Perdigon or Perdigo ( fl. 1190–1220Aubrey, p. 18.) 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 Lespéron in the

Gévaudan Gévaudan (; oc, Gavaudan, Gevaudan) is a historical area of France in Lozère ''département''. It took its name from the Gabali, a Gallic tribe subordinate to the Arverni. History After the conquest of Gaul, the Romans preserved the cap ...

.Egan, p. 83. Fourteen of his works survive, including three ''

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 ...

'' with melodies.Aubrey, p. 19. He was respected and admired by contemporaries, judging by the widespread inclusion of his work in

chansonnier A chansonnier ( ca, cançoner, oc, cançonièr, Galician and pt, cancioneiro, it, canzoniere or ''canzoniéro'', es, cancionero) is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings o ...

s and in citations by other troubadours. Though his biography is made confounding by contradicting statements in 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 ...

'' and allusions in his and others' poems, Perdigon's status 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 ...

from youth and an accomplished fiddler is well-attested in contemporary works (by him and others) and manuscript illustrations depicting him with his fiddle. Perdigon travelled widely and was patronised by

Dalfi d'Alvernha Dalfi d'Alvernha (french: Dauphin d'Auvergne) was the Count of Clermont and Montferrand, a troubadour and a patron of troubadours. He was born around 1150 and died in 1234 or 1235. He is sometimes called Robert IV, but there is no solid evidence ...

, the

House of Baux The House of Baux is a French nobility, French noble family from the south of France. It was one of the richest and most powerful families of Medieval Provence, known as the 'Race d’Aiglon'. They were independent Lords as castellans of Les Baux ...

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowled ...

, and

Barral of Marseille Raymond Geoffrey, Viscount of Marseille, usually called Barral of Marseille, was the third son of Hugh Geoffrey of Marseille and his wife Cécile of Aurons. Barral of Marseille was a patron of troubadours, including Folquet of Marseille and Peire ...

. His service to the latter provides an early definite date for his career, as Barral died in 1192 and Perdigon composed a ''canso''—which survives with music—for him. According to his ''vida'', Perdigon was the son of a poor fisherman who excelled through his "wit and inventiveness" to honour and fame, was clothed and eventually armed, knighted, and granted land and rent by Dalfi d'Alvernha. After this period of his life, which is said to have lasted a long time, the manuscripts of his ''vida'' diverge. According to one version, death deprived him of his friends, male and female, and so he lost his position and entered a

Cistercian The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...

monastery, where he died. That he entered a Cistercian monastery has never been proven, but has received some support from two of his works. BnF ms

According to another version of his ''vida'', he became a strong opponent of

Catharism Catharism (; from the grc, καθαροί, katharoi, "the pure ones") was a Christian dualist or Gnostic movement between the 12th and 14th centuries which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France. Follow ...

—a sect suppressed by the Catholic Church as heretical—and supported the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...

against them. He is said to have accompanied

Guillem des Baux William I of Baux ( oc, italic=yes, Guilhèm dei Bauç, archaic ''Guillem'' or ''Guilhem dels Baus'', french: italic=yes, Guillaume des Baux or ''du Baus'', la, Guillelmus de Balcio; c. 1155 – June 1218) was the Prince of Orange from 1182 unt ...

Folquet de Marselha Folquet de Marselha, alternatively Folquet de Marseille, Foulques de Toulouse, Fulk of Toulouse (c. 1150 – 25 December 1231) came from a Genoese merchant family who lived in Marseille. He is known as a trobadour, and then as a fiercely anti- ...

, and the Abbot of Cîteaux to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

to oppose

Raymond VI of Toulouse 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, ...

after the latter's excommunication in 1208. The author of the ''vida'' blames Perdigon for "

ringing Ringing may mean: Vibrations * Ringing (signal), unwanted oscillation of a signal, leading to ringing artifacts * Vibration of a harmonic oscillator ** Bell ringing * Ringing (telephony), the sound of a telephone bell * Ringing (medicine), a ri ...

about and rrangingall these deeds."Egan, p. 84. The biographer further claims that Perdigon sang to the populace to encourage the Crusade and even boasted of humiliating

who opposed the Crusades and died at the

Battle of Muret The Battle of Muret (Occitan: Batalha de Murèth), fought on 12 September 1213 near Muret, 25 km south of Toulouse, was the last major battle of the Albigensian Crusade and one of the most notable pitched battles of the Middle Ages. Althoug ...

fighting against the Crusaders. For this reason he became despised by those in favor of Catharism, and due to the war lost all his friends who fought in it:

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...

, Guillem des Baux, and many others. In the end, the son of Dalfi d'Alvernha, abandoned him, confiscated his land, and sent him away. The biographer claims that he went to Lambert de Monteil and begged to be entered into the Cistercian monastery of "Silvabela", but the author incorrectly believes Lambert to be the son-in-law of Guillem des Baux, and the monastery Silvabela ("beautiful forest") never existed. His ''vidas'' are questionable. Among Perdigon's surviving songs is a ''

torneyamen A ''torneyamen'' (; ca, tornejament ; "tournament") or ''certamen'' was a lyric genre of the troubadours of the thirteenth century. Closely related to the ''tenso'', a debate between two poets, and the ''partimen'', a question posed by one poet ...

'' with

Raimbaut de Vaqueiras __NOTOC__ Raimbaut de Vaqueiras or Vaqueyras ( fl. 1180 – 1207) was a Provençal troubadour and, later in his life, knight. His life was spent mainly in Italian courtsAmelia E. Van Vleck, ''The Lyric Texts'' p. 33, in ''Handbook of the Trou ...

and

Ademar de Peiteus Adémar II de Poitiers, known in Old Occitan as Ademar or Aimeric de Peiteus, was the count of Valentinois and ''de facto'' ruler of Diois from 1188 or 1189 until 1230. He was the son of Count Guillaume and grandson of Count Adémar I. He married P ...

. Unusually for the period, Perdigon, along with

Aimeric de Peguilhan Aimeric or Aimery de Peguilhan, Peguillan, or Pégulhan (c. 1170 – c. 1230) was a troubadour ( fl. 1190–1221)Gaunt and Kay, 279. born in Peguilhan (near Saint-Gaudens), the son of a cloth merchant. Aimeric's first patron was Raimon ...

through-composed In music theory of musical form, through-composed music is a continuous, non- sectional, and non- repetitive piece of music. The term is typically used to describe songs, but can also apply to instrumental music. While most musical forms such as t ...

his melodies.Aubrey, p. 169.

Notes

Citations

Sources

* 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. . * Perdigó, Luisa Marina. ''The Life, Poetry, and Music of the Provençal Troubadour Perdigon : Texts, Translations, and Interpretations''. New York: Mellen Press, 2013. . {{authority control 12th-century French troubadours French Cistercians People of the Albigensian Crusade 12th-century births 13th-century deaths 13th-century French troubadours People from Ardèche