The Confrérie des jongleurs et bourgeois d'Arras was a fraternity of ''

jongleur A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

s'' founded in Arras,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

in or around 1175. As its name implies, it was intended for ''jongleurs'' (not just

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 ...

s) and the bourgeoisie, not just the

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 ...

ly class. It also did not hold poetic contests. In these ways it was distinct from the

Puy d'Arras The Puy d'Arras, called in its own day the Puy Notre-Dame, was a medieval poetical society formed in Arras for holding contests between trouvères and ''pour maintenir amour et joie'' (for maintaining love and joy, i.e. the courtly love lyric). ...

Description

The foundation of the Confrérie is enshrined in legend, according to which two debating ''jongleurs'', unable to settle their differences, were approached by the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, who sent them to Arras, which was under the curse of the

plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pe ...

. There they were to adjudicate their dispute before the

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

in the cathedral of Notre-Dame. Once there, the Virgin again appeared and handed them a candle, the ''sainte chandelle'' of tradition, the melted wax from which, mingled with water, was found to heal the wounds of those afflicted with the plague, 144 that first night. In gratitude and out of praise, the ''jongleurs'' founded a ''confrérie'' to safeguard the candle and celebrate the religious feasts. Shortly thereafter, and quite historically, a tower was built to house the candle, which generated a sizeable profit from pilgrims. The Confrérie was, at the beginning, a lay religious institute. Its statutes provided for

last rites The last rites, also known as the Commendation of the Dying, are the last prayers and ministrations given to an individual of Christian faith, when possible, shortly before death. They may be administered to those awaiting execution, mortall ...

, funeral services for deceased members, and a common supply of food for poorer members. Open to both men and women, it functioned through membership fees and annual dues. Members had also to swear an oath, after which they could participate in the election of the head ''confrére'' and his officers, who monitored members' activities to ensure compliance with the statutes. The most important document for the history of the Confrérie is the

necrology An obituary (obit for short) is an article about a recently deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on positive aspects of the subject's life, this is not always the case. Acc ...

that records the deaths of members from 1194 to 1361.

Adam de la Halle Adam de la Halle (1245–50 – 1285–8/after 1306) was a French poet-composer '' trouvère''. Among the few medieval composers to write both monophonic and polyphonic music, in this respect he has been considered both a conservative and progr ...

and Jehan Erart were members.

References

*O'Neill, Mary (2006). ''Courtly Love Songs of Medieval France: Transmission and Style in the Trouvère Repertoire''. Oxford: Oxford University Press. *Slocum, Kay Brainerd (1995). "''Confrerie'', ''Bruderschaft'' and Guild: The Formation of Musicians' Fraternal Organisations in Thirteenth- and Fourteenth-Century Europe." ''Early Music History'', 14:257–74. {{DEFAULTSORT:Confrerie des jongleurs et bourgeois d'Arras Music organizations based in France Guilds in France Confraternities Religious (Catholicism)