Folquet de Lunel
Encyclopedia
Folquet de Lunel was a troubadour
from Lunel
(in the modern Hérault
) in the Languedoc
. He left behind nine recorded lyric poems
, including five cansos
, two partimen
s, and two sirventes
. He also wrote one longer work, the Romans de mondana vida. Folquet's birth date can be known precisely because he tells us in his Romans, written in 1284, that he was forty years old at the time.
Folquet's earliest datable work is a partimen with Guiraut Riquier
, dated to between 1264 and 1270. He presents Guiraut with a tricky question:
Folquet, along with fellow troubadours Dalfinet
and Cerverí de Girona
, was in Spain in 1269 in the entourage of infante Peter
. They accompanied Peter to Toledo
, where he treated with Alfonso X of Castile
. On 26 April at Riello
, near Cuenca
, on the way, Folquet was charged with distributing pay to the three: three solidi each for himself and Dalfinet and one solidus for Cerverí. His meeting with Alfonso X inspired Folquet, already a staunch Ghibelline, to write a sirventes in support of Alfonso's claim to the Holy Roman Empire
. Al bon rey q'es reys de pretz car was usually dated to 1269, but is more likely to have been written later, between February 1271, when Pope Gregory X
arrived in Rome
, and September 1273, when Rudolf of Habsburg was elected King of Germany, since the sirventes mentions a pope (there had been a vacancy since 1268
) and does not mention Rudolf's claim to the Empire. The most probable date is August/September 1273. The sirventes defends the attempts of Alfonso to receive his crown, advocates for the freedom of Henry of Castile (the imprisoned by the Guelphs), and lends support to Aragones
political ambitions in Italy. Like both his contemporaries Cerverí de Girona and Paulet de Marselha
, Folquet had nothing but praise for Peter, James
his father, and the Aragonese. The metre of the sirventes is copied from the work Bel m'es ab motz leugiers a far by Sordello
. Cerverí in his Cobla en sis lengatges copied the same metre, either from Sordello or Folquet.
At some point during the ongoing Guelph-Ghibelline conflict Folquet travelled into Lombardy
, where he heard firsthand of the popularity of Alfonso:
Folquet had returned to Lunel by 1274. There he entered into relations with Henry II of Rodez
, who was the dedicatee of his Romans. Three religious cansos may also have been dedicated to him: Dompna bona, bel'e plazens, Si quon la fuelh'el ramel, and Tant fin'amors totas horas m'afila. Indeed, a count of Rodez appears in the tornadas of both his religious and his (two) courtly love
songs. Scholarship is divided over whether the intended count was Hugh IV
, indicating that the songs are a product of Folquet's youth, or Henry II, making them a product of his maturity.
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 Lunel
Lunel
Lunel is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. Lunel is located east of Montpellier and southwest of Nîmes .-History:The ancient Roman site of Ambrussum is located nearby. The troubadour Folquet de Lunel was from Lunel....
(in the modern Hérault
Hérault
Hérault is a department in the south of France named after the Hérault river.-History:Hérault is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
) in the Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
. He left behind nine recorded lyric poems
Lyric poetry
Lyric poetry is a genre of poetry that expresses personal and emotional feelings. In the ancient world, lyric poems were those which were sung to the lyre. Lyric poems do not have to rhyme, and today do not need to be set to music or a beat...
, including five cansos
Canso (song)
The canso is a song style used by the troubadours. It consists of three parts. The first stanza is the exordium, where the composer explains his purpose. The main body of the song occurs in the following stanzas, and usually draw out a variety of relationships with the exordium. The canso can end...
, two 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....
s, and two sirventes
Sirventes
The sirventes or serventes is a genre of Occitan lyric poetry used by the troubadours. In early Catalan it became a sirventesch and was imported into that language in the fourteenth century, where it developed into a unique didactic/moralistic type...
. He also wrote one longer work, the Romans de mondana vida. Folquet's birth date can be known precisely because he tells us in his Romans, written in 1284, that he was forty years old at the time.
Folquet's earliest datable work is a partimen with Guiraut Riquier
Guiraut Riquier
Guiraut Riquier is among the last of the Provençal troubadours. He is well known because of his great care in writing out his works and keeping them together—the New Grove Encyclopedia considers him an "anthologist" of his own works....
, dated to between 1264 and 1270. He presents Guiraut with a tricky question:
- Guirautz, don'ab beutat granda
- tota sol'aiatz
- en un lieg, e selh que.l platz
- jatz n'en autre, ses demanda
- que l'us a l'autre no fai,
- et amo.s de cor verai:
- si.l cavaliers se lev'a lieys jazer
- o ilh ab lui, cal li deu mais plazer?
Folquet, along with fellow troubadours Dalfinet
Dalfinet
Dalfinet was a minor troubadour from the Dauphiné. His name, which means "little dolphin", evidently derives from his place of origin. Only one sirventes he wrote, De meg sirventes ai legor, survives....
and Cerverí de Girona
Cerverí de Girona
Cerverí de Girona was a Catalan troubadour born Guillem de Cervera in Girona. He was the most prolific troubadour, leaving behind some 114 lyric poems among other works, including an ensenhamen of proverbs for his son, totaling about 130. He was a court poet to James the Conqueror and Peter the...
, was in Spain in 1269 in the entourage of infante Peter
Peter III of Aragon
Peter the Great was the King of Aragon of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.-Youth and succession:Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife...
. They accompanied Peter to Toledo
Toledo, Spain
Toledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
, where he treated with Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
. On 26 April at Riello
Riello
Riello is a municipality located in the province of León, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 864 inhabitants....
, near Cuenca
Cuenca, Spain
-History:When the Iberian peninsula was part of the Roman Empire there were several important settlements in the province, such as Segóbriga, Ercávica and Gran Valeria...
, on the way, Folquet was charged with distributing pay to the three: three solidi each for himself and Dalfinet and one solidus for Cerverí. His meeting with Alfonso X inspired Folquet, already a staunch Ghibelline, to write a sirventes in support of Alfonso's claim to the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. Al bon rey q'es reys de pretz car was usually dated to 1269, but is more likely to have been written later, between February 1271, when Pope Gregory X
Pope Gregory X
Pope Blessed Gregory X , born Tebaldo Visconti, was Pope from 1271 to 1276. He was elected by the papal election, 1268–1271, the longest papal election in the history of the Roman Catholic Church....
arrived in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and September 1273, when Rudolf of Habsburg was elected King of Germany, since the sirventes mentions a pope (there had been a vacancy since 1268
Papal election, 1268–1271
The papal election from November 1268 to September 1, 1271, following the death of Pope Clement IV, was the longest papal election in the history of the Catholic Church. This was due primarily to political infighting between the cardinals...
) and does not mention Rudolf's claim to the Empire. The most probable date is August/September 1273. The sirventes defends the attempts of Alfonso to receive his crown, advocates for the freedom of Henry of Castile (the imprisoned by the Guelphs), and lends support to Aragones
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
political ambitions in Italy. Like both his contemporaries Cerverí de Girona and Paulet de Marselha
Paulet de Marselha
Paulet de Marselha was a Provençal troubadour from Marseille. Three of his eight surviving works are dedicated to Barral dels Baus, the viscount of Marseille. Three were love songs composed in Marseille during an era of peace...
, Folquet had nothing but praise for Peter, James
James I of Aragon
James I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
his father, and the Aragonese. The metre of the sirventes is copied from the work Bel m'es ab motz leugiers a far by Sordello
Sordello
Sordello da Goito or Sordel de Goit was a 13th-century Lombard troubadour, born in the municipality of Goito in the province of Mantua...
. Cerverí in his Cobla en sis lengatges copied the same metre, either from Sordello or Folquet.
At some point during the ongoing Guelph-Ghibelline conflict Folquet travelled into Lombardy
Lombardy
Lombardy is one of the 20 regions of Italy. The capital is Milan. One-sixth of Italy's population lives in Lombardy and about one fifth of Italy's GDP is produced in this region, making it the most populous and richest region in the country and one of the richest in the whole of Europe...
, where he heard firsthand of the popularity of Alfonso:
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Folquet had returned to Lunel by 1274. There he entered into relations with Henry II of Rodez
Henry II of Rodez
Henry II , of the House of Millau, was the Count of Rodez and Viscount of Carlat from 1274 until his death. He was the son of Hugh IV of Rodez and Isabeau de Roquefeuil....
, who was the dedicatee of his Romans. Three religious cansos may also have been dedicated to him: Dompna bona, bel'e plazens, Si quon la fuelh'el ramel, and Tant fin'amors totas horas m'afila. Indeed, a count of Rodez appears in the tornadas of both his religious and his (two) courtly love
Courtly love
Courtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife....
songs. Scholarship is divided over whether the intended count was Hugh IV
Hugh IV of Rodez
Hugh IV , of the House of Millau, was the Count of Rodez and Viscount of Carlat and Creyssel from 1221 until his death. He was the son of Henry I of Rodez and Algayette of Scorailles....
, indicating that the songs are a product of Folquet's youth, or Henry II, making them a product of his maturity.
Sources
- Riquer, Martín de. Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos. 3 vol. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975.