Joan d'Aubusson or d'Albusson ( fl. 1229), known as Johan or Johanet to

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

contemporaries (''Giovanni'' in

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

), was an

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

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 ...

Gérard Gonfroy, ''Les troubadours limousins'', La Geste,

La Crèche La Crèche () is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Population People from La Crèche * Jean-Baptiste Baujault, French sculptor See also *Communes of the Deux-Sèvres department The ...

, 2022. and a

Ghibelline The Guelphs and Ghibellines (, , ; it, guelfi e ghibellini ) were factions supporting the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, respectively, in the Italian city-states of Central Italy and Northern Italy. During the 12th and 13th centuries, rival ...

. Only three of his works survive: two ''

tenso A ''tenso'' (; french: tençon) is a style of troubadour song. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position; common topics relate to love or ethics. Usually, the tenso is written by two different poets, but several examples ...

s'' and a ''

cobla The cobla (, plural ''cobles'') is a traditional music ensemble of Catalonia, and in Northern Catalonia in France. It is generally used to accompany the Sardana, a traditional Catalan folk dance, danced in a circle. Structure The modern Cobla no ...

''. Joan was often present at the court of the

viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

Peter of Aubusson and his wife Margaret. He also stayed at the court of

Blacatz Blacatz, known in French genealogy as Blacas de Blacas III (1165–1237), was the feudal lord of Aups and a troubadour. Sordello composed a lament (''planh'') on his death, inviting the kings of his time to share and eat the heart of Blacatz an ...

sometime between 1200 and 1236. He was apparently often present 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 ...

. Joan wrote songs about Frederick and his war with the Lombard League. Along with Terrisio d'Atina, he described Frederick as the lord of the

four elements Classical elements typically refer to earth, water, air, fire, and (later) aether which were proposed to explain the nature and complexity of all matter in terms of simpler substances. Ancient cultures in Greece, Tibet, and India had simi ...

—air, earth, fire, and water—which he could thus command in his campaigns against the enemies of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. The only certain date in Joan's life is 1229, for he mentions the strengthening of the bond between

Boniface II of Montferrat Boniface II (July 1202 – 12 June 1253), called the Giant, was the eleventh Marquis of Montferrat from 1225 until his death. He became the titular King of Thessalonica in 1239. Boniface was the son of William VI of Montferrat, William VI and ...

and the emperor in that year. Joan wrote a famous ''

'' with Sordello da Goito, "Digatz mi s'es vers zo c'om brui" ("Tell me if you are truly what you proclaim"), in which he informs us that the Italian troubadour was forced to be 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 ...

at the court of

Azzo VII of Este Azzo VII d'Este, Marquis of Ferrara (also known as ''Novello''; 1205 – 16 February 1264) was marquis of Ferrara from 1215 to 1222, and again from 1240 until his death. The son of Azzo VI d'Este and a noblewoman from the Aldobrandeschi family, ...

before becoming a troubadour 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 ...

. Besides his ''tenso'' with Sordello, Joan also composed a ''tenso'' with another Italian troubadour,

Nicoletto da Torino Nicoletto da Torino ( Occitan: Nic(c)olet de Turin or Nicolez de Turrin) was a Piedmontese jongleur and troubadour of the first half of the thirteenth century, probably from Turin, though some believe that to be his father's name. He produced thr ...

Notes

Sources

*Bertoni, Giulio. ''I Trovatori d'Italia: Biografie, testi, tradizioni, note''. Rome: Somu, 1967

915 Year 915 ( CMXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays s ...

*Lewis, Frank R
"Peter of Aubusson"
in Notes and Documents. ''

The English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, and wo ...

'', Vol. 55, No. 219. (Jul., 1940), pp. 419–423. *Musca, Giosuè. ''Il mezzogiorno normanno-svevo e le crociate''. Bari: Edizioni Dedalo, 2002. . *Paterson, Linda
"Joan d'Albuzon – Nicolet de Turin: ''En Nicolet, d'un sognie qu'ieu sognava'' (BdT 265.2 = 310.1)."
''Lecturae tropatorum'', 1 (2008), pp. 1–18.

presented by

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, prof ...

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joan Daubusson 13th-century French troubadours People from Limousin Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown