Guillem AugierHis surname is variously spelled Ogier or Ozier, and on ''
chansonnier
A chansonnier ( ca, cançoner, oc, cançonièr, Galician and pt, cancioneiro, it, canzoniere or ''canzoniéro'', es, cancionero) is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings o ...
'' names him ''Guillem Mogier de Bezers'', making him from
Béziers
Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...
. Novella was a
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
Vienne
Vienne (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Viéne'') is a landlocked department in the French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It takes its name from the river Vienne. It had a population of 438,435 in 2019.Dauphinois who lived most of his adulthood in
Lombardy
Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...
and was active as a minstrel in the early or mid thirteenth century.Graham-Leigh, 30 and n118. According to his late thirteenth-century ''
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 ...
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 the manner 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, in which he praised some and blamed others."
Augier spent his early career at the court of the
Emperor Frederick II
Frederick II (German: ''Friedrich''; Italian: ''Federico''; Latin: ''Federicus''; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusa ...
, and was there associated with such figures as
Guilhem Figueira
Guillem or Guilhem Figueira or Figera was a Languedocian jongleur and troubadour from Toulouse active at the court of the Emperor Frederick II in the 1230s.Graham-Leigh, 30. He was a close associate of both Aimery de Pégulhan and Guillem Augier ...
and Aimery de Pégulhan, until 1230. Among Augier's most famous works is his ''sirventes'' (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 ...
'' or lament) now entitled ''A People Grieving for the Death of their Lord'', which commemorates either the murder of
Raymond I Trencavel Raymond I Trencavel (also Raimond) (died 1167) was the Viscount of Agde and Béziers from 1130 and Viscount of Albi, Carcassonne, and Razès from 1150. He was a member of the Trencavel family, ruling the lands of the elder branch.
He was the ...
in 1167 or, as is more preferred, of
Raymond Roger Trencavel
Raymond Roger Trencavel (also Raimond, oc, Raimon Rogièr; 1185 – 10 November 1209) was a member of the noble Trencavel family. He was viscount of Béziers and Albi (and thus a vassal of the count of Toulouse), and viscount of Carcassonn ...
in 1209.Graham-Leigh, 31.Siberry, 160, who believes that Augier blames the Crusaders for the murder. It has been described as a "funeral oration", but its contemporaneousness with the death of Raymond Roger has been called into question recently. It was probably written at a much later date. The chief purpose of the ''sirventes'' may be to mourn the lost culture of
Languedoc
The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France.
Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...
before the
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...
and the "lord" of the story is probably a stereotype meant to represent that culture.Graham-Leigh, 32. It can therefore be viewed as representative of a genre of anti-Crusading verse prevalent in the ''trovatore'' traditions of Italy at the time. On the other hand, it is said to convey a "sense of personal loss" and not "opposition to the expedition".
References
*Graham-Leigh, Elaine. ''The Southern French Nobility and the Albigensian Crusade''. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005. .
*Siberry, Elizabeth. ''Criticism of Crusading, 1095–1274''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1985. .