Giraut or Guiraut de Calanso or Calanson ( fl. 1202–1212)Gaunt and Kay, 286. was a Gascon

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 ...

in the

Occitan language Occitan (; oc, occitan, link=no ), also known as ''lenga d'òc'' (; french: langue d'oc) by its native speakers, and sometimes also referred to as ''Provençal'', is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Ital ...

. Of his lyric works that remain five are ''

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 ...

'', 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'', a '' congé'', 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 ...

'', and a ''vers'' (generic poem). He also wrote a mock ''

ensenhamen An ''ensenhamen'' (; meaning "instruction" or "teaching") was an Old Occitan didactic (often lyric) poem associated with the troubadours. As a genre of Occitan literature, its limits have been open to debate since it was first defined in the 19th ...

'' (didactic poem) entitled ''Fadet juglar''. Guiraut's hometown cannot be located. It may be a Calanso in Gascony or one of two locales named Chalançon, one in

Ardèche Ardèche (; oc, Ardecha; frp, Ardecha) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. It is named after the river Ardèche and had a population of 328,278 as of 2019.Drôme Drôme (; Occitan: ''Droma''; Arpitan: ''Drôma'') is the southernmost department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of Southeastern France. Named after the river Drôme, it had a population of 516,762 as of 2019.

.Egan, 41. According to 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 ...

'' he was originally a

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 ...

well-versed in letters. His ''vida'' indicates that he composed "skillful songs ''desplazens'' and ''descortz''." The meaning of ''desplazens'' is under dispute: it could refer to a type of verse expressing displeasure or be an adjective ("displeasing in tone") modifying "songs" (''cansos''). The author of the ''vida'' notes that these works were of the type ''d'aquella saison'', "of that time", and were disliked in

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

, where he was disrespected among courtly society. This may point to a Gascon literary tradition (or fad, as the case may be) distinct to that region and unpopular outside it. A clue to this tradition may be found in the ''vida'' of

Peire de Valeira Peire de Valeira, Valeria, or Valera (fl. early–mid twelfth century) was a Gascon troubadour. Since troubadour poetry probably originated in northwest Aquitaine (Poitou and Saintonge) and first spread—within a generation—south i ...

, who also wrote songs "of that time" which were "of little value".Wilson, 516. Guiraut was an often present at the courts of Castile, León, and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

. His sole ''planh'' (lament) was written on the death of

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

, the heir-apparent of

Alfonso VIII of Castile Alfonso VIII (11 November 11555 October 1214), called the Noble (''El Noble'') or the one of Las Navas (''el de las Navas''), was King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. After having suffered a great defeat with his own army at ...

, who died of illness during a campaign against the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinct or ...

. Guiraut describes him thus: Of the rest of Guiraut's corpus at least two works are conscious imitations. His lone ''vers'' is in imitation 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 lau ...

. ''Fadet juglar'' mockingly attacks a jongleur's ignorance in imitation of a similar work by

Guiraut de Cabreira Guerau III de Cabrera (died 1160/61), also called Guiraut (or Giraut) de Cabreira, was a Catalan nobleman and Occitan troubadour. He was the viscount of Àger and Cabrera from 1145. He was the son of Ponç II de Cabrera and Sancha. Guerau is to ...

. Much later, in 1280,

Guiraut Riquier Guiraut Riquier de Narbona ( 1230 in Narbonne – 1292 in Narbonne or Rodez) is among the last of the Occitan troubadours. He is well known because of his great care in writing out his works and keeping them together—the New Grove Encyclopedia c ...

, for a competition, wrote a commentary on a work of Guiraut de Calanso's for

Henry II of Rodez Henry II (Occitan: ''Enric II de Rodés'') (c. 1236–1304), of the House of Millau, was the Count of Rodez and Viscount of Carlat from 1274 until his death. He was the son of Hugh IV of Rodez and Isabeau de Roquefeuil. Henry II was a troubadour ...

.Harvey, 23. None of Guiraut de Calanso's music, if he wrote any, has survived.

Notes

Sources

*Aubrey, Elizabet
"References to Music in Old Occitan Literature."
''Acta Musicologica'', 61:2 (May–Aug., 1989), pp. 110–149. *

Chaytor, H. J. Henry John Chaytor (1871–1954), British academic, classicist and hispanist, was Master of St Catharine's College, Cambridge from 1933 to 1946. Biography After teaching at Merchant Taylors' Boys' School, Crosby, Merchant Taylors', Crosby, Chay ...

br>''The Troubadours''.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1912. *Egan, Margarita, ed. and trans. ''The Vidas of the Troubadours''. New York: Garland, 1984. . *Gaunt, Simon, and Kay, Sarah (edd.) ''The Troubadours: An Introduction''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. . *Harvey, Ruth. "Courtly culture in medieval Occitania" (pp. 8–27). ''The Troubadours: An Introduction''. Simon Gaunt and Sarah Kay, edd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. . *Wilson, Elizabeth R. "Old Provençal "vidas" as Literary Commentary." ''Romance Philology'', 33:4 (1980:May), pp. 510–518.

External links

Guiraut de Calanso: Complete Works.
at Trobar.org {{authority control Gascons 13th-century French troubadours