__NOTOC__ Raimbaut de Vaqueiras or Vaqueyras (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1180 – 1207) 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 '' trobair ...

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 Troubadours'' (1995), edited by F. R. P. Akehurst and Judith M. Davis. until 1203, when he joined the

Fourth Crusade The Fourth Crusade (1202–1204) was a Latin Christian armed expedition called by Pope Innocent III. The stated intent of the expedition was to recapture the Muslim-controlled city of Jerusalem, by first defeating the powerful Egyptian Ayyubid S ...

. His writings, particularly the so-called ''Epic Letter'', form an important commentary on the politics of the

Latin Empire The Latin Empire, also referred to as the Latin Empire of Constantinople, was a feudal Crusader state founded by the leaders of the Fourth Crusade on lands captured from the Byzantine Empire. The Latin Empire was intended to replace the Byza ...

in its earliest years. Vaqueiras's works include a multilingual poem, ''Eras quan vey verdeyar'' where he used

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Italian,

Galician-Portuguese Galician-Portuguese ( gl, galego-portugués or ', pt, galego-português or ), also known as Old Portuguese or as Medieval Galician when referring to the history of each modern language, was a West Iberian Romance language spoken in the Middle ...

and Gascon, together with his own Provençal. Vaqueiras was from

Vacqueyras Vacqueyras (; ) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France. Vacqueyras is also the name of an Appellation for a wine from the Côtes du Rhône. Geography Access Departmental R ...

, near Orange. He spent most of his career as court poet and close friend of

Boniface I of Montferrat Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant foundations o ...

, with whom he served in battle against the communes of

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a '' comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deeme ...

and

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandri ...

. Vaqueiras claimed he earned a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

hood through protecting Boniface with his shield in battle at

Messina Messina (, also , ) is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in t ...

, when they took part in Emperor Henry VI's invasion of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. He was present at the siege and capture of

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

in 1204, and then accompanied Boniface to

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

. It is generally presumed that Raimbaut died on 4 September 1207, together with Boniface, in an ambush by the

Vlach "Vlach" ( or ), also "Wallachian" (and many other variants), is a historical term and exonym used from the Middle Ages until the Modern Era to designate mainly Romanians but also Aromanians, Megleno-Romanians, Istro-Romanians and other Easter ...

. The only critical edition of Vaqueiras attributes 33 extant songs to him; only eight of the associate melodies have survived. He used a wide range of styles, including a ''

descort The ''descort'' () was a form and genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry used by troubadours. It was heavily discordant in verse form and/or feeling and often used to express disagreement. It was possibly invented by Garin d'Apchier when he wrote ''Qua ...

'', several '' cansos'' and ''

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 ...

s'', an ''

alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...

'' and a '' gap''; he, with

Perdigon Perdigon or Perdigo (fl. 1190–1220Aubrey, p. 18.) was a troubadour from Lespéron in the Gévaudan.Egan, p. 83. Fourteen of his works survive, including three '' cansos'' with melodies.Aubrey, p. 19. He was respected and admired by contempo ...

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 ...

, invented the '' torneyamen'' (or, at least, left us its earliest example). One of his songs, "Kalenda Maia", is referred to as an ''

estampida The estampie (french: estampie, Occitan language, Occitan and ca, estampida, it, istanpitta) is a medieval dance and Music genre, musical form which was a popular instrumental and vocal form in the 13th and 14th centuries. The name was also app ...

'' and is considered one of the best troubadour melodies. However, according to the '' razó'', he borrowed the tune from two other musicians. This would explain why the song is called an ''estampida'', which is, theoretically, a purely instrumental piece.

Vaqueiras in fiction

In 1922, Vaqueiras was the subject of a verse drama by Nino Berrini, ''Rambaldo di Vaqueiras: I Monferrato''. Strongly derivative of

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play '' Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with ...

's ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' and ''

La Princesse Lointaine LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figure ...

'', it presents a highly romantic, fictionalised image of the poet, in love with his patron's daughter Beatrice. At the end, he returns, mortally wounded, from Thessalonica, to die in her arms. Vaqueiras and the song "Kalenda Maya" are referenced disparagingly by the protagonist-narrator in

Nicole Galland Nicole Galland is an American novelist, initially known for her historical fiction. She has written ''The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.'' in collaboration with Neal Stephenson. She wrote the contemporary comedic novel ''Stepdog''. Under the name E.D. d ...

's novel ''Crossed: A Tale of the Fourth Crusade''. A similar fictionalised account of a courtly love relationship between Vaqueiras and Beatrice del Carretto (subject of Vaqueiras's early songs, daughter of Boniface of Montserrat and Helena del Bosco) is the subject of a short story, ''Miłość i płaszcz'' (''The Love and the Cloak''), by

Teodor Parnicki Teodor Parnicki (1908–1988) was a Polish writer, notable for his historical novels. He is especially renowned for works related to the early medieval Middle East, the late Roman and the Byzantine Empires. Life Teodor Parnicki was born March 5, ...

, dating from the period between 1933–1939.

Notes

External links

Complete works online

Bibliography

*''The poems of the troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras'' ed. and tr. Joseph Linskill. The Hague: Mouton, 1964. {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaqueiras, Raimbaut de 12th-century troubadours Christians of the Fourth Crusade 1207 deaths Year of birth unknown People from Vaucluse