Uc de la Bacalaria
Encyclopedia
Uc de la Bacalaria was a Limousin
troubadour
from La Bachellerie near Uzerche
, the home town of Gaucelm Faidit
. According to his vida
, he was a jongleur who travelled infrequently and was hardly known. He composed cansos
, tenso
s, one alba
, and one descort
. Six songs are surviving: one canso, one alba, and four tensos (three partimen
s and one torneyamen
). According the vida, he was courtly, capable, and learned.
Uc participated in a three-way torneyamen with Savaric de Malleo and Gaucelm Faidit. Savaric posed the dilemma: if a lady with three suitors gazes into the eyes of one, squeezes the hand of the other, and nudges the foot of the third, to whom did she show the truest affection? Uc's answer is that the suitor whose hand was grasped was her true love, for a lady's gaze can rest on anything. Uc wrote another partimen with Gaucelm and two others with Bertran de Sant Felitz.
Uc also wrote an erotic alba, Per grazir la bon' estrena, in which, like his contemporary Guiraut Riquier
, he desires the dawn to arrive, in contrast to earlier troubadours, who always dreaded the dawn and the jealous husband. Both troubadours appear to have wished to revived the genre and Uc explicitly writes that vuelh far alb' ab son novelh: "I want to make an alba with a new sound."
Uc's only canso was Ses totz enjans e ses fals'entendensa.
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....
from La Bachellerie near 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...
, the home town of 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...
. According to his 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...
, he was a jongleur who travelled infrequently and was hardly known. He composed 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...
, 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...
s, one alba
Alba (poetry)
The alba is a subgenre of Occitan lyric poetry. It describes the longing of lovers who, having passed a night together, must separate for fear of being discovered by their respective spouses....
, and one descort
Descort
The descort is a subgenre of Occitan lyric poetry used by the troubadours. It is a song heavily discordant in verse form and/or feeling and often used to express disagreement. It was invented by Garin d'Apchier when he wrote Quan foill'e flors reverdezis...
. Six songs are surviving: one canso, one alba, and four tensos (three 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 one torneyamen
Torneyamen
A torneyamen or certamen was a lyric genre of the troubadours of the thirteenth century. Closely related to the tenso, a debate between two poets, and the partimen, a question posed by one poet and another's response, the torneyamen took place between several poets, originally usually three...
). According the vida, he was courtly, capable, and learned.
Uc participated in a three-way torneyamen with Savaric de Malleo and Gaucelm Faidit. Savaric posed the dilemma: if a lady with three suitors gazes into the eyes of one, squeezes the hand of the other, and nudges the foot of the third, to whom did she show the truest affection? Uc's answer is that the suitor whose hand was grasped was her true love, for a lady's gaze can rest on anything. Uc wrote another partimen with Gaucelm and two others with Bertran de Sant Felitz.
Uc also wrote an erotic alba, Per grazir la bon' estrena, in which, like his contemporary 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....
, he desires the dawn to arrive, in contrast to earlier troubadours, who always dreaded the dawn and the jealous husband. Both troubadours appear to have wished to revived the genre and Uc explicitly writes that vuelh far alb' ab son novelh: "I want to make an alba with a new sound."
Uc's only canso was Ses totz enjans e ses fals'entendensa.