Jacques Bretel or Jacques Bretex (dates of birth and death unknown) was a

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...

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- ...

'', best known for having written ''

le Tournoi de Chauvency The Tournament of Chauvency was held in 1285 to bring together the greatest knights of France and Germany for six days of jousting and other activities, a social event of primary importance at the end of the thirteenth century. Dedicated to Henry ...

''. His only known work, signed and dated in 1285, ''le Tournoi de Chauvency'' is a long poem of about 4,500 verses recounting the events of a

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

held during six days of feasting given by

Louis V, Count of Chiny Louis V (1235–1299), Count of Chiny from 1268–1299, the youngest son of Arnold IV, Count of Looz and Chiny, and Jeanne, Countess of Chiny. He became Count of Chiny in 1268 when his parents entrusted him with the county before their death. In ...

, in October 1285 at

Chauvency-le-Château Chauvency-le-Château () is a Communes of France, commune in the Meuse (department), Meuse Departments of France, department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The took place in 1285. The story of the tournament has been told by trouvère ...

. It is without doubt a masterpiece of French Middle Ages literature and, in any case, one of the best digests of courtly art of the period. His origin is unknown, but ''Tournoi de Chauvency'' is written in

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

combined with words in the western

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gr ...

dialect. ''Le Tournoi de Chauvency'' is kept in a manuscript (reference: Douce 308) at the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

Sources

* Jacques Bretel, ''Le Tournoi de Chauvency, 1285'' (manuscripts: Mons MS 330-215 and Oxford MS Douce 308) * Maurice Delbouille, ''Le Tournoi de Chauvency'' * Dominique Henriot-Walzer, ''Dictionnaire du Tournoi de Chauvency, 1285''

External links

Translation into modern French of ''Tournoi de Chauvency, 1285'' by Jacques Bretel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bretel, Jacques Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown 13th-century French poets Trouvères French male poets Male classical composers