Peire Bremon Ricas Novas ( fl. 1230–1242) was a Provençal

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 ''trobairi ...

who left behind twenty works: thirteen ''

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 ...

'', six ''

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 ...

'', and one ''

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 ...

''. His treatment of courtly love was somewhat original. Peire's ''senhal'' or nickname, ''Ricas Novas'', means "interesting stories" (literally "rich news"). It indicates his reputation as 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 ...

'' who spread wild tales.Atkinson Jenkins (1926), p. liv. Peire's Provençal identity is clinched by his poem ''La cart cartier aurem nos autri proensal'', with its reference to "us Provençals". Peire's first datable work is a ''tenso'' written at the court of

Raymond Berengar IV of Provence Ramon Berenguer IV (french: Raimond-Bérenger; 1198 – 19 August 1245) was a member of the House of Barcelona who ruled as count of Provence and Forcalquier. He was the first count of Provence to live in the county in more than one hundred years ...

in 1230 with

Gui de Cavalhon Gui de Cavalhon, Cavaillo, or Gavaillo (fl. 1200–1229) was a Provençal nobleman: a diplomat, warrior, and man of letters. He was probably also the Guionet who composed ''tensos'' and ''partimens'' with Cadenet, Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, Mainart R ...

. At the court of Provence Peire also met Bertran d'Alamanon and

Sordello Sordello da Goito or Sordel de Goit (sometimes ''Sordell'') was a 13th-century Italian troubadour. His life and work have inspired several authors including Dante Alighieri, Robert Browning, and Samuel Beckett. Life Sordello was born in the ...

, whose ''

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 ...

'' for Blacatz he imitated. Peire left the court of Raymond Berengar sometime in or after 1237 and went to that of

Barral of Baux Barral of Baux (died 1268) was Viscount of Marseilles and Lord of Baux. He was the son of Hugh III of Baux, Viscount of Marseilles, and Barrale. Career Barral came to oppose the Albigensian Crusade, and invaded the Comtat Venaissin in 1234 in ...

and thence to that of

Raymond VII of Toulouse Raymond VII (July 1197 – 27 September 1249) was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death. Family and marriages Raymond was born at the Château de Beaucaire, the son of Raymond VI of Toulouse ...

. Though there is no record of his having visited Spain, his ''Rics pres, ferms e sobeirans'' celebrates an anonymous Castilian ''domna'' (lady). He eventually fell out with Sordello and the two had an acrimonious exchange of vitriolic ''sirventes'' in 1240–41.

Notes

Sources

*Atkinson Jenkins, T. "On Newness in the Novel", ''Periodical of the Modern Language Association'', 41, Appendix (1926), pp. xliii–lix. *Bertoni, Giulio. ''I Trovatori d'Italia: Biografie, testi, tradizioni, note''. Rome: Società Multigrafica Editrice Somu, 1967 915 *Boutière, Jean. ''La Poésies du troubadour Peire Bremon Ricas Novas''. Bibliothèque méridionale, 1ere série, 21. Toulouse and Paris: 1930. *Gaunt, Simon, and Kay, Sarah. "Appendix I: Major Troubadours" (pp. 279–291). ''The Troubadours: An Introduction''. Simon Gaunt and Sarah Kay, edd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. . * Riquer, Martín de. ''Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos''. 3 vol. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975. *Thiolier-Méjean, Suzanne. ''Une belle au bois dormant médiévale: ''Frayre de Joy et Sor de Plaser''—Nouvelle d'oc du XIV^e siècle: Text, traduction, notes et commentaires''. Centre d'Enseignement et Recherche d'Oc, VIII. Paris: Presses de l'Université de Paris-Sorbonne, 1996.

External links

Complete Works (in Provençal)
{{authority control 13th-century French troubadours Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown People from Provence