Salh d'Escola (;

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 ...

1195) 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 ...

from Bergerac in the

Périgord Périgord ( , ; ; or ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is divided into f ...

, a former province of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

.Bergerac is spelled ''Barjarac'', ''Bragairac'', or ''Brageirac'' in Occitan. The meaning of his name, also spelled Sail or Saill, is uncertain; it may be an unusual given name. His surname, likewise, may be a family name, but there is no known location called "Escola" that could render it a

toponymic Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of '' toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage, and types. ''Toponym'' is the general term for a proper nam ...

. The entire name may be a nickname meaning "defector from school" or "escapee from the cloister", indicating that he quit his education, either in a school or a monastery. On the other hand, it may signify a

pedant Pedantry ( ) is an excessive concern with formalism, minor details, and rules that are not important. Etymology Pedantry is the adjective form of the 1580s English word pedant, which meant a male schoolteacher at the time. The word pedant orig ...

. The details of Salh's life are provided in two main sources, one contemporaneous and one late. The first source is the poem "Pos Peire d'Alvernh′ a chantat" composed by the troubadour monk of Montaudon in 1195. In it he good-naturedly criticises a gallery of troubadours, each in turn, usually humorously. One of those criticised is Salh d'Escola. According to the monk, Salh was a ''

jongleur A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enterta ...

'' who went to Bergerac and became a

merchant A merchant is a person who trades in goods produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Merchants have been known for as long as humans have engaged in trade and commerce. Merchants and merchant networks operated i ...

. The later source is Salh's '' vida'' (a short biography), which probably relied on "Pos Peire d'Alvernh′" to piece together its story. According to the anonymous biographer, Salh was the son of a merchant and became a ''jongleur''. He then went to

Narbonne Narbonne ( , , ; ; ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and was ...

and stayed for a long time at the court of "Ainermada de Narbona", the Viscountess Ermengard of Narbonne. Upon her death (1197), Salh entered the cloister at Bergerac and abandoned his "inventing ongsand singing". Only one work by Salh, a '' canso'' (love song), has been preserved: "Gran esfortz fai qui chanta ni.s deporta". It is an amorous confession to his lady for telling her to "die" in a moment of desperation or irritation.

Notes

Bibliography

*Egan, Margarita, ed. ''The Vidas of the Troubadours''. New York: Garland, 1984. . * Riquer, Martín de. ''Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos''. 3 vol. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975. {{DEFAULTSORT:Salh Descola 12th-century French troubadours French Christian monks Year of death unknown Year of birth unknown People from Bergerac, Dordogne