Amanieu de Sescars or Amanieu des Escàs ( fl. 1278–1295) was a

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

, possibly Gascon,

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

of the late 13th century. Famous for his

love songs A love song is a song about romantic love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. A comprehensive list of even the best known performers and composers of love songs would be a large order. ...

in his own day, his contemporaries gave him the nickname ''dieu d'amor'' (god of love). He wrote two ''

ensenhamen An ''ensenhamen'' (; meaning "instruction" or "teaching") was an Old Occitan didactic (often lyric) poem associated with the troubadours. As a genre of Occitan literature, its limits have been open to debate since it was first defined in the 19th ...

s'' (didactic poems) and two '' saluts d'amor'' (love letters) that survive. The uncertainty about his origins stems from the fact that his poems refer extensively to Catalan people and places, but a singer of the same name is found signing a Gascon document of 1253. Whether the signatory of 1253 and the troubadour are one and the same is left open to doubt, but it is possible that Amanieu was a Catalan who was either born in or lived in Gascony, which was not uncommon at the time. His earliest datable work is also his shortest, the ''salut'' "A vos, que ieu am deszamatz", which was written 24 August 1278. His first ''ensenhamen'' was the "Ensenhamen del scudier" about a

squire In the Middle Ages, a squire was the shield- or armour-bearer of a knight. Use of the term evolved over time. Initially, a squire served as a knight's apprentice. Later, a village leader or a lord of the manor might come to be known as a " ...

(''scudier'') who observes his noble master in love, in leisure, and preparing for war and can thus describe the ideal nobleman. It was addressed ''al comte gent apres En B. d'Astarac'' (to

Bernard IV of Astarac Bernard IV of Astarac (1249– c. 1291) was a count of the . Family He was the third son of Centule I and Séguine d'Armagnac, and the brother of Centule II. Bernard became Count of Astarac following the disappearance of his brother, who died ...

) and must therefore have been written before the count's death in 1291. Also in that period was written his second and longer ''salut'', which refers to

James the Just James the Just, or a variation of James, brother of the Lord ( la, Iacobus from he, יעקב, and grc-gre, Ἰάκωβος, , can also be Anglicized as "Jacob"), was "a brother of Jesus", according to the New Testament. He was an early lead ...

as "''reys ... de cecilias''", which puts it between 1285, when James inherited

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, and 1291, when he inherited

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

. Amanieu's second didactic work, the "Ensenhamen de la donsela" can be dated between 1291 and 1295 by a reference to James as King of Aragon and to the ongoing

War of the Sicilian Vespers The War of the Sicilian Vespers or just War of the Vespers was a conflict that started with the insurrection of the Sicilian Vespers against Charles of Anjou in 1282 and ended in 1302 with the Peace of Caltabellotta. It was fought in Sicily, C ...

. It is addressed to an unnamed ''donsela'' (young woman) and is designed to teach her how to behave in courtly society and how to be respected. Amanieu's poetry is definitely influenced by

Peire Vidal Peire Vidal ( fl. 12th century) was an Old Occitan troubadour. Forty-five of his songs are extant. The twelve that still have melodies bear testament to the deserved nature of his musical reputation. There is no contemporary reference to Peire ou ...

and also possibly by

Arnaut de Maruelh Arnaut de Mareuil (''fl.'' late 12th century) was a troubadour, composing lyric poetry in the Occitan language. Twenty-five, perhaps twenty-nine, of his songs, all '' cansos'', survive, six with music. According to Hermann Oelsner's contribution to ...

. The later troubadour Peire Lunel de Montech wrote, in a letter of 1320, "I have heard it said that you nknownhave he book, i.e. the ''ensenhamens''of Sir Amanieu, who is called the god of love, where he teaches about the young woman and the squire."

Sources

* Riquer, Martín de. ''Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos''. 3 vol. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975. {{authority control Gascons 13th-century French troubadours 13th-century Catalan people Poets from Catalonia