This is getting much, much more interesting. The best article I have found was written in French.
http://histoire-ma.chez-alice.fr/troubadours/Troubadour/GuillaumeDePoitiers-1.html
The article of the Wikipedia is a bit sensationalist when compared to the French one, harping upon William's love affairs, rather than giving us hints about his thought:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IX_of_Aquitaine
As a consequence, I will mostly rely on the French article, which is very insightful.
William the Troubadour is indeed considered as being the first "troubadour". However, the article makes it very clear that his poetry is much too elaborate not to be part of an already existing tradition (and it was in the XIth and XIIth centuries...).
-for those who speak French a little:
"Elles ne sont pas de vagues essais balbutiants. Au contraire, elles apparaissent comme un art déjà mûri par des poètes de générations précédentes. Mais de cette lente maturation, rien ne nous est parvenu. Il faut l'accepter et l'admettre. Guillaume IX est le premier troubadour dont on possède les oeuvres et cela en fait l'inventeur du Trobar".
In this passage, William's work is described as being part of a form of art that had already reached its mature stage, after a slow process, though William the Troubadour is the first artist whose works have been preserved until this day.
He was a Crusader (1101-1102) and, apparently, a poor military commander (although a good knight and combatant), in part because of his rashness and impetuosity. When he returned from captivity, he recounted his experience in verse.
He stayed in Constantinople, and was probably very much influenced by Byzantine culture. That is very interesting, isn't it?
He also led some expeditions as part of the Reconquista in Spain, as some of you have already noticed. At the battle of Cutanda, the body of his mistress was painted on his shield.
At Poitiers, he gave shelter to Blédri ap Davidor, a knight and bard of Welsh origin. The latter revived the story of "Tristan et Iseult" in France, which was part of Celtic folklore.
About his works, the article points out that the notion of sensuality is not absent, although an ideal conception of love prevails. The "troubadour" is even compared to a monk who has to submit to the law of love. One has to keep in mind that the notion of love in the West is very much influenced by Christianity and the relevant principles of "agapè" and "caritas" (charity).
The "troubadour" must also abstain from behaving like a "villain". "Villain" is a word of French origin, whose Latin etymology, vilicus, means "peasant".
In French, "vilain" means "ugly" in popular language, which tells us a lot about the opinion of the aristocracy on the lower classes of medieval society...
"Court-ly love" indeed consists in an aristocratic conception of love.
William IX thought of himself as "the flower" of the "Trobar" (which is the name of the art), thus implying that he was at the roots of this new conception of love.
Melancholy is indeed an interesting theme. I remember looking at Celtic first names on a website, and seeing that some which were meant for boys had something to do with the concept, which I found surprising, given the level of abstraction of the whole thing...
About my theory according to which Japan and Europe have much in common, there is a book known by most scholars studying Japanese in the West, which is called something like "The Nobility of Failure" (La Noblesse de l'Echec" in French)...
http://histoire-ma.chez-alice.fr/troubadours/Troubadour/GuillaumeDePoitiers-1.html
The article of the Wikipedia is a bit sensationalist when compared to the French one, harping upon William's love affairs, rather than giving us hints about his thought:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IX_of_Aquitaine
As a consequence, I will mostly rely on the French article, which is very insightful.
William the Troubadour is indeed considered as being the first "troubadour". However, the article makes it very clear that his poetry is much too elaborate not to be part of an already existing tradition (and it was in the XIth and XIIth centuries...).
-for those who speak French a little:
"Elles ne sont pas de vagues essais balbutiants. Au contraire, elles apparaissent comme un art déjà mûri par des poètes de générations précédentes. Mais de cette lente maturation, rien ne nous est parvenu. Il faut l'accepter et l'admettre. Guillaume IX est le premier troubadour dont on possède les oeuvres et cela en fait l'inventeur du Trobar".
In this passage, William's work is described as being part of a form of art that had already reached its mature stage, after a slow process, though William the Troubadour is the first artist whose works have been preserved until this day.
He was a Crusader (1101-1102) and, apparently, a poor military commander (although a good knight and combatant), in part because of his rashness and impetuosity. When he returned from captivity, he recounted his experience in verse.
He stayed in Constantinople, and was probably very much influenced by Byzantine culture. That is very interesting, isn't it?
He also led some expeditions as part of the Reconquista in Spain, as some of you have already noticed. At the battle of Cutanda, the body of his mistress was painted on his shield.
At Poitiers, he gave shelter to Blédri ap Davidor, a knight and bard of Welsh origin. The latter revived the story of "Tristan et Iseult" in France, which was part of Celtic folklore.
About his works, the article points out that the notion of sensuality is not absent, although an ideal conception of love prevails. The "troubadour" is even compared to a monk who has to submit to the law of love. One has to keep in mind that the notion of love in the West is very much influenced by Christianity and the relevant principles of "agapè" and "caritas" (charity).
The "troubadour" must also abstain from behaving like a "villain". "Villain" is a word of French origin, whose Latin etymology, vilicus, means "peasant".
In French, "vilain" means "ugly" in popular language, which tells us a lot about the opinion of the aristocracy on the lower classes of medieval society...
"Court-ly love" indeed consists in an aristocratic conception of love.
William IX thought of himself as "the flower" of the "Trobar" (which is the name of the art), thus implying that he was at the roots of this new conception of love.
Welsh poetry, from which the Arthur story comes, is generally of a very melancholy tone. Heroes are praised for their bravery in facing, and losing, against impossible odds. The Arthur story fits into this melancholy tradition, as although he is temporarily victorious, in the end, Gwenivere betrays him, his own son rebels and kills him, and Camelot is lost.
Melancholy is indeed an interesting theme. I remember looking at Celtic first names on a website, and seeing that some which were meant for boys had something to do with the concept, which I found surprising, given the level of abstraction of the whole thing...
About my theory according to which Japan and Europe have much in common, there is a book known by most scholars studying Japanese in the West, which is called something like "The Nobility of Failure" (La Noblesse de l'Echec" in French)...
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