''Trobar clus'' (), or closed form, was a complex and obscure style of poetry used by

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 ...

s for their more discerning audiences, and it was only truly appreciated by an elite few. It was developed extensively by Marcabru 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 laud ...

, but by 1200 its inaccessibility had led to its disappearance. Among the imitators of Marcabru were Alegret and Marcoat, who claimed himself to write ''vers contradizentz'' (contradictory verses), indicative of the incomprehensibility of the ''trobar clus'' style. Below is a sample of the style from Marcoat's ''

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 ...

'' ''Mentre m'obri eis huisel'', wherein the poet himself remarks on his ''moz clus'' (closed words): :''Mon ''serventes'' no val plus, :''que faitz es de bos moz clus'' :''apren lo, Domeing Sarena.''Chambers, 91. Among the late twelfth-century practitionars of ''trobar clus'' was

Peire d'Alvernhe Peire d'Alvernhe or d'Alvernha (''Pèire'' in modern Occitan; b. c. 1130) was an Auvergnat troubadour (active 1149–1170) with twenty-oneGaunt and Kay, 287. or twenty-fourEgan, 72.Aubrey, ''The Music of the Troubadours'', 8. surviving works ...

, an imitator of Marcabru, while Raimbaut d'Aurenga of the '' trobar ric'' style was influenced by Marcoat. The only

trobairitz The ''trobairitz'' () were Occitan female troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries, active from around 1170 to approximately 1260. ''Trobairitz'' is both singular and plural. The word ''trobairitz'' is first attested in the 13th-century ro ...

(female troubadour) to use the trobar clus with mastery was Lombarda around 1216.

Notes

Sources

*Bloch, R. Howard
''Etymologies and Genealogies: A Literary Anthropology of the French Middle Ages''.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1983. . *Chambers, Frank M
''An Introduction to Old Provençal Versification''.
Diane Publishing, 1985. .
Cunnan wiki source (GFDL)

Notes

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See also