Almucs de Castelnau
Encyclopedia
Almucs de Castelnau or Castelnou (c. 1140 – bef. 1184) was a trobairitz
, that is a female troubadour
, from a town near Avignon
in Provence
. Her name is also spelled Almuc, Amucs, Almois, Almurs, or Almirs.
Almucs' only surviving work is a poetic exchange
with Iseut de Capio
, another trobairitz. The song is presented in the chansonnier
s intermixed with a long razo
. It tells how Iseut begged Almucs de Castelnau to pardon Gigo (Gui), lord of Tournon
(Tornon) in the Vivarais
, Iseut's knight, who had committed "a great fault" against Almucs. Gigo, however, neither repented nor sought forgiveness, and so Almucs responded to Iseut in a cobla of her own. This exchange has been dated to around 1190. Almucs is also mentioned (...dompna nal murs...) in the poem Ia de chan by fellow trobairitz Castelloza
.
and Gordes
. She gave him fours sons, including Raimbout d'Agould, the second eldest, who, in 1173, accompanied his father on Crusade. Since Raimbout must have been of sufficient age at the time to undergo a long and arduous journey and Guiraut's first wife had died in 1151, the marriage of Almodis must be placed between that date and approximately 1161 (assuming that the eldest son would have to have been at least twelve at the time of the Crusade). Bogin suggests that a widower like Guiraut would have quickly remarried and that Almodis was therefore probably not born much later than 1140.
If the Guiraut de Simiane mentioned in documents of 1113 and 1120 is the same as Almodis' husband, it is probable that he went on Crusade with the hope of dying in the East. In 1150 Guiraut witnessed the will of Tibors de Sarenom, the mother of Raimbaut d'Aurenga. In 1184 Raimbout d'Agould made a donation to the Abbey of Sénanque in the name of his parents, who were presumably dead. Raimbout is subsequently mentioned frequently by Gaucelm Faidit
as N'Agout.
Trobairitz
The trobairitz were Occitan female troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries, active from around 1170 to approximately 1260. The word trobairitz was first used in the 13th-century romance Flamenca. It comes from the Provençal word trobar, the literal meaning of which is "to find", and the...
, that is a female troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
, from a town near Avignon
Avignon
Avignon is a French commune in southeastern France in the départment of the Vaucluse bordered by the left bank of the Rhône river. Of the 94,787 inhabitants of the city on 1 January 2010, 12 000 live in the ancient town centre surrounded by its medieval ramparts.Often referred to as the...
in Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
. Her name is also spelled Almuc, Amucs, Almois, Almurs, or Almirs.
Almucs' only surviving work is a poetic exchange
Tenso
A tenso is a style of Occitan song favoured by the troubadours. It takes the form of a debate in which each voice defends a position on a topic relating to love or ethics. Closely related genres include the partimen and the cobla exchange...
with Iseut de Capio
Iseut de Capio
NIseut de Capio or Capion was a noblewoman and trobairitz from Gévaudan. She was a neighbour of Almucs de Castelnau, with whom she composed a tenso, her only surviving piece of work....
, another trobairitz. The song is presented in the chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
s intermixed with a long razo
Razo
Raso is an islet of 8 square kilometers in the Barlavento archipelago of Cape Verde. Raso is flanked by the smaller Branco islet on the west and by São Nicolau island on its eastern side. Raso is uninhabited and is now the only home of the Raso Lark. The Brown Booby and Red-billed Tropicbird visit...
. It tells how Iseut begged Almucs de Castelnau to pardon Gigo (Gui), lord of Tournon
Tournon-sur-Rhône
Tournon-sur-Rhône is a commune in the Ardèche department in southern France.-Geography:It is located on the right bank of the Rhône River, opposite Tain-l'Hermitage, which is located in the Drôme département...
(Tornon) in the Vivarais
Vivarais
Vivarais is a traditional region in the south-east of France, covering the département of Ardèche, named after its capital Viviers on the river Rhône...
, Iseut's knight, who had committed "a great fault" against Almucs. Gigo, however, neither repented nor sought forgiveness, and so Almucs responded to Iseut in a cobla of her own. This exchange has been dated to around 1190. Almucs is also mentioned (...dompna nal murs...) in the poem Ia de chan by fellow trobairitz Castelloza
Castelloza
Na Castelloza was a noblewoman and trobairitz from Auvergne. According to her later vida, she was the wife of Turc de Mairona, probably the lord of Meyronne. Turc's ancestors had participated in a Crusade around 1210 or 1220, which was the origin of his name...
.
Almodis de Caseneuve
Almucs may be identified with a certain Almodis of Caseneuve not far from Avignon and near also to Les Chapelins, possibly the home of Iseut de Capio. Chronologically, Almodis and Almucs would have been contemporaries and the lords of Caseneuve have documented relationships with other troubadours. Almodis was the second wife of Guiraut I de Simiane, who also ruled AptAPT
- As an acronym :*Arbitrage Pricing Theory*Asia-Pacific Telecommunity*Advanced Persistent Threat*Advanced Passenger Train- Places :* Apt, Vaucluse, a commune of the Vaucluse département of France...
and Gordes
Gordes
Gordes is a commune in the Vaucluse département in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.The residents are known as Gordiens...
. She gave him fours sons, including Raimbout d'Agould, the second eldest, who, in 1173, accompanied his father on Crusade. Since Raimbout must have been of sufficient age at the time to undergo a long and arduous journey and Guiraut's first wife had died in 1151, the marriage of Almodis must be placed between that date and approximately 1161 (assuming that the eldest son would have to have been at least twelve at the time of the Crusade). Bogin suggests that a widower like Guiraut would have quickly remarried and that Almodis was therefore probably not born much later than 1140.
If the Guiraut de Simiane mentioned in documents of 1113 and 1120 is the same as Almodis' husband, it is probable that he went on Crusade with the hope of dying in the East. In 1150 Guiraut witnessed the will of Tibors de Sarenom, the mother of Raimbaut d'Aurenga. In 1184 Raimbout d'Agould made a donation to the Abbey of Sénanque in the name of his parents, who were presumably dead. Raimbout is subsequently mentioned frequently by Gaucelm Faidit
Gaucelm Faidit
Gaucelm Faidit was a troubadour, born in Uzerche, in the Limousin, from a family of knights in service of the count of Turenne. He travelled widely in France, Spain, and Hungary...
as N'Agout.