Xohán de Cangas
Encyclopedia
Johan de Cangas was a jograr or non-noble troubadour
, probably active during the thirteenth century. He seems to have been from—or associated with -- Cangas de Morrazo, a small town on Pontevedra
, Galicia (Spain
). Only three of his songs survive. All three are cantigas de amigo and in each of them the girl mentions a religious site (ermida) at San Momede do Mar ("San Momede of the Sea"). These references to the sea may be symbolic (symbolizing sexuality) as they are real (given the geography), but they have has earned this poet the designation of "singer of the sea". In the first text, a girl asks her mother for permssion to go see her boyfriend at San Momede do Mar; in the second she informs her mother than the boyfriend did not come and she has surely lost him; in the third she asks her boyfriend to meet her there, and not to break his word to her again.
As with most jograes, nothing is known for certain about his life, although the preservation of three of his cantigas suggests that he performed in the courts of local nobles. The location of the poet's compositions in the manuscript tradition, the use of a place-name (Cangas) in lieu of a surname, and the form and rhetoric of his songs all seem to confirm his status as a jograr.
In both manuscripts (Cancioneiro da Vaticana
and Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional
) his name is spelled Johan (the modern Galician equivalent being Xoán, Portuguese João). Johan de Cangas had attracted almost no critical attention until 1998, when the Galician Literature Day
was dedicated to him and to two other "singers of the sea", Martín Códax
and Mendinho
.
----
A cantiga de amigo
of Johan de Cangas (ed. R. Cohen; tr. R. Cohen)
Amigo, se mi gran ben queredes,
id’ a San Momed’ e veer m’ edes;
oje non mi mençades, amigo!
Pois mh aqui ren non podedes dizer,
id’ u ajades comigo lezer;
oje non mi mençades, amigo!
Serei vosc’ en San Momede do mar
na ermida, se mho Deus aguisar;
oje non mi mençades, amigo!
Friend, if you really love me a lot,
Go to San Momede and you can see me.
Friend, don’t break your word to me today.
Since you can’t say anything to me here,
Go where you can have pleasure with me.
Friend, don’t break your word to me today.
I’ll be with you in San Momede of the Sea
In the chapel, if God guides me there.
Friend, don’t break your word to me today.
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....
, probably active during the thirteenth century. He seems to have been from—or associated with -- Cangas de Morrazo, a small town on Pontevedra
Pontevedra
Pontevedra is a city in the north-west of the Iberian Peninsula. It is the capital of both the comarca and province of Pontevedra, in Galicia . It is also the capital of its own municipality which is, in fact, often considered as an extension of the actual city...
, Galicia (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...
). Only three of his songs survive. All three are cantigas de amigo and in each of them the girl mentions a religious site (ermida) at San Momede do Mar ("San Momede of the Sea"). These references to the sea may be symbolic (symbolizing sexuality) as they are real (given the geography), but they have has earned this poet the designation of "singer of the sea". In the first text, a girl asks her mother for permssion to go see her boyfriend at San Momede do Mar; in the second she informs her mother than the boyfriend did not come and she has surely lost him; in the third she asks her boyfriend to meet her there, and not to break his word to her again.
As with most jograes, nothing is known for certain about his life, although the preservation of three of his cantigas suggests that he performed in the courts of local nobles. The location of the poet's compositions in the manuscript tradition, the use of a place-name (Cangas) in lieu of a surname, and the form and rhetoric of his songs all seem to confirm his status as a jograr.
In both manuscripts (Cancioneiro da Vaticana
Cancioneiro da Vaticana
The Cancioneiro da Vaticana is a compilation of troubadour lyrics in Galician-Portuguese. It was discovered c. 1840 in the holdings of the Vatican Library and was first transcribed by Ernesto Monaci in 1875....
and Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional
Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional
The Cancioneiro da Biblioteca Nacional , commonly called Colocci-Brancuti, is a compilation of Galician-Portuguese lyrics by both troubadours and jograes...
) his name is spelled Johan (the modern Galician equivalent being Xoán, Portuguese João). Johan de Cangas had attracted almost no critical attention until 1998, when the Galician Literature Day
Día das Letras Galegas
Galician Literature Day is a public holiday observed in Galicia, Spain. Introduced by the Royal Galician Academy in 1963 it is a celebration of the Galician language and its literature. This celebration has taken place on May 17 since 1963...
was dedicated to him and to two other "singers of the sea", Martín Códax
Martín Codax
Martín Codax or Martim Codax was a Galician medieval jogral , possibly from Vigo, Galicia in present day Spain. He may have been active during the middle of the thirteenth century, judging from scriptological analysis...
and Mendinho
Mendinho
Mendinho, also Meendinho, Mendiño and Meendiño, was a medieval Iberian poet.Nothing is known about Mendinho except by inference. Scholars generally assume from the reference to the shrine of San Simión that he was Galician...
.
----
A cantiga de amigo
Cantiga de amigo
The Cantiga de amigo or Cantiga d'amigo , literally a "song about a boyfriend", is a genre of medieval erotic lyric poetry, apparently rooted in a song tradition native to the northwest quadrant of the Iberian Peninsula. What mainly distinguishes the cantiga de amigo is its focus on a world of...
of Johan de Cangas (ed. R. Cohen; tr. R. Cohen)
Amigo, se mi gran ben queredes,
id’ a San Momed’ e veer m’ edes;
oje non mi mençades, amigo!
Pois mh aqui ren non podedes dizer,
id’ u ajades comigo lezer;
oje non mi mençades, amigo!
Serei vosc’ en San Momede do mar
na ermida, se mho Deus aguisar;
oje non mi mençades, amigo!
Friend, if you really love me a lot,
Go to San Momede and you can see me.
Friend, don’t break your word to me today.
Since you can’t say anything to me here,
Go where you can have pleasure with me.
Friend, don’t break your word to me today.
I’ll be with you in San Momede of the Sea
In the chapel, if God guides me there.
Friend, don’t break your word to me today.