Gaucelm Faidit was a 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....

, born in Uzerche

Uzerche

Uzerche is a commune in the Corrèze department in the Limousin region of central France.In 1787, the English writer Arthur Young described the city as "The Pearl of the Limousin," nicknamed because of its picturesque setting, and a name by which it is still widely known today...

, in the 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...

, from a family of knights in service of the count of Turenne. He travelled widely in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, and Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

. His known patrons include Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany

Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany

Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond was Duke of Brittany between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage with the heiress Constance. Geoffrey was the fourth son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.-Family:He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de...

 and Dalfi d'Alvernha; he was at one time in Poitiers

Poitiers

Poitiers is a city on the Clain river in west central France. It is a commune and the capital of the Vienne department and of the Poitou-Charentes region. The centre is picturesque and its streets are interesting for predominant remains of historical architecture, especially from the Romanesque...

 at the court of Richard I of England

Richard I of England

Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...

, for whose death he wrote a famous planh

Planh

The planh or plaing is a funeral lament used by the troubadours, modeled on the medieval Latin planctus. It differed from the planctus in that it was intended for a secular audience...

(lament). It is possible, but controversial, that Gaucelm took part in the Third Crusade

Third Crusade

The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...

 from 1189-1191; it seems clear that in 1202 he set out on the Fourth Crusade

Fourth Crusade

The Fourth Crusade was originally intended to conquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem by means of an invasion through Egypt. Instead, in April 1204, the Crusaders of Western Europe invaded and conquered the Christian city of Constantinople, capital of the Eastern Roman Empire...

, as did his current patron, Boniface of Montferrat

Boniface of Montferrat

Boniface of Montferrat was Marquess of Montferrat and the leader of the Fourth Crusade. He was the third son of William V of Montferrat and Judith of Babenberg, born after his father's return from the Second Crusade...

. After 1202 there is no further historical trace of him.

Three sources - the anonymous 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...

(biography) of Gaucelm, an exchange of verses between Gaucelm and Elias d'Ussel

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....

, and the satirical 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...

on rival troubadours by the Monk of Montaudon - allege that Gaucelm married a prostitute. According to the vida, her name was Guillelma Monja: "she was very beautiful and well educated" and accompanied her husband on Crusade. The vida also claims that Gaucelm was rather fat, and that after their marriage, Guillelma also put on weight.

About seventy of Gaucelm's poems and fourteen of his melodies survive. Six poems are addressed to Boniface of Montferrat, and twelve to Maria de Ventadorn

Maria de Ventadorn

Maria de Ventadorn was a patron of troubadour poetry at the end of the 12th century.Maria was one of las tres de Torena, "the three of Turenne", the three daughters of viscount Raymond II of Turenne and of Elise de Séverac. These three, according to Bertran de Born, possessed tota beltat terrena,...

. Several of his poems are accompanied in the manuscripts by detailed explanations (razós

Razó (Occitan literary form)

A razó or razo was a short piece of Occitan prose detailing the circumstances of a troubadour composition. A razó normally introduced an individual poem, acting as a prose preface and explanation; it might, however, share some of the characteristics of a vida and the boundary between the...

), usually concerning love affairs and rivalries that allegedly inspired the poems. These tales involve Gaucelm with Hugh IX of Lusignan

Hugh IX of Lusignan

Hugh IX the Brown of Lusignan was the grandson of Hugh VIII. His father, also Hugh , was the co-seigneur of Lusignan from 1164, marrying a woman named Orengarde before 1162 or about 1167 and dying in 1169...

, his son Hugh X

Hugh X of Lusignan

Hugh X de Lusignan, Hugh V of La Marche or Hugh I of Angoulême or Hugues X & V & I de Lusignan succeeded his father Hugh IX as Seigneur de Lusignan and Count of La Marche in November, 1219 and was Count of Angoulême by marriage.Hugh X de Lusignan was betrothed to marry 12 year-old Isabel of...

, Alfonso II, Count of Provence

Alfonso II, Count of Provence

Alfonso II was the second son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. His father transferred the County of Provence from his uncle Sancho to him in 1185. Alfonso II was born in Barcelona....

, and others.