Arnaut Vidal de Castelnou d'Ari (;

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for '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 indic ...

1305–1324) was a

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language, spoken in parts o ...

author from

Castelnaudary Castelnaudary (; ) is a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region of southern France. It is located in the former province of the Lauragais and famous for cassoulet of which it claims to be the world capital, and of which it ...

. Arnaut was a

troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) 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 equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...

and the first poet laureate of the

Consistori del Gay Saber The (; "Consistory of the Gay Science") was a poetic academy founded at Toulouse in 1323 to revive and perpetuate the lyric poetry of the troubadours. Also known as the Acadèmia dels Jòcs Florals or Académie des Jeux Floraux ("Academy of th ...

. Arnaut's poem in praise of the

Virgin Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...

was adjudged the best by the Consistori at a contest held on

Holy Cross Day The Feast of the Holy Cross, or Feast of the Cross, commemorates the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different celebrations which honor and celebrate the cross used in the crucifi ...

1324 at

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

and the troubadour was awarded the ''violeta d'or'' (golden violet). He received the ''flor de gaug d'argen fi'' (fine marigold in silver) as the first prize for a ''

dansa A ''dansa'' (), also spelt ''dança'', was an Old Occitan form of lyric poetry developed in the late thirteenth century among the troubadours. It is related to the English term "dance" and was often accompanied by dancing. A closely related form, ...

'' at the ''festa de Santa Crotz'' on 3 May 1324. He was also the author of the

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of high medieval and early modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalri ...

''Guilhem de la Barra'' (1318), of which Paul Meyer produced the ''

editio princeps In Textual scholarship, textual and classical scholarship, the ''editio princeps'' (plural: ''editiones principes'') of a work is the first printed edition of the work, that previously had existed only in manuscripts. These had to be copied by han ...

'' (first modern critical edition). A new (French) edition has since been produced.

Sources

*Aubrey, Elizabeth. "References to Music in Old Occitan Literature." ''Acta Musicologica'', 61:2 (May–Aug., 1989), pp. 110–149. *Gouiran, Gérard. ''Arnaut Vidal de Castelnaudary: Le Livre des aventures de Monseigneur Guilhem de la Barra''. Paris: Champion, 1997. *Harris, M. Roy. "The Occitan Translations of John XII and XIII–XVII from a Fourteenth-Century Franciscan Codex (Assisi, Chiesa Nuova MS. 9)." ''Transactions of the American Philosophical Society'', New Series, 75:4 (1985), pp. 1–149. * Jeanroy, Alfred. ''La poésie lyrique des troubadours''. Toulouse: Privat. 1934. * Meyer, Paul. ''Guillaume de la Barre, roman d'aventures par Arnaut Vidal de Castelnaudari, publie pour la premiere fois d'apres le manuscrit unique''. Paris, 1895. {{authority control 14th-century French troubadours People from Castelnaudary