Peire d'Ussel or d'Uisel (''Pèire d'Ussèl'' in modern
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 ...
; fl. c. 1200) was a
Limousin
Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...
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 ...
, the middle of three brothers,
castellan
A castellan, or constable, was the governor of a castle in medieval Europe. Its surrounding territory was referred to as the castellany. The word stems from . A castellan was almost always male, but could occasionally be female, as when, in 1 ...
s of the castle of
Ussel-sur-Sarzonne, northeast of
Ventadorn. His elder brother was
Eble and his younger
Gui
Gui or GUI may refer to:
People Surname
* Gui (surname), an ancient Chinese surname, ''xing''
* Bernard Gui (1261 or 1262–1331), inquisitor of the Dominican Order
* Luigi Gui (1914–2010), Italian politician
* Gui Minhai (born 1964), Ch ...
, and he also had a cousin named
Elias
Elias ( ; ) is the hellenized version for the name of Elijah (; ; , or ), a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel in the 9th century BC, mentioned in several holy books. Due to Elias' role in the scriptures and to many later associated tradit ...
; all four were troubadours.
According to Gui's ''
vida'', Peire
descant
A descant, discant, or is any of several different things in music, depending on the period in question; etymologically, the word means a voice (''cantus'') above or removed from others. The ''Harvard Dictionary of Music'' states:
A descant ...
ed his relatives’ songs.
[''The Vidas of the Troubadours'', ed. and trans. Margarita Egan (New York: Garland, 1984), p. 44. .] This should not be understood to imply that Peire was only a musician.
[Perrin, Robert H]
"Descant and Troubadour Melodies: A Problem in Terms."
''Journal of the American Musicological Society'', 16:3, (Autumn, 1963), pp. 313–324. One ''
cobla
The ''cobla'' (, plural ''cobles'') is a traditional music ensemble of Catalonia, and in Northern Catalonia in France. It is generally used to accompany the sardana, a traditional Catalan folk dance, danced in a circle.
Structure
The modern Cobl ...
'' addressed to Gui exists under his name.
The complete works of the four relations of Ussel, including Eble, were first compiled in one volume by J. Audiau as ''Les poésies des quatre troubadours d'Ussel'' (Paris, Delagrave, 1922). They are all available online a
trobar.org
Notes
12th-century French troubadours
Year of death unknown
Year of birth unknown
People from Limousin
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