Peire Pelet (died 1303) was the '' conseigneur'' of AlèsThis town was formerly known as Alais; it was known as Alest during the Middle Ages. in the

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

. He was married to Delfina (Delphine), a sister of Henry II of Rodez. He is the ''senher d'Alest'' (the lord of Alès) referred to as a participant in the '' torneyamen'' "Senhe n'Enric, us reys un ric avar" along with his brother-in-law Henry and the

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 ...

Guiraut Riquier. Peire was descended from a Raymond Pelet who took part in the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...

. His father was Bernard Pelet, who died in September 1252, leaving his entire heritage to his eldest son, William, under the tutelage of Bernard de Barre, Guillaume de Pontils, and Jean de Bossoles. In 1253 William, with his tutors and his younger brothers, including Peire, received the

homage Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to: History *Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance *Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts *Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...

of their father's vassals: Hugues de Melet, Pierre de Spinasson, and many others, in the presence of Pierre Gaucelin, Bérenger de la Fare, Arnaud d'Arsac, and Pierre Gaucelin de Follaquier. On the death of William without heirs Peire succeeded him. He married Delfina sometime before April 1276, when her brother released a sum of money left her by their father,

Henry I Henry I may refer to: 876–1366 * Henry I the Fowler, King of Germany (876–936) * Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (died 955) * Henry I of Austria, Margrave of Austria (died 1018) * Henry I of France (1008–1060) * Henry I the Long, Margrave of the No ...

: a hundred marks of silver or 5,000 '' sols tournois''. In 1274 James I of Aragon renounced the homage and oath of fealty owed by Peire for his fief since his great-great-grandfather, Bertrand Pelet,

Count of Melgueil The County of Melgueil ( oc, Melguelh, modern Mauguio) was a fief of first the Carolingian Emperor, then the King of France, and finally (1085) the Papacy during the Middle Ages. Counts probably sat at Melgueil from the time of the Visigoths. The ...

, had rendered it to James's grandfather, Alfonso II. Peire then began a war with Bérenger Frédol, Bishop of Maguelonne, over the county of Melgueil, which at that time was held by the bishop from the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

. In 1276 the combatants were brought before the episcopal court of the

Archdiocese of Narbonne The former Catholic diocese of Narbonne existed from early Christian times until the French Revolution. It was an archdiocese, with its see at Narbonne, from the year 445, and its influence ran over much of south-western France and into Cataloni ...

. Peire lost the case and was ordered to pay 1,000 ''

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

'' in compensation. Joseph Angalde placed the aforementioned ''torneyamen'' around 1280–1, before the death of Peire, which he believed occurred in 1282; after the return of Riquier from Castile in 1279; and after the succession of Henry, who he believed was referred to as ''coms'' (count) in the ''torneyamen'', in 1274. This dating has been revised in light of Anglade's errors (Peire died in 1303 and Henry is referred to only as ''senher'', lord). Since all three debaters call on the adjudication of the '' coms d'Astarac'', probably Bernard IV, it seems probable that the ''torneyamen'' dates to 1281–4, the period during which Riquier is known to have addressed several songs to the count of Astarac.

References

Peire Pelet, senher d'Alest: Complete works.
Edited by Saverio Guida. ''Repertorio informatizzato dell’antica letteratura trobadorica e occitana'' (RIALTO). * Vaissète, Joseph; Vic, Claude de; Mège, Alexandre du. 1843
''Histoire générale de Languedoc'', vol. 6.
Toulouse: J.-B. Paya.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pelet, Peire 1303 deaths Medieval French nobility Year of birth unknown 13th-century French troubadours