Raimbaut de Vaqueiras
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Raimbaut de Vaqueiras (floruit 1180-1205) was a Provençal troubadour and warrior. His life was spent mainly in Italian courts[1] until 1203, when he joined the Fourth Crusade.
As his name suggests, he came from Vacqueyras near Orange, France. He was a close friend of Boniface of Montferrat. Raimbaut claimed he had a knighthood through song, but he was also a fighting man. He was present at the siege and capture of Constantinople in 1204, and then accompanied Boniface to Thessalonica. His writings, particularly the so-called Epic Letter, form an important commentary on the politics of the Latin Empire in its first two years, 1204 and 1205, after which they suddenly cease: it is generally presumed that Raimbaut died in the latter year.
Raimbaut composed between 26 and 30 songs, 8 with melodies. He used a wide range of styles, including a descort in five languages, cansos, tensos and albas. One of his songs, Kalenda Maia, is referred to as an estampida and is considered one of the best troubadour melodies. However according to the razó he borrowed the tune from two musicians. This would explain why the song is called an estampida when it is theorically a purely instrumental piece.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Amelia E. Van Vleck, The Lyric Texts p. 33, in Handbook of the Troubadours (1995), edited by F. R. P. Akehurst and Judith M. Davis.
[edit] External links
[edit] Bibliography
- The poems of the troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras ed. and tr. Joseph Linskill. The Hague: Mouton, 1964.
