Jehan Erart (or Erars) (''c''.1200/10–1258/9) was a

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 ...

from Arras, particularly noted for his favouring the ''

pastourelle The pastourelle (; also ''pastorelle'', ''pastorella'', or ''pastorita'' is a typically Old French lyric form concerning the romance of a shepherdess. In most of the early pastourelles, the poet knight meets a shepherdess who bests him in a batt ...

'' genre. He has left behind eleven ''pastourelles'', ten ''

grand chant The ''grand chant'' (''courtois'') or, in modern French, (''grande'') ''chanson courtoise'' or ''chanson d'amour'', was a genre of Old French lyric poetry devised by the trouvères. It was adopted from the Occitan '' canso'' of the troubadours, b ...

s'', and one '' serventois''. Erart's presence at Arras can be deduced from his own writings.Theodore Karp
"Erart, Jehan."
''Grove Music Online''. ''Oxford Music Online'' (Accessed 13 August 2008), contains a short biographical sketch, plus a discussion of the transmission and style of his work, and a good bibliography. He was patronised by the wealthy middle and upper classes. In his ''serventois'', a ''complainte'' on the death his patron Gherart Aniel, he asked Pierre and Wagon Wion to help him obtain the patronage of the bankers Henri and Robert Crespin. His relationship with two Arras trouvères is apparent in his lyrics,

Guillaume le Vinier Guillaume le Vinier (''c''. 1190–1245) was a cleric and trouvère, one of the most prolific composers in the genre.Theodore Karp, "Le Vinier, Guillaume", ''Grove Music Online'', ''Oxford Music Online'' (accessed 20 September 2008). He has left c ...

and Jehan Bretel. He is also mentioned in a work of Guibert Kaukesel, a canon of Arras. The chief characteristic of Erart's poetry is his preference for short lines, mostly

penta- Numeral or number prefixes are prefixes derived from numerals or occasionally other numbers. In English and many other languages, they are used to coin numerous series of words. For example: * unicycle, bicycle, tricycle (1-cycle, 2-cycle, 3-cy ...

hexa- Numeral or number prefixes are prefixes derived from numerals or occasionally other numbers. In English and many other languages, they are used to coin numerous series of words. For example: * unicycle, bicycle, tricycle (1-cycle, 2-cycle, 3-cyc ...

hepta- Numeral or number prefixes are prefixes derived from Numeral (linguistics), numerals or occasionally other numbers. In English and many other languages, they are used to coin numerous series of words. For example: * unicycle, bicycle, tricycle (1 ...

, and octosyllabic, as opposed to the traditional

decasyllable Decasyllable (Italian: ''decasillabo'', French: ''décasyllabe'', Serbian: ''десетерац'', ''deseterac'') is a poetic meter of ten syllables used in poetic traditions of syllabic verse. In languages with a stress accent (accentual ...

, which does occur in his ''chansons'' "Pré ne vergier ne boscaige foillu" and "Encoire sui cil ki a merchi s'atent" and his ''serventois'' "Nus chanters".For a more detailed description of his metres, see Mary O'Neill (2006), ''Courtly Love Songs of Medieval France: Transmission and Style in the Trouvère Repertoire'' (Oxford: Oxford University Press), 134–5, with notes 8–12. Musically, Erart is

syllabic Syllabic may refer to: *Syllable, a unit of speech sound, considered the building block of words **Syllabic consonant, a consonant that forms the nucleus of a syllable *Syllabary, writing system using symbols for syllables *Abugida, writing system ...

, with a preference for major modes and refrains. His ''chansons'' are composed mainly in

isometre In music, homorhythm (also homometer) is a texture having a "similarity of rhythm in all parts"Griffiths, Paul (2005). ''The Penguin Companion to Classical Music'', p.375. . or "very similar rhythm" as would be used in simple hymn or chorale set ...

, but his ''pastourelles'' are predominantly heterometric. His music is conservative and rarely exceeds a ninth in range. There are two death notices for Erart in 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 ...

of the

Confrérie des jongleurs et bourgeois d'Arras The Confrérie des jongleurs et bourgeois d'Arras was a fraternity of ''jongleurs'' founded in Arras, France in or around 1175. As its name implies, it was intended for ''jongleurs'' (not just trouvères) and the bourgeoisie, not just the knightl ...

. One records a Jehans Erardi dying in 1258 while another records Jehan Erart dying in 1259. It is possible, when considering that his works are preserved in two different sections of the '' Chansonnier du Roi'', that there were two Jehan Erarts, but this is not likely. Three songs attributed to Jehan Erart in one manuscript probably belong to Raoul de Beauvais.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erart, Jehan Trouvères 1259 deaths Year of birth uncertain Male classical composers