__NOTOC__ Raimbaut de Vaqueiras or Vaqueyras ( fl. 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 ''trobairi ...

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. 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 Byzant ...

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

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

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 Communes of France, commune in the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region in southeastern France. Vacqueyras is also the name of an Appellation for a wine from ...

, near

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

. 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 and Alessandria. 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

hood through protecting Boniface with his shield in battle at Messina, when they took part in

Emperor Henry VI Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sic ...

'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 Kingdom ...

'' 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 contemp ...

and Ademar de Peiteus, invented the ''

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 ...

'' (or, at least, left us its earliest example). One of his songs, "Kalenda Maia", is referred to as an '' estampida'' and is considered one of the best troubadour melodies. However, according to the ''

razó A ''razo'' (, literally "cause", "reason") was a short piece of Occitan prose detailing the circumstances of a troubadour composition. A ''razo'' normally introduced an individual poem, acting as a prose preface and explanation; it might, however ...

'', 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's ''Cyrano de Bergerac'' and '' La Princesse Lointaine'', 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