Joan de Castellnou (;
fl. 1341–1355) 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 ...
of the
Consistori del Gay Saber
The Consistori del Gay Saber (; "Consistory of the Gay Science") was a poetic academy founded at Toulouse in 1323 to revive and perpetuate the lyric poetry of the troubadours.
Also known as the Acadèmia dels Jòcs Florals or Académie des Jeux ...
active in
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...
. He left behind five or six ''
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 ...
'', three ''
vers'', a ''
dansa
A ''dansa'' (), also spelt ''dança'', was an Old Occitan form of lyric poetry developed in the late thirteenth century among the troubadours. It is related to the English term "dance" and was often accompanied by dancing. A closely related form, t ...
'', a ''
conselh'', and a ''
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 ...
''. His most famous works are
non-lyric, however: a
grammar
In linguistics, the grammar of a natural language is its set of structure, structural constraints on speakers' or writers' composition of clause (linguistics), clauses, phrases, and words. The term can also refer to the study of such constraint ...
(''compendi'') called ''Las flors del gay saber, estier dichas las Leys d'amors'' and a
glossary
A glossary (from grc, γλῶσσα, ''glossa''; language, speech, wording) also known as a vocabulary or clavis, is an alphabetical list of Term (language), terms in a particular domain of knowledge with the definitions for those terms. Tradi ...
(''glosari'') on the ''Doctrinal'' (1324) of his predecessor,
Raimon de Cornet
Raimon de Cornet (, also spelled ''Ramon de Cornet''; floruit, fl. 1324–1340) was a fourteenth-century Toulousain priest, friar, Philologist, grammarian, poet, and troubadour. He was a prolific author of verse; more than forty of his poems su ...
.
Joan's ''Glosari'', usually dated to 1341, is a critical analysis of the ''Doctrinal'', not a complete grammar in and of itself. It is dedicated to
Peter, Count of Ribagorza Peter of Aragon ( ca, Pere d'Aragó, es, Pedro de Aragón; 1305 – 4 November 1381) was an ''infante'' (royal prince) of the Crown of Aragon who served three successive kings as a soldier, diplomat and counsellor before joining the Franciscans in ...
. His ''Leys'', however, is the latest and largest medieval
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 ...
grammatical treatise written with intention of preserving the literary form of the language. It is highly systematic and highly prescriptive. Its double title indicates the close relationship in the medieval lyrical tradition between the science of poetry (''gay saber'') and the art of love (''amors''). The dating of the ''Leys'' is less certain, Boase puts it between 1328 and 1337, while
Jeanroy places it later, in 1355. It was probably commissioned by the Consistori to be a compendium of grammatical knowledge for a wide audience and to "unveil" the secret art of poetry. Its author—who goes unnamed, but is usually identified with Joan today—also seeks to restrain lovers from dishonest love. A parallel has been noticed between the ''Leys'' and the prologue of the ''Libro de Buen Amor'' of
Juan Ruiz
Juan Ruiz (), known as the Archpriest of Hita (''Arcipreste de Hita''), was a medieval Castilian poet. He is best known for his ribald, earthy poem, ''Libro de buen amor'' ('' The Book of Good Love'').
Biography
Origins
He was born in Alcal ...
.
[Boase, 53 n8.]
Notes
Sources
*Boase, Roger (1977). ''The Origin and Meaning of Courtly Love: A Critical Study of European Scholarship''. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
.
*
*Grinina, Yelena
"Algunas tendencias de la descripción de la gramática en los primeros tratados provenzales y catalanes."Instituto Estatal de Relaciones Internacionales de Moscú.
*
Jeanroy, Alfred (1934). ''La poésie lyrique des troubadours''. Toulouse: Privat.
*Martí, Sadurní. "Joan de Castellnou revisité: notes biographiques". ''Revue des langues romanes'', 121.2, 2017, 623-659.
External links
Incipitario di Joan de Castellnou
{{authority control
14th-century French troubadours
Year of death unknown
Year of birth unknown
Writers from Toulouse
Medieval linguists
Linguists from France
Musicians from Toulouse