Peire Raimon de Tolosa (or Toloza; fl. 1180–1220)Aubrey, 17. 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 ...

from the

merchant class The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...

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 is variously referred to as ''lo Viellz'' ("the Old") and ''lo Gros'' ("the Fat"), though these are thought by some to refer to two different persons. On the other hand, ''lo Viellz'' could refer to his being of an early generation of troubadours.Egan, 77. Eighteen of Peire Ramon's poems survive, one ''

canso The Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation (CANSO) is a representative body of companies that provide air traffic control. It represents the interests of Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). CANSO members are responsible for supporting ov ...

'' with a melody. Peire Ramon's name (as ''Petrus Raimundus'') appears in two documents of Toulouse, dated to 1182 and 1214. According to his ''

vida Vida means “life” in Spanish and Portuguese. It may refer to: Geography * Vida (Gradačac), village in Bosnia and Herzegovina * Lake Vida, Victoria Valley, Antarctica * U.S. settled places: ** Vida, Montana ** Vida, Oregon ** Vida, Missour ...

'', he became a jongleur and travelled to the court of

Alfonso II of Aragon Alfonso II (1–25 March 1157Benito Vicente de Cuéllar (1995)«Los "condes-reyes" de Barcelona y la "adquisición" del reino de Aragón por la dinastía bellónida» p. 630-631; in ''Hidalguía''. XLIII (252) pp. 619–632."Alfonso II el Casto, hi ...

, who bestowed great honour on him. The earliest datable work by Peire Ramon is a ''

planh A genre of the troubadours, the or (; "lament") is a funeral lament for "a great personage, a protector, a friend or relative, or a lady."Elisabeth Schulze-Busacker, "Topoi", in F. R. P. Akehurst and Judith M. Davis, eds., ''A Handbook of the T ...

'' written on the death of

Henry the Young King Henry the Young King (28 February 1155 – 11 June 1183) was the eldest son of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine to survive childhood. Beginning in 1170, he was titular King of England, Duke of Normandy, Count of Anjou and Mai ...

in 1183. According to his ''vida'' Peire passed "a long time" at the courts of Alfonso,

William VIII of Montpellier William VIII (in Occitan: Guilhem; died 1202) was Lord of Montpellier, the son of William VII and Matilda of Burgundy (1135?-1173?). William VIII married Eudokia Komnene, grand-niece of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos. They had one dau ...

, and a certain "Count Raymond", which could refer to either

Raymond V of Toulouse Raymond V ( oc, Ramon; c. 1134 – c. 1194) was Count of Toulouse from 1148 until his death in 1194. He was the son of Alphonse I of Toulouse and Faydida of Provence. Alphonse took his son with him on the Second Crusade in 1147. When Alpho ...

or, more probably,

Raymond VI Raymond VI ( oc, Ramon; October 27, 1156 – August 2, 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190. Early life Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, ...

. He also spent time in Italy (

Lombardy Lombardy ( it, Lombardia, Lombard language, Lombard: ''Lombardia'' or ''Lumbardia' '') is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in the northern-central part of the country and has a population of about 10 ...

and

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

), at the courts of

Thomas I of Savoy Thomas Ι (''Tommaso I''; c. 1178 – 1 March 1233) was Count of Savoy from 1189 to 1233. He is sometimes numbered "Thomas I" to distinguish him from his son of the same name. His long reign marked a decisive period in the history of Savoy. Bi ...

, Guglielmo Malaspina, and

Azzo VI of Este Azzo VI (1170 – November 1212), also known as Azzolino, was an Italian nobleman and condottiero. He held the title of Marquis of Este (''marchio Eystensis'') from the death of his father, Azzo V (1190) until his death. Biography He was heavi ...

. Azzo's daughter Beatriz was the addressee of one of Peire's poems. Eventually Peire settled down with a wife in

Pamiers Pamiers (; oc, Pàmias ) is a commune and largest city in the Ariège department in the Occitanie region in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the most populous commune in the Ariège department, although it ...

and there he died. Peire was reputed as a singer and composer of ''cansos''. His work is characterised by themes of nature. His style was

hermetic Hermetic or related forms may refer to: * of or related to the ancient Greek Olympian god Hermes * of or related to Hermes Trismegistus, a legendary Hellenistic figure based on the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth ** , the ancient and m ...

. He imitated the troubadours

Cadenet Cadenet () is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Cadenétiens'' in French. Geography Cadenet is a village located on the southern slopes of the Lube ...

and

Arnaut Daniel Arnaut Daniel (; fl. 1180–1200) was an Occitan troubadour of the 12th century, praised by Dante as "the best smith" (''miglior fabbro'') and called a "grand master of love" (''gran maestro d'amore'') by Petrarch. In the 20th century he was lau ...

and was in turn imitated by

Bertran de Born Bertran de Born (; 1140s – by 1215) was a baron from the Limousin in France, and one of the major Occitan troubadours of the 12th-13th century. He composed love songs (cansos) but was better known for his political songs (sirventes). He wa ...

, especially as regards his use of natural imagery. Bertran went so far as to copy almost a whole stanza from Peire's "No.m puesc sofrir d'una leu chanso faire." In "Us noels pessamens", Peire even anticipates the Tuscan poet

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

. Peire is complaining about a mistress who first beckoned him and then broke her promise to him when he says:

:''Que qui non a vezat aver'' :''gran be, plus leu pot sostener'' :''afan que tal es rics e bos;'' :''que.l maltrag l'es plus angoyssos,'' :''quan li soven benanansa''.

Peire's sole surviving melody is florid like Cadenet's. His style employs an uncommonly high number of large intervals, including

tritone In music theory, the tritone is defined as a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones (six semitones). For instance, the interval from F up to the B above it (in short, F–B) is a tritone as it can be decomposed into the three a ...

s. The poem with the melody is built on an innovative metaphor:

:''Atressi cum la candela'' :''que si meteissa destrui'' :''per far clartat ad autrui,'' :''chant, on plus trac gren martire,'' :''per plazer de l'autra gen''.Gouiran, 88: "Like the candle which destroys itself in order to give light to others, I sing, at the worst of my torture, for the pleasure of others."

Notes

Sources

* Anglade, Joseph.br>''Poésies du troubadour Peire Raimon de Toulouse''.
1920. *Aubrey, Elizabeth. ''The Music of the Troubadours''. Indiana University Press, 1996. . *Egan, Margarita, ed. and trans. ''The Vidas of the Troubadours''. New York: Garland, 1984. . *Gouiran, Gérard. "The Classical Period: from Raimbaut d'Aurenga to Arnaut Daniel." ''The Troubadours: An Introduction''. Simon Gaunt and Sarah Kay, edd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. . *Kastner, L. E
"Notes on the Poems of Bertran de Born."
''The Modern Language Review'', 31:1 (Jan., 1936), pp. 20–33. *Lewent, Kurt
"Old Provençal Miscellany: 1. Troubadours as Precursors of Dante."
''The Modern Language Review'', 38:2 (Apr., 1943), pp. 106–116.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Peire Raimon De Tolosa Musicians from Toulouse 13th-century French troubadours 12th-century French troubadours 12th-century births 13th-century deaths Writers from Toulouse