Eble or Ebles d'Ussel was a Limousin

Limousin (province)

Limousin is one of the traditional provinces of France around the city of Limoges. Limousin lies in the foothills of the western edge of the Massif Central, with cold weather in the winter...

 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....

, the eldest of three brothers, castellan

Castellan

A castellan was the governor or captain of a castle. The word stems from the Latin Castellanus, derived from castellum "castle". Also known as a constable.-Duties:...

s of the castle of Ussel-sur-Sarzonne, northeast of Ventadorn

Moustier-Ventadour

Moustier-Ventadour is a commune in the Corrèze department in central France.-Population:-References:*...

. His younger brothers were Peire

Peire d'Ussel

Peire d'Ussel or d'Uisel was a Limousin troubadour, the middle of three brothers, castellans of the castle of Ussel-sur-Sarzonne, northeast of Ventadorn. His elder brother was Eble and his younger Gui, and he also had a cousin named Elias; all four were troubadours.According to Gui's vida, Peire...

 and Gui

Gui d'Ussel

Gui d'Ussel, d'Ussèl, or d'Uisel was a turn-of-the-thirteenth-century troubadour of the Limousin. Twenty of his poems survive: eight cansos, two pastorelas, two coblas, and eight tensos, several with his relatives and including a partimen with Maria de Ventadorn...

 and he also had a cousin named Elias

Elias d'Ussel

Elias or Elyas d'Ussel or d'Uisel was a Limousin troubadour, the cousin of the three brothers Eble, Peire, and Gui, and co-castellan with them of the castle of Ussel-sur-Sarzonne, northeast of Ventadorn....

, all troubadours. Of his corpus only one tenso

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...

, one partimen

Partimen

The partimen is a genre of Occitan lyric poetry composed between two troubadours, a subgenre of the tenso or cobla exchange in which one poet presents a dilemma in the form of a question and the two debate the answer, each taking up a different side. It was especially popular in poetic contests....

(with Guilhem Ademar

Guilhem Ademar

Guilhem Ademar was a troubadour from the Gévaudan. Noble by birth, but very poor, he travelled between the courts of Albi, Toulouse, Narbonne, and Spain. He achieved fame enough in his lifetime to be satirised by the Monge de Montaudon. He entered holy orders towards the end of his life...

), and a cobla

Cobla (Occitan literary term)

A cobla is a stanza in Occitan lyric poetry, the art form of the troubadours. Though not usually standalone work in itself, in many instances a cobla or two is all that survives of what was once a complete poem. Each cobla of a song was usually played to the same melody, but a few songs were...

survive. The only sources for his life, besides his own songs, are the vida

Vida (Occitan literary form)

Vida is the usual term for a brief prose biography, written in Old Occitan, of a troubadour or trobairitz.The word vida means "life" in Occitan languages. In the chansonniers, the manuscript collections of medieval troubadour poetry, the works of a particular author are often accompanied by a...

of his brother Gui and a document recording the donation of land to the abbey of Bonaigue by two brothers Guido and Eblo Usseli. According to Gui's vida, Eble composed "bad tensos".

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 at trobar.org.