Bonifaci, Bonifatz, or Bonifacio Calvo ( fl. 1253–1266) was a Genoese

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 ''trobairi ...

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 notable Genoese troubadour after

Lanfranc Cigala Lanfranc Cigala (or Cicala) ( it, Lanfranco, oc, Lafranc; fl. 1235–1257) was a Genoese nobleman, knight, judge, and man of letters of the mid thirteenth century. He remains one of the most famous Occitan troubadours of Lombardy. Thirty-two o ...

.Egan, 16. In total, nineteen of his poems and two ''

descort The ''descort'' () was a form and genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry used by troubadours. It was heavily discordant in verse form and/or feeling and often used to express disagreement. It was possibly invented by Garin d'Apchier when he wrote ''Qua ...

s'' have survived.Keller, 145. Bonifaci is known to have spent most of his career at the court of

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...

, where the prevailing language was

Galician-Portuguese Galician-Portuguese ( gl, galego-portugués or ', pt, galego-português or ), also known as Old Portuguese or as Medieval Galician when referring to the history of each modern language, was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle ...

.Cabré, 128. He wrote primarily in

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

, concentrating on ''

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 imitation of Bertran de Born, but he did take up the court language and wrote two '' cantigas de amor'' and a multilingual poem. He wrote one ''sirventes'' encouraging Alfonso to go to war with

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

over Gascony, an event which provides a reliable date for the work's composition (1253–1254). Outside of ''sirventes'', he composed

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 the style of

Arnaut Daniel Arnaut Daniel (; fl. 1180–1200) was an Occitan troubadour of the 12th century, praised by Dante as "the best smith" (''miglior fabbro'') and called a "grand master of love" (''gran maestro d'amore'') by Petrarch. In the 20th century he was la ...

, but his most lauded work is a ''

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 ...

'' on the death of his lady. The notion that Bonifaci had been knighted by

Ferdinand III of Castile Ferdinand III ( es, Fernando, link=no; 1199/120130 May 1252), called the Saint (''el Santo''), was King of Castile from 1217 and King of León from 1230 as well as King of Galicia from 1231. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguel ...

and fell in love with Ferdinand's niece Berenguela, which inspired him to compose in Galician-Portuguese, is legendary, being based on an unreliable passage of

Jean de Nostredame Jean de Nostredame (1522–1576/7) was a Provençal historian and writer. He was the younger brother of Michel de Nostredame. He was baptised at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence on 19 February 1522. He followed the footsteps of his father, Jaume de Nos ...

.Lang, 105 n24. In 1266 Bonifaci returned to Lombardy. He continued composing in Occitan, producing two ''descorts'' with Scotto and Luquet Gattulus. During a war between

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

and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

, Bonifaci composed a ''sirventes'', "Ges no m'es greu, s'ieu non sui ren prezatz" (It matters little to me if I am not esteemed), in which he blamed the Genoese for allowing themselves to be defeated the Venetians and insulting the latter. In response, Bertolome Zorzi, a Venetian prisoner of war, wrote "Molt me sui fort d'un chant mer eillatz" (I was very much surprised by a song), defending his country's conduct and blaming Genoa for the war. According to Bertolome's ''vida'', Bonifaci was convinced by Bertolome's poem and the two became friends. They composed many ''

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'' together.Egan, 15.

Notes

Sources

*Cabré, Miriam. "Italian and Catalan troubadours" (pp. 127–140). ''The Troubadours: An Introduction''. Simon Gaunt and Sarah Kay, edd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. . *Egan, Margarita, ed. and trans. ''The Vidas of the Troubadours''. New York: Garland, 1984. . *Keller, Hans-Erich. "Bonifacio Calvo." ''Medieval Italy: An Encyclopedia''. Christopher Kleinhenz, ed. New Jersey: Routledge, 2004. . *Lang, H. R. "The Relations of the Earliest Portuguese Lyric School with the Troubadours and Trouvères." ''Modern Language Notes'', 10:4 (Apr:1895), pp. 104–116. {{Authority control 13th-century Italian troubadours Galician poets 13th-century Portuguese poets Portuguese male writers 13th-century Genoese people Occitan-language poets Portuguese-language writers