Bertran Carbonel ( fl. 1252–1265) was a Provençal

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 ...

from

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

. He is a polarising figure among scholars and his reputation varies between authorities. Eighteen of his lyric works survive, as well as seventy-two (Gaunt and Kay) or ninety-four (Riquer) single '' coblas triadas esparsas'' on "edifying" themes. He was patronised at the court of Hugh IV and

Henry II of Rodez Henry II ( Occitan: ''Enric II de Rodés'') (c. 1236–1304), of the House of Millau, was the Count of Rodez and Viscount of Carlat from 1274 until his death. He was the son of Hugh IV of Rodez and Isabeau de Roquefeuil. Henry II was a troubadour ...

. There were many individuals of Bertran's name in Marseille in his time, so identifying the troubadour among them has been impossible. Bertran's poetry is among the earliest

Occitan literature Occitan literature (referred to in older texts as Provençal literature) is a body of texts written in Occitan, mostly in the south of France. It was the first literature in a Romance language and inspired the rise of vernacular literature thro ...

to be written ''as literature'', or, in contemporary

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

, ''juxta propria principia''. He was also educated, as his references to

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

Terence Publius Terentius Afer (; – ), better known in English as Terence (), was a Roman African playwright during the Roman Republic. His comedies were performed for the first time around 166–160 BC. Terentius Lucanus, a Roman senator, brought ...

, and other Classical figures reveals. Bertran was a devotee of the minor(-sounding) style of

Peire Cardenal Peire Cardenal (or Cardinal) (c. 1180 – c. 1278) was a troubadour (fl. 1204 – 1272) known for his satirical ''sirventes'' and his dislike of the clergy. Ninety-six pieces of his remain, a number rarely matched by other poets of the age.Aubrey, ...

, whom he imitated in tone. His moralising is, however, as advice, generally mediocre and unexciting. His ''

cansos The ''canso'' or ''canson'' or ''canzo'' () was a song style used by the troubadours. It was, by far, the most common genre used, especially by early troubadours, and only in the second half of the 13th century was its dominance challenged by a ...

''—for he wrote mostly those and ''

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 ...

''—are "tedious and unoriginal". His ''sirventes'' by the name of is an attack on false clerics. But only in the ''canso'' ''Atressi fay gran foldat qui ab sen'' does Bertran betray real emotion.

Drawing Drawing is a form of visual art in which an artist uses instruments to mark paper or other two-dimensional surface. Drawing instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, various kinds of paints, inked brushes, colored pencils, crayons, ...

, evidently, from a personal experience, the troubadour laments his foolishness and his lack of judgement in kissing a girl on the eyes who had fallen asleep before the altar in a church. He offers apology to the girl and God. Besides his ''cansos'' and ''sirventes'', Bertran left behind one ''

planh A genre of the troubadours, the or (; "lament") is a funeral lament for "a great personage, a protector, a friend or relative, or a lady."Elisabeth Schulze-Busacker, "Topoi", in F. R. P. Akehurst and Judith M. Davis, eds., ''A Handbook of the T ...

'' and two artificial ''

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'', one with a fictional

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

and another with his own heart.

Sources

*Gaunt, Simon, and Kay, Sarah. "Appendix I: Major Troubadours" (pp. 279–291). ''The Troubadours: An Introduction''. Simon Gaunt and Sarah Kay, edd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. . * Riquer, Martín de. ''Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos''. 3 vol. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975. *Jeanroy, Alfred (Ed.). ''Les coblas de Bertran Carbonel publiées d'après tous les manuscrits connus'' Annales du Midi 25 (1913), 137-88 *Contini, G. (Ed.). ''Sept poésies lyriques du troubadour Bertran Carbonel de Marseille'' Annales du Midi 49 (1937), 5-41, 113-152, et 225-240

External links

Complete Works
{{authority control Troubadours from Marseille 13th-century French troubadours