Blacasset, Blacassetz, Blacssetz, or Blachessetz ( fl. 1233–1242Aubrey, 23.) 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 ...

of the noble family of the

Blacas The House of Blacas is the name of two old French houses which successively owned the Lordship of Aups with its castle in Provence (whose name is still spelled in the ancient form ''Aulps'' in their surname). Blacas d'Aulps family The first Blaca ...

, lords of Aulps, in the Empire. He was probably a son of the troubadour Blacatz, as 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 ...

'' alleges, though this has come into doubt.Egan, 23. He was also distantly related to

Charles I of Naples Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...

and

Raymond Berengar IV of Provence Ramon Berenguer IV (french: Raimond-Bérenger; 1198 – 19 August 1245) was a member of the House of Barcelona who ruled as count of Provence and Forcalquier. He was the first count of Provence to live in the county in more than one hundred years ...

. According to his ''vida'', he was like his father in merit, good deeds, and munificence, and also reputed to be a good lover. "Blacasset" is a diminutive of his father's name ( la, Blacacius). A document of 1238 (two years after his father's death) mentions three sons of the elder Blacatz, two of which were named Blacacius. Blacasset was not a professional troubadour, but, like his father, an amateur. Eleven of his works survive, three ''

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 ...

'', four ''

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 ...

'', and four ''

coblas A ''cobla esparsa'' ( literally meaning "scattered stanza") in Old Occitan is the name used for a single-stanza poem in troubadour poetry. They constitute about 15% of the troubadour output, and they are the dominant form among late (after 1220) au ...

'', including one single-stanza ''canso'' with a melody in

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

, '. This song was appended to a manuscript of the ''chansonnier du roi'' of

Theobald I of Navarre Theobald I (french: Thibaut, es, Teobaldo; 30 May 1201 – 8 July 1253), also called the Troubadour and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne (as Theobald IV) from birth and King of Navarre from 1234. He initiated the Barons' Crusade, was famous ...

in the early fourteenth-century.Aubrey, 232. This is known as troubadour manuscript W or

trouvère ''Trouvère'' (, ), sometimes spelled ''trouveur'' (, ), is the Northern French (''langue d'oïl'') form of the ''langue d'oc'' (Occitan) word ''trobador'', the precursor of the modern French word ''troubadour''. ''Trouvère'' refers to poet- ...

manuscript M. Among his other works are: *', a ''

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 ...

'' with Guilhem de Montanhagol in the ''

trobar clus ''Trobar clus'' (), or closed form, was a complex and obscure style of poetry used by troubadours for their more discerning audiences, and it was only truly appreciated by an elite few. It was developed extensively by Marcabru and Arnaut Daniel, bu ...

'' style about a lady, Guiza (Gauzeranda) de Lunel *', a ''sirventes'' he wrote for the ''conte de Proensa'' (count of Provence)Bertoni, 128. Found in the chansonnier of Bernart Amoros. *' *'

Sources

*Aubrey, Elizabeth. ''The Music of the Troubadours''. Indiana University Press, 1996. . *Bertoni, G. "Il complemento del conzoniere provenzale di Bernart Amoros." ''Giornale storico della letteratura italiana'', 34 (1899) pp. 118–140. *Egan, Margarita, ed. and trans. ''The Vidas of the Troubadours''. New York: Garland, 1984. .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blacasset 1242 deaths 13th-century French troubadours Year of birth unknown People from Var (department)