Gillebert (Guillebert) de Berneville (''

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

'' 1250–70) was a French

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- ...

. According to Theodore Karp, in its time, "his poetry was much appreciated", but it is " ither original nor profound," rather he was and is admired more for "facility, grace and mastery of form". Fresco lists 35 songs by Gillebert, of which five are unica (found in a single manuscript) and some are copied in up to seven sources. Gillebert worked within the circle of poets at

Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...

, which is close to his home town of

Berneville Berneville is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography A farming village located 5 miles (8 km) southwest of Arras at the junction of the D62 and D67 roads. It is geographically locate ...

, and had contact with the most prominent men of the region. He composed '' jeux-partis'' with

Henry III, Duke of Brabant Henry III of Brabant ( 1230 – February 28, 1261, Leuven) was Duke of Brabant between 1248 and his death. He was the son of Henry II of Brabant and Marie of Hohenstaufen. He was also a trouvère. The disputed territory of Lothier, the forme ...

, and

Thomas Herier Thomas Herier, Erier, Erriers, or Erars ('' fl.'' 1240–1270) was a Picard trouvère associated with the "Arras school". Herier is not mentioned in contemporary documents and all that is known about him is derived from his works. He composed ...

. He also entered into competitions under the judgement of

Charles of Anjou 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) i ...

Raoul de Soissons Raoul de Soissons (1210x15 – 1270, or shortly thereafter) was a French nobleman, Crusader, and trouvère. He was the second son of Raoul le Bon, Count of Soissons, and became the Sire de Coeuvres in 1232. Raoul participated in three Crusad ...

, the Châtelain de Beaumetz, Hue d'Arras and perhaps

Beatrice Beatrice may refer to: * Beatrice (given name) Places In the United States * Beatrice, Alabama, a town * Beatrice, Humboldt County, California, a locality * Beatrice, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Beatrice, Indiana, an unincorporated ...

, sister of Henry III and widow of

William II, Count of Flanders William III (1224 – 6 June 1251) was the lord of Dampierre from 1231 and count of Flanders from 1247 until his death. He was the son of William II of Dampierre and Margaret II of Flanders. Margaret inherited Flanders and Hainault in 124 ...

. Gillebert dedicated ''

chansons A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic so ...

'' to Charles of Anjou, Huitace de Fontaines, Béatrice d'Audenarde and

Colart le Boutellier Colart le Boutellier (''Floruit, fl.'' 1240–60) was a well-connected trouvère from Arras. There are no references to him independent of his own and others' songs, found in the chansonniers. One of these depicts the known coat-of-arms used by the ...

. His ''chanson'' "Je n'ëusse ja chanté" was "crowned" (''couronnée'') by 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). ...

'', and ten later poems are modeled on works ascribed to him. Roussiaus le Taillier sought to flatter him in his ''Arras est escole de tous biens entendre''. Fresco dates the poems to the third quarter of the thirteenth century. Gillebert appears in the necrology of the jongleurs and bourgeois of Arras as being celebrated in a mass at Pentecost 1270, so he must have died between this commemorative mass and the previous one (i.e. some time between 2 Feb and 1 June 1270).Fresco, ed. ''Gillebert de Berneville: Les Poésies'', 45. A performance of the ''jeu parti'' between Gillebert and Henry III of Braban
can be found here

Notes

Sources

Theodore Karp Theodore Cyrus Karp (17 July 1926 – 5 November 2015) was an American musicologist. His principal area of study was Secular music, mainly mediaeval monophony, especially the music of the trouvères. He was a major contributor in this area to th ...

"Gillebert de Berneville"
''Grove Music Online''. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press, accessed 5 April 2013.

Editions

*Karen Fresco, ed. (1988) ''Gillebert de Berneville: Les Poésies''. Geneva: Droz. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillebert de Berneville Trouvères People from Pas-de-Calais Male classical composers