sailor troubadour", as his works talk about coast hermitages, where he would try to "commune with the sea". He uses the female lover as a narrator and the hermitage of San Mamade do Mar (near Cangas) as a background, thou he would then "travel" throughout Morrazo and the rías of Vigo and Pontevedra.

Throughout history, de Cangas' first name has been modified to cover Spanish, Galician and Portuguese versions of itself, being the most extended Xohán de Cangas, but also including Joán, Johán, Xoán and the versions without the accent mark (a). He is sometimes called Joham de Cangas.

Día das Letras Galegas

On 1998, the Galician Literature Day was dedicated to Xohán de Cangas as well as two other sailor troubadours, Martín Códax and Mendinho.

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