The Ritual Master Hello good friends, and welcome to our fifth day of Advent, where things become merry.
One of the most well known traditions of the Middle Ages is the legacy of the troubadours, and it so happens, this is a subject directly related to Aliénor of Aquitaine. So without further ado, welcome to the banquet !
Troubadours were composers and performers of the art of Occitan lyrical poetry during the Middle Ages. As a reminder, from a linguistic point of view, the territory of France as we know it today was divided into two regions in the Middle Ages, based on the way of saying yes : the langue d’oc was spoken in the southern part, also known as Occitanie, and the langue d’oïl was spoken in the North, with the frontier represented more or less by the Loire river. As we well know, language shapes much of the cultural traditions of a land, and so, with the song of their words and the warmth of the South in their blood, the troubadours created the art of lyrical poetry in their Occitan language to sing the praises of chivalry and courtly love. Their equivalents in the North were the trouvères, with one of the first being Chrétien de Troyes, of whom we shall speak more later on.
The earliest troubadour whose work survived to this day was Duke Guillaume or William the 9th of Aquitaine, none other than the grandfather of Aliénor. The fact that a nobleman spent his time composing poetry and singing it should be a reflection of the high esteem shown to troubadours at the time. The art of sublimating life’s events into fine words was, perhaps even more then than now, a noble and respected occupation. This also explains why troubadours have always held such an important place in Aliénor’s life, she brought them with her to Paris when she became Queen of France, and later in life, she enjoyed their company so much that rumours would arise as to inappropriate relationships between artist and muse.
Troubadours would be present in every great feast celebrated by the lords, along with other less artistic entertainment, performed by minstrels, like buffoons, jugglers or even fakirs. This gave them the opportunity to observe and register local customs and even menus. For example, William the 9th is our first source attesting to the presence of capons as delicacies on the table of the masters, as they are still today in many regions of France for Christmas :
They fed me capons,
And know that I had more than two;
And there was neither cook nor cooks,
But the three of us;
The bread was white, the wine was good
And the pepper was plenty.
Entertainment was especially important during Advent and the twelve days of Christmas that followed. Theatrical representations were given in front of churches, liturgical in the beginning, then more in the form of anecdotes or stories adapted from the Bible. Although the troubadours are not precisely mentioned for any of the Christmas celebrations, it wouldn’t be far-fetched to imagine them at the centre of the events. They represent an idea of beauty and elegance that was greatly needed during the Middle Ages. Like all the art forms that survived the passing of time, troubadours are the ambassadors of a world which tends to fade in our collective memory.
Let us sing, and remember them for the joy they brought in the world ! See you tomorrow !
