Bertolome Zorzi ( la, Bartolomeus Gorgis; fl. 1266–1273) was a Venetian nobleman, merchant, and

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 ...

. Like all Lombard troubadours, he composed in the

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Ital ...

. Eighteen of his works survive. BnF ms

According to his ''

vida Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to: Geography * Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica * U.S. settled places: ** Vida, Montana ** Vida, Oregon ** Vida, Missour ...

'', while travelling with a large band of merchants to

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

, they were captured by the

Republic of Genoa The Republic of Genoa ( lij, Repúbrica de Zêna ; it, Repubblica di Genova; la, Res Publica Ianuensis) was a medieval and early modern maritime republic from the 11th century to 1797 in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast. During the Lat ...

, which was then at war with that of Venice, and taken prisoner to

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

.Egan, 15. There Zorzi composed many songs from prison and even collaborated on some ''

tenso A ''tenso'' (; french: tençon) is a style of troubadour song. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position; common topics relate to love or ethics. Usually, the tenso is written by two different poets, but several examples ...

s'' with

Bonifaci Calvo Bonifaci, Bonifatz, or Bonifacio Calvo ( fl. 1253–1266) was a Genoese troubadour of the late thirteenth century. The only biographical account of (part of) his life is found in the '' vida'' of Bertolome Zorzi. He is, however, the most no ...

, a native Genoese troubadour. In response to a ''

sirventes The ''sirventes'' or ''serventes'' (), sometimes translated as "service song", was a genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry practiced by the troubadours. The name comes from ''sirvent'' ('serviceman'), from whose perspective the song is allegedly wr ...

'' in which Bonifaci blamed the Genoese for allowing the Venetians to gain the upper hand and insult them, Zorzi composed the ''sirventes'' ''Molt me sui fort d'un chant merveillatz'' ("I was very much surprised by a song") justifying Venice. The response convinced Bonifaci and the two became friends.Egan, 16. Upon the release of the prisoners when Venice and Genoa came to terms of peace (about seven years later), Bertolome returned to Venice and was rewarded by the

Doge A doge ( , ; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and head of state in several Italian city-states, notably Venice and Genoa, during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as " crowned republics". Etymology The ...

with the

castellanies A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant of ...

of Coron and Modon in southwestern

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman ...

. According to his ''vida'', there he fell in love with a beautiful local noblewoman and spent the rest of his life. Zorzi wrote a ''

sestina A sestina (, from ''sesto'', sixth; Old Occitan: ''cledisat'' ; also known as ''sestine'', ''sextine'', ''sextain'') is a fixed verse, fixed verse form consisting of six stanzas of six lines each, normally followed by a three-line envoi. The wor ...

'' entitled ''En tal dezir mos cors intra'' that alludes to the

Perceval Percival (, also spelled Perceval, Parzival), alternatively called Peredur (), was one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. First mentioned by the French author Chrétien de Troyes in the tale ''Perceval, the Story of the ...

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...

confessing to his uncle. Zorzi also has been cited as one of several troubadours who protested Alfonso X's refusal to rescue his brother the ''

infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to t ...

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

from an Italian prison. In ''Mout fai sobrieira foli'', each stanza of Zorzi's ends with a corresponding quotation from Peire Vidal's ''Quant hom es en autrui poder'', whom he is defending from those who label him a "fool".

Example

An example of Zorzi's use of metaphor:

Notes

Sources

*Archer, Robert. ''The Pervasive Image: The Role of Analogy in the Poetry of Ausias March''. John Benjamins, 1985. . *Chambers, Frank M. ''An Introduction to Old Provençal Versification''. Diane, 1985. . *Egan, Margarita (ed. and trans.) ''The Vidas of the Troubadours''. New York: Garland, 1984. . *Gardner, Edmund G
"The Holy Graal in Italian Literature."
''The Modern Language Review'', Vol. 20, No. 4. (Oct., 1925), pp. 443–453. *Kinkade, Richard P
"Alfonso, X, Cantiga 235, and the Events of 1269–1278."
'' Speculum'', Vol. 67, No. 2. (Apr., 1992), pp. 284–323. *Levy, Emil. ''Der Troubadour Bertolome Zorzi''. Halle: Niemeyer, 1883. *Elliott, A. M
Review
of ''Der Troubadour Bertolome Zorzi'' by Emil Levy. In ''The American Journal of Philology'', Vol. 5, No. 1. (1884), pp. 107–108. *Strong, E. B
"The ''Rimado de palacio'': López de Ayala's Rimed Confession."
''Hispanic Review'', Vol. 37, No. 4. (Oct., 1969), pp. 439–451. {{Authority control 13th-century Venetian writers 13th-century Italian troubadours Republic of Venice merchants Prison music 13th-century Italian businesspeople