The partisan voice: A study of the political lyric in France and Germany, 1180–1230 9783111632995, 9783111252551

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THE PARTISAN VOICE

STUDIES IN GENERAL AND COMPARATIVE LITERATURE Volume VII

1971

MOUTON THE H A G U E • PARIS

THE PARTISAN VOICE A STUDY OF THE POLITICAL LYRIC IN FRANCE AND GERMANY, 1180-1230

by

K A R E N WILK KLEIN Brandeis

University

1971

MOUTON THE H A G U E • PARIS

© Copyright 1971 in The Netherlands. Mouton & Co. N.V., Publishers, The Hague. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, by print, photoprint, microfilm, or any other means, without written permission from the publishers.

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 70-113636

Printed in The Netherlands by Mouton & Co., Printers, The Hague.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I wish to express my gratitude to Professor William T. H. Jackson for his guidance and help during the writing of this work. Thanks must go also to my friends and colleagues at Columbia University, especially Renata Karlin, Fred Goldin, and Benjamin Weems, who listened to my ideas, helped with problems of translation, and read sections of the manuscript. Special thanks are due to George Economou for his counsel and advice in preparing the manuscript for publication. I am indebted to the following publishers for permission to reprint printed material: to the University of North Carolina Press for permission to use my article "The Political Message of Bertran de Born", Studies in Philology, LXV (1968), 612-30; to Éditions Éouard Privât for permission to quote from Poésies complètes du Troubadour Peire Cardenal, ed. R. Lavaud, and from Poésies complètes de Bertran de Born, ed. A. Thomas; to Walter de Gruyter and Co. for permission to quote from Die Gedichte Walthers von der Vogelweide, ed. Carl von Kraus; to the Société des Amis de la Romania for permission to reprint material edited by I. Frank and published in Romania, 78 (1957). A final word of thanks must go to my graduate assistant at Brandeis University, John Peavoy, whose cheerful willingness to undertake a time-consuming task and whose ability to get the job done made my work so much easier. April, 1970.

K. W. K.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

5

Introduction

9

I.

.

13

The Political Lyric: Definition, General Contents, Major Characteristics

31

III.

The Political Lyric: Conventions, Techniques, Style

55

IV.

The Poets and A. The Minor B. The Poems C. The Poems

II.

The Historical Background, 1180-1230

.

.

Their Poems Poems of Bertran de Born of Walther von der Vogelweide

.

.

.

85 85 127 152

Conclusion

191

Appendix: Political Poems, France and Germany, 11801230

194

A Selected Bibliography

201

Index

209

INTRODUCTION

This study concerns the political lyric in France and Germany from 1180 to 1230 A.D. These two countries have been selected for it is in them, at this period, that the great lyrics of the High Middle Ages were written and sung. Although there are two poets in this study who wrote in Spain and one in Greece, they composed their songs in Provençal and thus are considered and treated by scholars as troubadour poets. The limitation of this study to the specific fifty-year period, 1180-1230, may seem restrictive and arbitrary, but it has been made advisedly for several reasons. With a narrow time span, it becomes possible to treat the subject relatively comprehensively without involving a book of inordinate length. Moreover, the same method and approach can be applied to a study of later political poems in France, Germany, England, and Italy; prior to 1180, there is scarcely any political poetry in the vernacular. Further, it is during this period that the only two known poets of the High Middle Ages who produced a substantial body of political lyrics, Bertran de Born in Southern France and Walther von der Vogelweide in Germany, lived and wrote. In addition to Bertran and Walther, there are numerous poets who wrote a few political songs and are considered, therefore, in terms of this genre, minor political poets. The total output of both major and minor political poets from 1180-1230 gives to this particular period the greatest concentration of political lyrics produced during the Middle Ages. Historically the years 1180-1230 contain much for the poets to write about. For it is these years that saw the great feudal struggles between the Plantagenets and the French king, Philip, and Philip's

10

INTRODUCTION

eventual triumph which began the consolidation of French national power; the fight for supremacy between the imperium and the sacerdotium which has its roots in the Investiture Controversy and reached its apex during the papacy of Innocent III; the idealism of the Third and the disaster of the Fourth Crusade; and the Albigensian Crusade which decimated a geographical center of impressive literary activity. Because this is a study of a group of poets and poems, there is not one approach to be taken nor one thesis to advance, but many approaches and many questions to be asked and answered about these poems. The major concern is how one makes poetry out of political persons and events, and what reasons motivate the poet to do so. Answering this involves studying what kind of events and which persons are selected as topics for these poems and what determines the selection, and also investigating the recurrent themes and the variety of attitudes the poets express towards their subjects. Further, the influence of the noble patrons and the audiences on the poets and, consequently, on their poems must be taken into account. In attempting to analyze the poet's motivations, we must try to determine the purpose for which he wrote the poem, which again will involve the question of the audience or patron. Does the poet use the poem as a weapon or as a compliment? As propaganda or as advice? This group of poems forms a genre within the corpus of medieval lyric. A thorough discussion of any medieval lyrics includes consideration of the conventions, the poetic techniques, and the style, and this holds true for the political lyrics as well. Part of this study, therefore, examines the vocabulary, syntax, poetic devices, tone, and the degree to which conventions are used in political poetry - that is whether there are standard words, phrases, attitudes which recur in several poems of different poets. Finally these lyrics are treated as a genre. A s such, it is interesting to note how much variety exists within political poetry. The degree of political awareness on the part of the poets varies as do the uses to which they put the genre. The strongest contrast, language differences aside, can be seen between the works of the two major political poets, Bertran and Walther. Each adapted

INTRODUCTION

11

his poems to the particular political situation, one the feudal, the other the imperial, in which he was involved. And, while differing in theme and technique, each used this genre as the medium through which he expressed his consistent political message to his respective audience. The poems themselves and the questions involved in such a study dictate the format of the following chapters and the procedure used. To understand the context within which the poems were written, it is necessary to devote a chapter to a brief review of the historical events of the period. The genre itself must be established and defined, as it is in the second chapter, its contents and major characteristics discussed generally before a specific exposition of individual poems. The problems of conventions, techniques, and style necessitate a separate chapter. The first three chapters, therefore, provide the framework of information within which the political lyrics can be read. When it comes to dealing with the poems themselves, a genre such as this, with two major writers, each with twenty some poems, and several minor writers, each with one or two poems, presents problems of organization. In order to be able to show the development of a consistent message throughout the totality of each major poet's political works, Bertran and Walther must be treated in individual sections. Although none of the minor poets produced a sufficient amount of political lyrics to warrant a separate section, the total amount of poems written by all of them is too considerable to be ignored in a study such as this. The final chapter on the poets and their poems is, therefore, divided into three sections. The first treats the minor poems, all of which are written in French or Provençal; it discusses further the themes, the attitudes of the poets, and the selection of events, all of which are important for the succeeding discussions of the poems of Bertran, in the second section, and those of Walther, the only political poet who wrote in German during this period, in the third. Appended to the text is a list of all the political poems written in France and Germany from 1180-1230, and references to the text of each individual poem. This is the first time such a listing of political poems has been made available. Although former

12

INTRODUCTION

scholars have discussed certain political poems in general literary histories or in works on specific poets, none has ever compiled a complete list of political poems or studied these poems as a group. Further, because of the excellence and the predominance of the canso and the Minnesang during this period, most of the scholarly and critical attention has been given to this formalized love poetry and little to the political lyrics. Those scholars who have written on political poetry have either included in this group many more poems than are really political or have been too scant in their treatment of those that exist. Yet despite this apparent recital of their shortcomings, former scholars in the field of political lyrics have made invaluable contributions. Had it not been for their spade-work in establishing texts, determining authorship and dates, tracking down allusions, identifying persons, places, events, in short - relating this poetry to history through honest and thorough scholarship, my study could never have been done.

I THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, 1180-1230

The history and politics of the years 1180-1230 in Western Europe were dominated by three major struggles: the feudal warfare of the French king with his most powerful vassals, the Angevin kings of England; the attempt by the German Emperors to realize the imperialistic aims of the Hohenstaufen; the Pope's continuing interference in the affairs of the secular world in order to subordinate all kings and kingdoms to the control of the papacy.1 The roots of these struggles go back to the early and mid twelfth century. In 1152, the marriage of Louis VII of France and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine was annulled. She later married Henry II who had been crowned king of England in 1154. He had inherited Normandy from his mother, Maine and Anjou from his father, and marriage to Eleanor brought him the important duchy of Aquitaine. She also gave him four sons who were to destroy him and ultimately dissipate his French possessions through internecine battles and wars with Philip, king of France. The twelfth century enemies in Germany were the Welfs and the Hohenstaufens, each competing for the imperial throne. By 1180, Frederick Barbarossa had nearly brought his rival, Henry the Lion of Saxony, to heel, and with his capitulation in the early 1180's, 1

A good general work for historical information about this period is the Cambridge Medieval History, eds. H. M. Gwatkin and J. P. Whitney (New York, 1911- ). Other works worth noting are Sidney Painter, The Rise of the Feudal Monarchies (Cornell, 1951); Carl Stephenson, Medieval History, rev. ed. (New York, 1943); J. Strayer, Western Europe in the Middle Ages (New York, 1955). Because of the concentration of poets in Southern France, this chapter will present events in that region in greater detail than their international significance would seem to warrant.

14

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

the Welf power collapsed. The old antagonisms did not die, however, but rose again in the struggle for the Empire from 1198 to 1218. The close of the Investiture Controversy in the early twelfth century did not bring a solution to the problem of the relation between the sacred and secular pontiffs. It only prepared the way for the long struggle for papal supremacy engaged in by Innocent III from 1198 to 1216. Politics during this period were often concerned with local matters and consisted of small feudal intrigues and skirmishes. Europe, however, was an international unit as well as an aggregate of feudal territories.2 International "relations" were often a matter of political marriage: a princess of Spain became a queen of Hungary; a Byzantine Emperor's daughter was rejected by a Spanish king and settled for becoming a countess of Montpellier. Rulers were bound together by blood lines, by mutual self-interest, by a common enemy. What happened in the politics of one country reverberated in another: Frederick II's growing power in Germany endangered John Lackland's position as king in England; Pedro II of Aragon's death left Toulouse defenceless against the Northern French crusaders. The game of power politics was played not in the interest of nationalistic self-determination and rarely in that of ideologies, but in the personal interest of the great figures. For this was an age resplendent with dominant personalities: Frederick Barbarossa, Henry II, Philip Augustus, Richard the Lionheart, John Lackland, Frederick II, and Innocent III. Their strengths and their weaknesses shaped the history of their times. In 1180 Philip Augustus was crowned king of France. 3 The title Augustus was not current in the Middle Ages; it was coined for him by his chaplain, William the Breton, and used by later his2

Friedrich Heer states that one of the most important characteristics of Europe in this period was its openness: open societies, open boundaries. The Medieval World, trans. Janet Sondheimer (Cleveland, 1961). 3 Works with special reference to Philip are: R. Fawtier, Les Capétiens et la France (Paris, 1942); Petit-Dutaillis, The Feudal Monarchy in France and England from the Tenth to the Thirteenth Century (London, 1936); A. Luchaire, Social France in the Age of Philip Augustus (New York, 1912); P. Scheffer-Boichorst, Deutschland und Philipp II August von Frankreich in den Jahren 1180-1214, Forschungen zur deutschen Geschichte (Gôttingen, 1868).

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

15

torians. At the time of his coronation, his future did not at all appear to be that of an Augustus. France, at that time, was not a single political unit, but was comprised of various regions. Ruled in the North by a king, it was controlled in the South by powerful independent lords who were theoretically vassals of the king. Philip possessed very little actual territory, and that in Northern France; major portions of France - Anjou, Maine, Normandy, Aquitaine - were in the hands of Philip's most powerful vassal, Henry II of England. Philip and Henry warred for power and land in France. In this struggle, as in the later struggles between Philip and Richard, Philip and John, "the lesser vassals played a continual game of backing whichever adversary was the weakest, thus maintaining a balanced power and preventing any one ruler from getting too strong to check their own independence".4 This feudal warfare was typical of the period: small battles, shifting allegiances on the part of the minor vassals, treaties made and broken, new alliances of former enemies fighting former allies. Henry and his four sons, the "Young King", Geoffrey, Richard the Lionheart, and John Lackland, rather than solidly banding together to oppose Philip, aided him by their internecine warfare. The years between 1180 and 1204 are filled with their sporadic struggles, among themselves and with Philip, to gain or regain territory.5 From 1181 to 1183 there were revolts by the barons in Aquitaine in support of the "Young King", Henry Court-Mantel, against Henry II and Richard. Geoffrey joined the rebellion on the side of the "Young King", but the cause was ill-fated. The "Young King" died in 1183, and the revolt collapsed. Geoffrey, after the siege of Limoges in 1183, begged his father's pardon and returned to paternal favor. Henry's troubles were not settled by this reconciliation. His 4

Anthony Bonner, "A Troubadour Anthology" (unpublished manuscript), introduction, p. 8. 5 Vide Amy Kelly, Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Four Kings (Cambridge, 1950); J. H. Ramsey, The Angevin Empire 1154-1216 (London, 1903). Many literary studies contain excellent background material on the feudal wars in France: A. Bonner, op. cit.; R. de Boysson, Études sur Bertrand de Born (Paris, 1902); H. J. Chaytor, Savaric de Mauléon (Cambridge, 1939); Le Troubadour Folquet de Marseille, ed. Stanislaw Stronski (Cracow, 1910).

16

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

wife Eleanor prepared a revolt. She had formerly been imprisoned by Henry, then freed and put in charge of Aquitaine. Now she was incensed about Henry's supposed seduction of Alix, the sister of Philip and the betrothed of Richard, who had been living at the English court in London. Eleanor's revolt failed when Henry captured and reimprisoned her. But Philip, concerned for Alix and more concerned about the dowry of another sister, Marguerite, the widow of the "Young King", which Henry refused to return, demanded restitution. He wanted the lands of Gisors and Vexin, the homage of Aquitaine, and wished to see the long-delayed marriage of Alix and Richard take place. When his demands went unfulfilled, Philip began a campaign against Henry which ended at Chateauroux in a truce on June 23, 1187. Richard came to the fray, but for the time being, stayed neutral. But the western world had greater problems in 1187 than a king's quarrel over a dowry and a marriage. In that year Jerusalem was taken by the Saracens, and the Pope called for a crusade.6 Frederick Barbarossa, the German Emperor, took the cross, and at Gisors on January 21, 1188, Philip and Henry agreed to stop fighting each other and to fight heathens instead. As might have been expected, things did not proceed as was planned. Richard broke the truce, and a second meeting was held at Gisors at which the officials of the Church intervened for a truce in the cause of peace at home, crusade abroad. But by the end of 1188, there were more complications. Philip and Richard had formed an entente against Henry, and John Lackland joined the revolt against his father's overlordship. Henry, prematurely aged by the continuous rebellions of his sons, died in 1189. On September 3, 1189, Richard was crowned at Westminster. Previously, he and Philip had signed a treaty of "eternal peace", and agreed to crusade. The Third Crusade was slow in starting. Frederick Barbarossa left on April 23, 1190 and drowned before reaching his destina0

Vide, Carl Erdmann, Die Entstehung des Kreuzzugsgedankens (Stuttgart, 1935), and the sections pertaining to history in F. W. Wentzlaff-Eggebert, Kreuzzugsdichtung des Mittelalters (Berlin, 1960).

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

17

tion. The Empire passed to Henry VI, and the leadership of the crusaders was taken over by Conrad of Montferrat. Richard and Philip set out, but Richard dawdled in Sicily to settle affairs of the heart. Once Philip arrived in Syria, he did not stay very long, but with wily foresight hurried home on July 31, 1199 to entrench his position and holdings in France. The rallying cry of the Third Crusade was "recapture Jerusalem!" It was cried in vain. Jerusalem remained in the hands of Saladin, and the crusaders' only triumph was the siege of Acre, of which Richard the Lionheart was the hero. He turned out to be the hero of the whole crusade, and the aura of romance connected with him was increased further by events on his return journey in 1192. While on his way home, he was taken and held prisoner by the German Emperor. Legend has it that the exact place in which he was imprisoned remained unknown to those in France and England. It is said he was found, accidentally, by a wandering poet, Blondel de Nesles, who had set out for the purpose of finding him. Passing by the tower of a fortress, Blondel heard a voice singing, and recognized the voice as Richard's. This charming fiction obscures the cold fact of Richard's capture; the Emperor wanted his rival put out of action, if only temporarily, and held him for an exorbitant ransom. The demanded ransom finally raised, Richard returned briefly to England in 1194 and then went back to France to fight his old antagonist Philip. Richard's brother John had meanwhile allied himself with Philip, and Richard fought them both in Normandy. His attention was then diverted by a series of revolts by his Aquitanian vassals, which necessitated a campaign in that duchy. Finally, he led an expedition against his nephew in Brittany. Brittany had originally been Geoffrey's possession, and when he died, in 1186, his widow was forced by Henry II to marry the count of Chester - presumably to keep the territory firmly under Henry's control. The Bretons hated the count and, after Henry died, expelled him. They remained faithful to Arthur, Geoffrey's son, so named to capitalize on the legend of the "Breton hope", i.e., the eventual return of King Arthur. Philip, in his best interest, supported Arthur against Richard. When Richard died in 1199, he was succeeded

18

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

7

by John Lackland, who maintained the fight with Arthur and Philip. But John, unlike Henry II and Richard, was no match for Philip. Through a romantic blunder, he managed to lose most of his French holdings. He abducted Isabelle Taillefer, the fiancée of his Aquitanian vassal Hugh le Brun, and forced her to marry him. Demanding justice, Hugh went to Philip. John refused to come into court, and as a result, in 1202 Philip declared John's fiefs forfeit to the crown. Battles were waged, and Philip sent Arthur into Aquitaine on a military campaign against John. Warring in Aquitaine, Arthur attempted to seize his aunt, Eleanor, John's mother, who was supporting her son in this campaign. Instead of capturing Eleanor, as he intended, Arthur was himself captured by John and killed. But events never went well for John in his fight for his French possessions. Eleanor died in 1204, leaving John without his major supporter, and by 1208 he had lost all of his possessions north of the Loire. As these large holdings came under Philip's control, the balance of power in France, maintained for so long by strong, independent vassals, was destroyed. John continued to fight, without success. His attempts to gain back his territories culminated in the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, a disastrous defeat for John which secured Philip's power in France. During these years, the Angevins were not the only ones warring in Southern France. In addition to the numerous struggles of minor lords, Raimon V, count of Toulouse, and his cousin Alfonso II, king of Aragon, fought over disputed rights to the territory of Provence. Both claimed it as a heritage from their respective grandmothers, the sisters Douce, wife of Raimon Berengar of Barcelona, and Feydide, wife of Alfonso I of Toulouse. Henry II frequently aligned himself with Aragon against Raimon V, claiming on his wife's side a right to the property of Toulouse. But Toulouse was ultimately brought down by a more serious 7

In regards to John and events pertaining to his reign in England, see K. Norgate, John Lackland (London, 1902); S. Painter, The Reign of King John (Baltimore, 1949); F. M. Powicke, Stephen Langton (Oxford, 1928).

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, 1 1 8 0 - 1 2 3 0

19

enemy than either Henry or Alfonso proved to be. Catharism8 grew strong in Raimon's lands and the surrounding areas of Carcassonne, Béziers, and Albi. The Cathari advocated a return to the simplicity of primitive Christianity and refused to recognize the rituals and authority of the Catholic Church. They had their own few simple rituals; they placed great importance on saying the Lord's Prayer, and on the washing of hands. Eating a meal with fellow-believers had ritualistic significance, as did the consolamentum or laying on of hands to admit a believer to the state of a "parfait". Dogmatically, they incorporated the beliefs of the Manichees: the dualism between good and evil, light and dark powers; the existence of a powerful black or evil god who created and controlled the entire world. All Cathari did not follow exactly the same dogma, however; there was considerable disagreement among factions of the sect itself as to the power of God, the person of Jesus, the power of the evil god, and the creation of the world. Sects divided within the sect. All, however, did agree on the repudiation of this world, and those who had reached the state of a "parfait" ate no meat, took only the barest sustenance, and refused to propagate themselves. Their numbers were not many, their ways gentle, and their Catholic neighbors permitted them to live in peace. The Church in Rome was disturbed by this heresy. Reports came from Southern France that they made many converts and that influential clerics and bishops had become practicing Cathari. Their influence was exaggerated. To stop the growth of heresy, Innocent III sent preachers into Southern France and Northern 8

The literature on Catharism is extensive; see Pierre de Berne-Lagarde, Bibliographie du Catharisme languedocien (Institut des études cathares; Toulouse, 1957), and Dictionnaire de théologie catholique (Paris, 1910), Vol. II. Most of the information on Catharist dogma and ritual comes from those who were writing against Catharism. The majority of the contemporary works which survive are anti-Catharist tracts and sermons; for an original Catharist document see Un Traité Néo-Manichéen du XIII Siècle, Le Liber de Duobus Principiis, suivi d'un Fragment de Rituel Cathare, ed. A. Dondaine, O.P., Istituto Storico Domenicano S. Sabina (Roma, 1939). For secondary material see Arno Borst, Die Katharer, Monumenta Germaniae Histórica (Stuttgart, 1953); R. Nelli et al., Le Catharisme (Toulouse, 1953); H. C. de Puech, Le Manichéisme (Paris, 1947).

20

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

Italy, with no great measure of success. The situation remained unchanged until the mysterious murder of the papal legate, Peter of Castelnou, in 1208. Although Raimon, not guilty of the crime, did public penance for it, Innocent III, morally convinced that he must stop the heresy and save those Christians who were losing salvation by practicing Catharism, called for a crusade. He turned to the traditional ally of the Church, the French king. Thus religious motivations became mixed with political ambitions, and the result was the Albigensian Crusade,* which radically changed the complexion and culture of Southern France. Much debate has arisen as to the motives behind the Crusade and its importance as a disruptive force in Southern France. It seems fairly certain that Innocent for once was not playing power politics, but sincerely believed that he as Pope was responsible for the souls of his flock which the heresy endangered. The motivation of the French seems less pure. Crusaders were assembled from the ranks of the Northern French, and with Simon de Montfort as their leader they went off to despoil the feudal domains of the counts of Toulouse and Trencavel, neither a known heretic. Inspired less by religious fervor than by cruelty and greed, they sacked Beziers and Carcassonne in 1209; Raimon-Rogier, lord of Beziers, died in prison. In the next few years, the hard-pressed count of Toulouse, fighting to save his lands, not the heresy, called for help from his brother-in-law Pedro II of Aragon, who had succeeded Alfonso II in 1196. Pedro, a devout Catholic who broke the back of the Muslim power in Spain at the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, hastened to France, as a Christian hero, to aid the beleaguered Raimon. But at the decisive battle of Muret in 1213, he was killed, and Raimon was thus deprived of an ally in Aragon. Raimon had married six times, and was also a brother' On the Crusade and the situation in Southern France see: P. Belperron, La Croisade contre les Albigeois et I'union du Languedoc d la France (Paris, 1943); A. Luchaire, Innocent III, Vol. Ill: La croisade des Albigeois (Paris, 1905-8); J. H. Mundy, Liberty and Political Power in Toulouse, 1050-1230 (New York, 1954); Peter of Vaux-de-Cernay, Historia Albigensium, trans. Pacal Guebin and Henri Maisonneuve (Paris, 1951); Robert Harlan Gere, "The Troubadours, Heresy, and the Albigensian Crusade" (diss., Columbia University, 1955).

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

21

in-law of John Lackland, but John's defeat by Philip at Bouvines in 1214 left Raimon without the possibility of help from England. By the time of the Lateran Council of 1215, he was reduced by the crusaders to the mercy of the Church which legislated to deprive him of nearly all his property. The decade 1180-90 was the last in the reign of the German Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. Frederick, a Hohenstaufen, was a powerful figure, dominating the culture and politics of his day. His courts were centers of civilization, bringing to the German nobility the ideals and manners exemplified by French chivalry. He fostered not only an ideal of courtly behavior, but also an imperial ideology. Frederick revitalized the concept of the Roman Empire. He attempted to enforce secular cohesion on the disparate states and principalities of Italy and Germany and to unite them under the rule of a Christian Emperor, the mundi dominus and princeps terrae principum. To this goal was devoted his military strategy as well as the propaganda of his imperial chancery.10 "The Hohenstaufen propaganda offers striking proof of the efforts to increase this cohesion where it existed in any form, to create it afresh where it did not already exist."11 Frederick was very much aware of the role of public opinion and attempted to influence it through manifestoes from the Chancery. The military and propaganda efforts to implement the concept of Empire established by him were followed by successive Hohenstaufen rulers: Henry VI, Philip of Swabia, Frederick II, and even the Welf, Otto IV. Barbarossa's attempts to revive imperial domination in Italy 10

N. Rubenstein, "Political Rhetoric in the Imperial Chancery during the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries", Medium Aevum, XIV (1945), 35: "But any investigation of Frederick's political plans should take into consideration the existence of a definite propaganda policy at the Imperial chancery.... What is true of the reign of Frederick Barbarossa is equally true of that of his grandson. As in so many other respects, Frederick II's policy resembles that of his ancestor in the attention paid to public opinion." See also O. Vehse, Die amtliche Propaganda in der Staatskunst Kaiser Friedrichs II (Munich, 1929). 11 Rubenstein, op. cit., 42.

22

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

met with resistance from the Popes and the independent Italian states. In 1167 the Lombard League was formed for mutual protection against the Emperor, and the years between 1167 and 1183 are filled with wars in Italy. Not till 1183 was peace made at Constance between Frederick and the League. Upon his death in 1190 on the Third Crusade, his son Henry VI took over. Henry, married in 1186 to Constance, the heiress to Sicily and Naples, followed his father's policy in Central Italy. His reign is marked by conquests and revolts, mainly in Apulia and also in Sicily. At the time of his death in 1197, the Empire was in a state of disorder;12 the question of an imperial successor was to cause difficulties from 1198 to 1218. Before he died, Henry had attempted to force the German princes to make the kingship hereditary, thus ensuring the succession of his infant son, Frederick. The princes refused to comply, but they agreed to elect Frederick while his father still lived. Unfortunately, he died less than a year after the election. Frederick, at this time, was only three - hardly an age to be an Emperor. The Hohenstaufen party, therefore, supported the candidacy of Philip of Swabia, Frederick's uncle and regent of the realm. He was elected in 1198, but without the backing of all the electors, or of the Pope. Then the old Welf-Hohenstaufen struggle was renewed. The opposition to Philip supported and elected, also in 1198, Otto of Brunswick, the son of the Welf Henry the Lion and his wife Mathilda, a sister of Richard the Lionheart. Henry had spent much of his youth with his uncle Richard in Southern France and, consequently, his ties to the Angevin rulers in England were very strong. After his election, Philip, in search of supporters, renewed the old Capetian-Hohenstaufen alliance. Thus the axis was established: Welf and England versus Hohenstaufen and Philip of France. This axis was to determine international 18 Strayer, op. cit., p. 112. "By the beginning of the thirteenth century there was no effective central government anywhere in the Empire. In Italy the towns became completely independent; in Germany all real authority fell into the hands of the ecclesiastical and secular princes. This trend was never to be reversed. In spite of all efforts to restore the Empire, Italy remained a land of independent city-states and Germany a land of independent principalities for the rest of the Middle Ages."

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

23

events for the next decade and a half and climaxed at the Battle of Bouvines. Into the discord created by the disputed election stepped the new pope, Innocent III.18 Innocent was as determined a foe of imperial power as the Hohenstaufens were its proponents. In opposition to their imperial ideology, he set about to establish the papacy according to the concept of the priest-king Melchizedek. He sought to make the papacy the primal power not in ecclesiastical affairs alone, but in secular affairs as well. He adhered to the claim of Nicholas I, restated by Gregory VII in Dictatus papae and followed by Alexander III: "Petro non solum universam ecclesiam, sed totum reliquit saeculum gubernandum."14 On his accession to the papal throne on February 23, 1198, he found the papal states of Central Italy ringed by imperial dominions. His policy concerning the Empire was directed toward removing imperial claims to territory in Central and Southern Italy, thus establishing a solid block of papal territory in Central Italy, and toward separating Sicily from the Empire. In 1199 Innocent sent a letter to the Archbishop of Mayence, a supporter of Philip, claiming the right of the Curia to decide the disputed imperial election. Both candidates sought the Pope's support, but Innocent's conditions were that the future Emperor renounce all claims in Central and Southern Italy, and thus sacrifice the imperial position. Innocent did not yet make a deci18 On the careers of Philip and Otto and the disputed election see J. Haller, "Innozenz III and Otto IV", Papsttum und Kaisertum in Forschungen zur politischen Geschichte und Geisteskultur des Mittelalters, Paul Kehr zum 65 Geburtstag dargebracht, ed. A. Brackmann (Munich, 1926); Langerfeldt, Kaiser Otto der Vierte (Hannover, 1872); E. Winkelmann, Philipp von Schwaben und Otto IV von Braunschweig, 2 vols. (Leipzig, 1873, 1878). Two literary studies which contain discussion of the historical situation are Konrad Burdach, "Der mittelalterliche Streit um das Imperium in den Gedichten Walthers von der Vogelweide", Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte, XIII (1935), 509-62, and W. Wilmanns, Leben und Dichten Walthers von der Vogelweide, ed. Victor Michels, 2nd ed. (Halle, 1916). 14 Cambridge Medieval History, IV, 3. In connection with Innocent's attempts to establish a "papal monarchy", see E. Kantorowicz' study of the "imperialization" of the papal lauds in Laudes Regiae, A Study in Liturgical Acclamations and Medieval Ruler Worship, University of California Publications in History (Berkeley, 1946), XXXIII, 1-292.

24

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

sion, however; he withheld his support to gain the greatest concessions to papal power from either candidate. In 1200 he issued his Deliberatio de facto imperii super tribus electis in which he claimed for the Pope the right to decide who should be Emperor. He based his claims on the ground that the Empire belonged to the apostolic see principaliter because of the supposed translatio of the Empire from the Greeks to the Franks by Leo III, et finaliter because the Emperor was crowned and invested with imperial power by the Pope. After a deliberation of the claims of young Frederick, Philip, and Otto, Innocent decided in favor of Otto, whose coronation took place on July 3, 1201 in Cologne. This coronation did not put an end to the dispute. Powerful ecclesiastical and secular princes still attempted to win adherents to their respective sides, and diplomatic intrigues were backed up by battles. First Philip's fortunes fell and he seemed defeated. Then they rose again. On January 26, 1205, Philip and his consort Irene were crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle, in the best tradition of the Holy Roman Emperor. By 1207, Otto's forces were routed and he was forced to flee to England and his English allies for refuge. Philip seemed destined to reign as undisputed Emperor, and Germany saw an end to civil war in sight. But in 1208 Philip was assassinated. Otto's followers rallied and the Hohenstaufen party agreed to support him; he was crowned Emperor in 1209. Innocent expected an imperial pawn and found an antagonist. Otto, although not a Hohenstaufen, adopted the Hohenstaufen ideology and pursued a policy of militarism in Italy similar to that of Barbarossa and Henry VI. By 1211 the Pope had excommunicated Otto, who was then planning to attack Sicily, and the Golden Bull of Eger emancipated the German church from all imperial control. Meanwhile, intriguing for a new imperial candidate had begun again. Frederick15 by now was old enough to be put forward, and Philip Augustus and Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia were attempting to drum up support for him. At both the Diet of Bamberg and the Diet of Nuremberg in 1211 his following grew larger. He arrived in Germany from Sicily in 1212, and fighting broke out again between two op15

Vide E. Kantorowicz, Frederick the Second 1194-1250 (London, 1931).

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

25

posing camps. Innocent, ever hopeful of finding a pliable imperial candidate, supported Frederick, who seemed to be willing to accede to Innocent's demands. The years 1214 and 1215 were decisive in the history of Western Europe. The importance of the Battle of Bouvines was mentioned above. John Lackland, still trying to win back the territory he had lost to Philip Augustus, sought aid from Otto. They had much in common: John was Otto's uncle; they had a mutual enemy in Innocent III, both having been excommunicated by him; neither had any love for Philip Augustus - John because he had lost his land to him, Otto because Philip supported Frederick's bid for the Empire. Thus the interests of four great powers met at Bouvines on July 27, 1214: Otto and John versus Philip, who had the support of Frederick. Philip won. His victory marked the defeat of John's hopes and his end as a political power in France; it crushed Otto. He never recovered enough strength or followers to be a serious rival to Frederick, although he fought him sporadically until his own death in 1218. In 1215 the Fourth Lateran Council convened, deposed Otto, and recognized Frederick as ruler of Germany; he was crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle. The Council also deprived Raimon VI of Toulouse of most of his property. Thus the opposition to the two major overlords in Europe - Philip in France, Frederick in Germany - was cut down. The third great power, Innocent III, did not live to see the outcome of his manoeuvers; he died in 1216. Had he lived, he would have discovered his protégé, Frederick, to be as much of an imperialist as his Hohenstaufen grandfather and as great a foe of the papacy. Historians have found Innocent one of the most fascinating and problematic figures of his era.18 Perhaps no one will ever be able to understand thoroughly his motives. Certainly he set himself to diversified tasks: church legislation and reform, consolidation of papal power, dispersion of heresy, unification of the Greek and 16

The major study on Innocent is A. Luchaire, Innocent III (Paris, 190508), 6 vols. Among other works are S. R. Packard, Europe and the Church under Innocent 111 (New York, 1927) and Friedrich Kempf, Papsttum und Kaisertum bei Innocent III, Miscellanea Historiae Pontificiae (Rome, 1954), Vol. XIX.

26

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

Latin Church, crusading. His driving concern seems, from the vantage point of several centuries, not to have been for spirituality, but for power. In the cases of the Albigensian and Fourth Crusades, however, he may have been naive about the extent to which religious concerns motivated the secular powers, and thus in his support of a supposedly religious enterprise, he became an unwitting tool furthering the ambitions and greed of secular princes. Yet from his own attempts at the consolidation of papal and the weakening of imperial power, it seems unlikely that Innocent could ever have been a tool. He was much criticized by his contemporaries and by later historians for his use of spiritual power to further his political aims. He claimed final selection of the Emperor rested with him and he supported the candidate who made the greatest political concessions to the papacy. He used excommunication as a political weapon to bring his opponents to heel. He excommunicated Otto IV for pursuing Barbarossa's military policy in Central and Southern Italy, and John Lackland for opposing his choice of Stephen Langton as archbishop. He even threatened John with invasion by Philip Augustus in 1213 if he did not submit. The Fourth Crusade occurred in 1204 during the reign of Innocent. It is not part of the main stream of political events during this period; it did not manifestly affect the power struggles in Western Europe. As an event it is something of a curiosity. "It had been undertaken with the object of delivering Jerusalem, or attacking Egypt; it ended in the conquest of Constantinople." 17 Yet it needs to be treated here, as its leader, Boniface of Montferrat, was a great patron of the troubadours; certain troubadours participated in it, and many troubadours and the German poet Walther wrote about it or its consequences. The Third Crusade had as its justification the recapture of Jerusalem. Recovering this lost possession was a paramount, sacred obligation. The crusaders were filled with a religious fervor augmented by the fact that the holy city where Jesus preached and his tomb were in infidel hands. It was felt as a shame to all Christianity that they held their God in such little esteem as to permit this "

Cambridge

Medieval

History,

IV, 416.

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

27

outrage. The Third Crusade did not recapture Jerusalem, but the hopes for this eventuality were not lost. After the death of Saladin in 1193, the Saracens began to war over the succession. Leaders in the Christian world, seeing this internal dissension as proof of a weakened fighting force, agitated for a Fourth Crusade. But in the time between the Third and Fourth Crusades, there was a change in attitude toward crusading.18 The religious fervor was markedly diminished. This was partly due to an increased sophistication on the part of Europeans who discovered that the Saracens were not all heathen savages, but cultivated men who had all the virtues Christians possessed except the belief in Christianity, and that their leaders, especially Saladin, could be heroes, courageous and magnanimous. The decrease in religious motivation was also due to the attrition of time; the ideological content became less important, and the initial driving force behind the crusades was dissipated. The Fourth Crusade was led by a group of French and Italian barons with a strong worldly interest in conquest, rather than recovery of holy possessions to the greater glory of Christendom. The barons signed a treaty with Venice in April 1201: in return for 85,000 marks of silver and half the conquests made, the Venetians would supply ships and provisions for the crusaders by June 28, 1202. The Doge of Venice was uninterested in crusading, but schemed to aggrandize Venetian power and her hegemony on the sea-trade. When the crusaders were, as was to be expected, unable to meet their payments, they agreed, as a means of paying off the debt, to capture the city of Zara on the Adriatic, a trade rival of Venice. Thus began the deflection of the crusade. Events in Constantinople aided in further diverting the crusade. In 1195, Alexius Angelos deposed his brother Isaac and his son, also named Alexius. By 1201, this young Alexius had escaped and come to Germany to seek the aid of the husband of his sister Irene, Philip of Swabia, in restoring his father Isaac to the throne. Philip, in 1201, was too busy trying to defeat Otto's forces to help anybody else. Alexius turned to the crusaders. He offered to pay the sum still owed to Venice, give them money and 18

Vide Wentzlaff-Eggebert, op. cit., V. Teil.

28

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, 1 1 8 0 - 1 2 3 0

supplies to invade Egypt, provide five hundred knights to guard the Holy Land, and effect a reconciliation between the Greek and Roman Church. The offer, while highly unrealistic, was too good to miss. The crusaders agreed. They captured Zara for Venice and in 1203 went on to support Isaac against Alexius III. They were successful and on August 1, 1203, Isaac was crowned. His reign was short; in February 1204 the citizens of Constantinople revolted, led by a son-in-law of Alexius III and egged on by Greek animosity to the Westerners. In March 1204, the crusaders decided to settle matters by brutally sacking the city - even Innocent protested at this outrage - and parceling the spoils of the Empire between the French and the Venetians. The lion's share in the form of feudal seigneuries went to the Venetians. Thus was established the Latin Kingdom in Byzantium. It was a source of trouble to its Western rulers. Menaced by Bulgarian invasions, a restive, unhappy populace, and feuds among the Latin rulers, especially in Thessalonica over the succession to the throne, its existence was precarious. In 1215, Frederick, perhaps in the enthusiasm of being crowned king, made a tactical error: he promised to go on a crusade. This vow was to plague his relations with the papacy for the next fifteen years. Because of complications within the Empire, Frederick kept postponing his departure. The fall of Damietta into Moslem hands in 1221, a city previously taken and held by crusaders, increased the agitation, papal and secular, for a crusade. Pope Honorius III (1216-1227) who followed Innocent, however, had not the force of his predecessor and was unable to effect a new crusade. He continued to give Frederick the postponements for which he asked, and crowned him Holy Roman Emperor in Rome on November 22, 1220. The last decade of this fifty-year span saw new continuations of old wars, deaths, and temporary truces. In 1223, Philip Augustus died and was succeeded by Louis VIII. Louis reigned only three years, during which time he renewed the crusade in Southern France. Simon de Montfort had died in the siege of Toulouse in 1218, and after his death, the count of Toulouse had rallied his forces somewhat. Louis was urged to resume the hostilities; he

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, 1 1 8 0 - 1 2 3 0

29

•died of an illness contracted while campaigning in Provence. Louis IX, his successor, later known as St. Louis, finished the job for him. In 1229 he forced the count of Toulouse, now Raimon VII, to agree to the terms of the Treaty of Meaux, which were favorable to the French king. Except for a brief uprising in 1242, this treaty marked the end of the Albigensian wars, left the southern feudal lords nearly powerless, and the Capetians in control. Frederick, after 1220 Frederick II, had his son Henry crowned king of Germany, appointed Archbishop Engelbert of Cologne viceregent and guardian of the young king, and left Germany in their hands. His political interest was primarily in Italy, and after 1230 he renewed the wars in Lombardy in an attempt to bring it under full imperial authority. As far as Germany was concerned, he did not want to be troubled. He placated the secular and ecclesiastical German princes by giving them full power in their domains and guaranteeing them against any form of imperial intervention. His policy ultimately underminded his own power and caused enormous difficulties for his son. Frederick spent scarcely two years in Germany after 1214; he returned to Sicily. It was his home; he had spent his boyhood there, and the climate and society were more agreeable to him than those of Germany. There he established his court and pursued an extremely civilized life, considered by some of his contemporaries to be hopelessly immoral. He was a patron of the arts, something of a poet himself, and he cultivated the acquaintance of scholars of all faiths - showing himself to be a man of tolerance. His tolerance even extended to the Moslem ladies he supposedly kept in his harem. The blandishments of Sicily did not spur Frederick on to the crusade, but the Popes had not forgotten the Emperor's vow. Honorius died in 1227 and was succeeded by Gregory IX, who excommunicated Frederick for not fulfilling his promise. Enough pressure was brought to bear on Frederick to make him finally set off on a crusade. Frederick's "crusade" in 1229 effected what the Third and Fourth failed to achieve: the recovery of Jerusalem. Always a gentleman and a diplomat, Frederick arranged a peace with the Moslems which involved the return of the Holy City,

30

THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND,

1180-1230

without any fighting. The Pope had no choice but to be grateful and welcome the hero home. Peace - for the time at least - was made between Emperor and Pope at San Germano in July 1230. These, then, are the major events and persons of the years 1180-1230. Some of them the political poets treat in songs; others never receive poetic mention. The historical importance of an event does not determine whether a poem is to be written about it or not. Many of the most important events are left to be recorded by the historians, while events of such minor significance that they are included only in the most comprehensive or specialized history texts, if at all, are the subjects for poems. The question this fact raises is: what determines which events and which persons are the subjects of the political songs? The answer can be found by studying the poems themselves.

II THE POLITICAL LYRIC: DEFINITION, GENERAL CONTENTS, MAJOR CHARACTERISTICS

Perhaps it is an historical accident that this particular fifty year span, 1180-1230, so full of political chaos should also have been a time of great poetic efflorescence in the vernaculars. From these years date the best achievements in the canso and the Minnesang, and it is also this period which marks the emergence of the vernacular political song as a minor, but significant, genre. Further, these years encompass the activity of the only two major lyric poets during the High Middle Ages who can be truly considered political poets: Bertran de Born in Provence (fl. 1180-1195) and Walther von der Vogelweide in Germany (fl. 1190-1228-30?). Both of them produced a large body of political poems and each in his own way, although using completely different themes and techniques, maintained a consistent political outlook and position. Bertran was the first political lyricist to write a considerable amount of poems in Provence, and Walther the first and the only writer of political poetry in Germany during this period. The medieval historical tradition of the vernacular political lyric before Bertran and Walther is meager indeed. True, there are a considerable number of poems which deal with battles - the chansons of Roland, of Guillaume d'Orange, early versions of the Nibelungenlied - but they are neither political (the historic nucleus is just that - unimportant to the meaning and development of the poems as wholes) nor historically specific, and in form they are narrative and epic. The Ludwigslied, while praising the victory of King Louis, is not a lyric, but a narrative, as are the AngloSaxon poems on the battles of Maldon and Brunanburh. Also these poems are written after the battle, whereas the political

32

THE POLITICAL LYRIC

lyrics which treat a specific battle are usually written before the battle and are exhortations to valor, assurances of the victory to come, and morale boosters for the participants of the side for which the poet is writing. It is difficult to find any poetic support for Crick's statement, "The earliest political poetry in Germany seems to have been a debased form of historical song",1 for there is no connection in genre or theme between the political lyric of Walther and the "historical songs", which must be the nonpolitical narratives concerning a battle to which Crick refers. The Latin tradition is somewhat fuller, for in Latin poetry both panegyric and censure of the ruler are found. Yet no specific poems can be singled out as forerunners or archetypes of the vernacular political lyric or proved to be direct influences on it. However, if any type of political poetry has a tradition, it is panegyric. Claudian (fl. 395-404) wrote "political poems which consist of panegyrics and invectives, and Sidonius Apollinaris (430-479) left eight lengthy panegyrics".8 At the center of these panegyrics (on the counselships of the brothers Anicius Probinus and Anicius Hernogenianus Alybrius, of Honorius, of Stilicho) was an allegorical and mythical episode which gave substance to the exercises in exaggerated flattery. Fortunatos (530-610?) wrote panegyric for various bishops and especially for Queen Radegunde and her spiritual daughter, the abbess Agnes,3 and the court poets of the Carolingian circle excelled in this form, as for example, Theodulf s praises of Charlemagne in Ad Carolum regem and Modoin's Ecologue, filled with Charles's praise and destiny as the "new Augustus".4 Sedulius Scottus, a later court poet, addressed verses 1 A. J. P. Crick, "The Political Poetry of Walther von der Vogelweide" (Unpublished M.A. thesis, London, 1936), p. 3. 5 F. I. E. Raby, A History of Secular Latin Poetry in the Middle Ages (Oxford, 1934), I, 89. See Vols. I and II, passim, for information on Latin poets below. 3 Venanti Honori Clementiani Fortunati opera poética, ed. F. Leo, Monumenta Germaniae Histórica, Auctorum Antiquissimorum IV, 1. Vide R. R. Bezzola, Les origines et la formation de la littérature courtoise en Occident (500-1200) (Paris, 1944), Vol. I. 4 Monumento Germaniae Histórica, Poetarum latinorum medii aevi, Poetae latini aevi carolini (1881-1923), Vols. I-IV.

THE POLITICAL LYRIC

33

to the Emperor Lothar and Charles the Bald, and to Louis, king of Germany. Throughout Europe, there are many Latin narrative or epic poems which celebrated the deeds of the ruler and historical events: Poeta Saxo, a celebration of Charlemagne by an anonymous Saxon monk; Abbo, monk of St. Germain-des-Pres's Bella Parisiacae Urbis, an account of the Norman siege of Paris; Gesta Berangarii imperatoris; Carmen de bello Saxonico on the events of the Saxon revolt 1073-75, including a panegyric of Henry IV; and numerous epics from twelfth century Italy on the battles of the Pisans and Genoese with the Saracens in Majorca and the Italian pirates, and on the deeds of Barbarossa. All of these, however, while having their origin in a desire to praise a specific ruler or city, are narratives, written for the purpose of reciting the events. They are telling a story and do not have the fervor of lyric partisan poetry. Of all the goliardic poets, perhaps only the Archipoeta had any contact with political figures; he wrote panegyric for the first Hohenstaufen Emperor, Frederick Barbarossa, and was under the patronage of the archbishop of Cologne.5 He was requested to write a long, epic celebration of Frederick's virtues, but begged off, feeling inadequate to the magnitude of the project. Gautier de Chatillon,6 in one strophe of one poem, severely chastises Henry II of England for the murder of Becket, but this singular instance does not make him a political lyricist. He also cannot be considered as "background" for Provencal poetry as he is a twelfth century contemporary. In Provence, there are two poets before Bertran who wrote political songs: Marcabru and Peire d'Alvernhe.7 Marcabru wrote two crusade songs, one in 1137, the other in 1146, and "Aujatz de chan", in which he warns Alfonso of Toulouse that he will turn to the king of Castille if Alfonso is not generous enough. Peire 5 Crick, op. cit., p. 5, inaccurately parallels his position with that of Walther von der Vogelweide, Friedrich II, and Archbishop Engelbert. 6 Die Gedichte Gautiers von Chatillon, ed. Karl Strecker (Berlin, 1925). 7 Vide Joachim Storost, Ursprung und Entwicklung des altprovenzalischen Sirventes bis auf Bertran de Born, Romanistische Arbeiten, XVII (Halle, 1931).

34

THE POLITICAL LYRIC

d'Alvernhe's "Bel m'es quan la roza floris", written in 1158, shames Sancho III of Castille for not taking up a crusade, and "Bel m'es qui a bon sen", written in 1159, counsels Count Raimon V of Toulouse to avenge himself on Raimon-Berengar IV, count of Barcelona, and on Henry II, the Plantagenet king of England, who have taken up arms against him. Turning from the historical tradition of political lyric poetry to a definition of the political poem - what it is and is not - we must first digress briefly, and discuss as simply as possible the question of form because it has so preoccupied former scholars, and they, in dealing with the lyric, have given this problem much attention. Provencal poetry is conventionally divided into a number of genres, each with its own set of conventions. Although the types were not carefully defined until the Leys d'Amors, written in 1388 in the poetic academy in Toulouse, the classifications were understood by the poets of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, although some quarreled over the distinction between canso and vers. The genre with the most restrictions as to form, and the one in which form was the most important, was the canso. Dante dealt with its form in the De Vulgari eloquentia; the Doctrina de compondre dictatz, written at the end of the thirteenth century, contains a study of its prosody. None of the other genres was considered to be of such high quality, nor as difficult to write. The form in which the political lyric was written was the sirventes, the exact definition of which has become a problem of no small proportions for modern scholars. The sirventes was a catch-all genre, a grabbag of opinions, polemics, insults, the transcription of personal experiences, moral commentary, advice to rulers, praise of kings, and exhortation to the crusades. Thematically, what was excluded by the nature of the other genres - the canso, tenso, pastorela, joc partit, alba - became a sirventes. The Leys d'Amors defines the sirventes as follows: Sirventes es dictatz que play E servish se leu men que may De vers, descort o de chanso, Cant a las coblas et al so,

THE POLITICAL LYRIC

35

Am l'acort dels meteyshes motz O d'autres d'aytan semblan votz, Oz am diversa, mas que tenga L'autre compas e l so retenga, Tractans de mal dig general Per castiar eels que fan mal; E si de fag parla de guerra, En son procès per so non erra; Am bêlas razos deu reprendre Et enductivas ad aprendre.8 This passage defines the genre first by its form and then by its content. In seeking the reasons for the name of the genre and the origin of the word sirventes,9 scholars have debated the definition by form versus the definition by content. Does the poem, the sirventes, "serve" the canso in the sense that it takes the melody of the canso and uses it for other themes, and is thus defined by its form? Can the sirventes be defined by the kind of person who wrote the lyrics, "ein Gedicht von einen sirven verfasst?" Or can it be defined by its content: a "Gedicht im Dienste oder zu Ehren eines Herren?" 10 To the first two suggestions objections can be made. There have been sirventes which do not follow melodic borrowing of a canso form; some have new melodies, some, like Peire de la Cavarana's "D'un sirventes far" and Tomier and Palaizi's "De chantar farai" have refrains, which are usually associated with dance songs or with albas or pastorelas. Not all the writers of sirventes are sirvens; Bertran de Born is a seigneur. The third suggestion, a definition by content, comes closest to the conclusion reached by most scholars. Levy sums up the position which has found the widest support: 11 Das charakteristische des Sirventes ist aber durchaus nicht die Form, sondern der Inhalt. Das Sirventes handelt von Politik, von Krieg, und Kreuzfahrt, von den Fehlern der Geistlichen und den Sünden der 8

Las Leys d'Amors, ed. Joseph Anglade, Bibliothèque Méridionale, XVIII (1919), Vol. II, 181. 9 Vide Storost, op. cit., Kapitel I for a discussion of the semantic difficulties. 10 W. Nickel, Sirventes und Spruchdichtung (diss. Berlin, 1907), p. 4. 11 E. Levy, ed., Guillem Figueira (diss. Berlin, 1880), p. 16.

36

THE POLITICAL LYRIC

Reichen, es enthält Lob and Tadel, es ist strenge, herbe und kalt verglichen mit der Liebeslust und Liebeslied besingenden Canzone. Not only has the form of the sirventes given Provençal scholars trouble; the German scholars have problems with the form used by Walther, too. Prior to Walther, there is no German political lyric poet, and the lyric form or Lied is primarily devoted to Minne. Poems which contain moral reflections, thoughts about friendship, generalizations about virtue, didactic and gnomic statements, are termed Spruch and differ in form from the Lied. Before Walther, the only Sprüche extant are those of Herger and Spervogel, and they are not political.12 However, Walther "le premier en Allemagne... annexe la politique au lyrisme"13 and uses themes which would belong to the Spruch and the form of the Lied. Now what should one call these poems of Walther? Scholars from Wilmanns and Burdach to De Boor and many contemporary critics have referred to them as Sprüche.14 Yet Friedrich Maurer titled his edition of Walther's "Sprüche", Die politischen Lieder.. ,15 and maintains in his introduction that most authorities agree Walther is not writing Sprüche, which are single-

1! Walther has no vernacular antecedents in G e r m a n y as a political lyricist and Crick is correct in saying "If indeed any poems influenced Walther in his Sprüche, they were, it seems, those of the Provençals." Op. cit., p. 15. 13 Moret, Les Débuts du lyrisme en Allemagne (Lille, 1951), p. 210. 14 K. K. Klein, Zur Spruchdichtung und Heimatfrage Walthers von der Vogelweide, Schlern-Schriften N o . 90 (Innsbrack, 1952); Klein, "Die Strophenfolge des Bognerspruchs Walthers, 80,27 bis 81,6", Germanischromanische Monatsschrift, N e u Folge, VI (1956), 74-76; Roland Kohne, "Zu Walthers Bognerspruchen", Wirkendes Wort, X (1960), 33-42; Dietrich Kralik, "Die Kärntner Sprüche Walthers von der Vogelweide", Fragen und Forschungen, VIII (1956), 349-377; Lutz Mackensen, "Zu Walthers Spiessbratenspruch", Studien zur deutschen Philologie des Mittelalters. Festschrift f ü r F r . Panzer (Heidelberg, 1950), pp. 48-58; W . J. Schröder, "Zur Diskussion u m Walthers Tegernseespruch", Germanisch-romanische Monatsschrift, I X (1959), 95-97. This list is by n o means exhaustive. 15 Friedrich Maurer, Die politischen Lieder Walthers von der Vogelweide (Tubingen, 1954). Another problem raised by Maurer's title in relation to Walther's political songs is that he includes under the category political many poems which are not political, but moral or personal. F o r a thorough discussion of Maurer's book and terminology see W . T. H. Jackson, Germanic Review, X X X I I (1957), 217-218.

THE POLITICAL LYRIC

37

strophe poems, and that the poems were sung. He was severely taken to task by Hugo Moser,18 who criticized the term Lieder and claimed the poems may be single strophes and do not, as Maurer insists, necessarily hang together in groups which have a thematic "Einheit" or "Ton". He does, however, after classifying each type of Walther's poems, end on compromise by calling the politische Lyrik "spruchhafte Lieder". For the purposes of this book, the technical problems of strophic form and music will be disregarded, and Walther's poems will be termed simply lyrics. A problem which makes a definition by form inadequate to define political poems is raised by the sirventes. Not all sirventes are political - as seen above, there are many types of sirventes, the number of which are political is small - and not all political references are confined to the sirventes. Therefore, except to limit this study to lyric and exclude narrative poetry, we shall not include form in the discussion of the poems themselves, as it is not significant in the political lyrics as it is in the canso, nor shall we involve any further technicalities of form in making a definition of political poetry; the political lyric is defined by its content.17 It may appear superfluous to define the term political lyric, the meaning of which seems self-evident. Yet it is necessary, for many errors have been made in the past in classifying these poems and many nonpolitical poems wrongly included. Most simply, "political verse [is] the poetry directly inspired by public events and 18

H. Moser, "Spriiche oder politische Lieder Walthers?", Euphorion, LII (1958), 229-246. 17 Two former scholars, and two of the best, Diez and Jeanroy, both utilized this approach: definition by content. F. Diez, Die Poesie der Troubadours, 2nd ed., Karl Bartsch (Leipzig, 1883), sets up a workable format for the study of this genre. He divides political sirventes into Kampflied, Aufruf, Lobgesang, Riigelied, establishing the basic categories, two of which depend on events, two on personalities. However, although his format is sound, he makes no attempt to develop a study of the characteristics of political poetry, nor of the variations within each of his categories, nor does he pursue the implications about this type of poetry inherent in the format he chooses to explore these poems. Jeanroy, La Poésie lyrique des troubadours (Paris, 1934), iA his discussion of political sirventes, limits himself too much: he talks only of Bertran de Born and fails to mention the other kinds of political poems and the many other poets.

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public figures". Both the theme and the motive for writing the poem are politically determined. The political lyric is specific - it mentions names and places. Unless its implications refer to a specific person, nonspecific general criticism of kings as rulers, of the abuses of the Church, especially simony, of the wining, dining, and whoring of the clergy, of the precarious state of the world, does not technically belong in political poetry, but rather belongs to that massive amount of writing known as "moralische Dichtung". Poems written about the poet's relations with various noble personages, such as his requests for payment, his boasts about his intimacy with them, or about his more successful pursuit of women than theirs, are hardly political poems, despite the mention of names and places, but personal poems. Likewise, poems about the poet's life in a particular country, or about his longing for a particular country, represent a personal sentiment, not a political evaluation. For example, a charming poem like Peire Vidal's "Ab l'alen tir vas me l'aire",19 which celebrates the poet's return to a gloriously praised Provence, is not the record of a political event, but a personal reaction to the delights of the Midi. Nor is Walther's "Elegie" (124,1) political, even though he puts forward the crusade ideal as the way to salvation and once mentions the "unsenfte brieve", a reference to Gregory IX's excommunication of Frederick II in 1227 for failure to fulfill his crusade oath.20 It is a personal poem, an old man musing on the past, on the transitoriness of what has been. The poem is filled with the muted sadness of one whose day has come and gone. Another kind of poem which is not political is that into which 18

C. V. Wedgwood, Poetry and Politics under the Stuarts (Cambridge, I960), p. 3. » Peire Vidal, Les Poésies, ed. J. Anglade, 2nd ed. (Paris, 1923), XIX. All references to Peire Vidal's poems hereinafter are to this edition, and the titles and strophes of the poems referred to or quoted will appear in the text. 20 Burdach, "Walthers Aufruf zum Kreuzzug Kaiser Friedrichs II", Dichtung und Volkstum, XXXVI (1935), 50-68, attempts, on the basis of this reference, to interpret the "Elegie" as a crusade song: "Dieses politische Kreuzzugsgedicht ist nicht eine 'Elegie,' wie man es lange irrig genannt hat", p. 65.

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a clever editor or critic has read meanings and defined allusions which imply a political meaning the poet most probably never intended. Unfortunately, due to the tendency of political poetry to obscure allusions21 - a subject to which we will return - this is all too easy and too frequently done. Two examples, out of the many, of this misleading procedure will suffice. Walther once visited the famous monastery at Tegernsee, a visit which he anticipated with excitement as he had been much advised to go there, and turned out of his way to include it in his travels. His visit was a crushing disappointment, the gastronomic provision not being up to his expectations, and he left. He said: M a n seit mir ie von Tegerse, wie w o l daz hus mit eren ste: dar kerte ich mer dan eine mile von der straze. ich bin ein wunderlicher man, daz ich mich selben niht enkan verstan und mich so vil an fromde liute laze. ich schiltes niht, w a n got genade uns beiden. ich nam da wazzer: also nazzer muost ich von des münches tische scheiden. (104, 2 3 ) 2 2

The tone of the poem is jesting; it is a light bit of humor and a laconic jab at the monks - "I took water there [a reference to the most meager of sustenance], and now I must leave the monks' table." He chides himself for having listened to advice and gone there, but he does not blame those who directed him to go: "got genade uns beiden". Neither the tone nor any internal references would bear out Karl Kurt Klein's assertion that it is a political poem and reflects an attack on the Abbot Berthold (term of office 21

Infra, pp. 52-53. Lachmann, Die Gedichte Walthers von der Vogelweide, ed. Carl von Kraus, twelfth printing (Berlin, 1959). All references to Walther's poems in this book are to this edition, and references to the Lachmann numbers are given in the text. For a discussion of the problems connected with "wazzer" as referring to the traditional washing before meals, the question as to whether Walther had a meal there, and an interpretation of the poem as a whole, see W. J. Schröder, "Zur Diskussion um Walthers Tergernseespruch", Germanisch-romanische Monatsschrift, IX (1959), 95-97. 22

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1206-1217). Klein postulates a political tension between Walther and Berthold arising from their support of different imperial candidates. Walther was a guest at Tegernsee and Berthold shamed him by sending him to the mensa pauperum, thus treating him as a "fahrenden Spielmann und unfreien ministerialen" 23 instead of an honored and influential court poet. Walther, according to Klein, strikes back waspishly and as a revenge calls this prince of the Church, monk. Another instance of seeing political reference where none exists is Vossler's interpretation of Peire Cardenal's poem "Senh En Ebles vostre vezi".24 In the poem Peire criticizes the neighbors of Eble of Clermont, seigneur of Olliergues and brother to Gui II, count of Auvergne, for being stingy. "If the stones were bread, the water were wine, and the hills sides of pork and chickens", they still would have no "larc". He goes on to speak of those, "mas non dirai qui", who live in Gevaudan, Viennois, and Velay and are like pigs and dogs having the figure and face of them, "afaitamen cani", only the tails are lacking. The next object of his criticism is lying women, especially those who have the "appearance of an innocent infant", the "language of a subtle logician", the "will of Isengrim", a "beautiful body and blond hair". In the fifth strophe the poet, in connection with lying women, alludes to an unnamed "messongier castella". The tone is hostile, and the criticism probably brought on by personal rancor. However, Vossler sees in the "lying chatelaine" Blanche of Castille, who forced Raimon VII, count of Toulouse, to make a shameful peace with the crusaders (Albigensian) in 1229. The one who has the appearance of an innocent infant is, blond hair and beautiful body notwithstanding, Louis IX, king of France, who wishes to 23

K. K. Klein, Zur Spruchdichtung und Heimatfrage Walthers von der Vogelweide, Schlern-Schriften No. 90 (Innsbruck, 1952), p. 36. Gunther Jungbluth disputes Klein's conclusions in "Zu Walthers Tergernseespruch", Germanisch-romanische Monatsschrift, VII (1957), 84-86. 24 Poésies complètes du troubadour Peire Cardenal, ed. R. Lavaud, edition completed by Mm. Nelli and Seguy, Bibliothèque Méridionale de Toulouse, second series, XXXIV (1957), no. XXII. All references to Peire Cardenal hereinafter are to this edition, and the titles and strophes of the poems referred to or quoted appear in the text. Vossler's interpretation is summarized in Lavaud's notes explicatives to the poem.

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appropriate the heritage of Toulouse. Those who look like pigs and dogs and live near Gevaudan, etc. are French troops and the "afaitemen cani" refers to the Dominicans, who were later (i.e., after the poem was written) called "dominici canes", and thus the whole poem, according to Vossler, is a critique of the French and the Inquisition, run by the Dominicans and instituted in Languedoc in 1233. A further distinction must be made between a political poem and a poem with political references. A political poem is one devoted entirely to a political event or public figure or both. It usually has a unity which holds the strophes together, although not necessarily a consecutive development. Two examples of the political poem are Aimeric de Pegulhan's "En aquelh temps qu'el reys mori 'n Anfos", a clever panegyric in which the controlling metaphor around which the whole poem builds is the comparison of Frederick II to a physician, the healer and savior of the realm, and Tomier and Palaizi's "A tornar m'er enquer al primer us", a taunt to Simon de Montfort on his stinging defeat at Beaucaire in 1216 and an exhortation to the forces of the Midi to take advantage of their victory and push on. The number of poems with political references is much more substantial in Provençal than the number of political poems. The poem with political reference can be a chart mesclat, a canso or love poem with a political strophe or tornada. An example is Arnaut Daniel's "Doutz brais e critz", which begins as a love lyric.25 Arnaut praises the lady, expresses his love for her, and then goes so far as to express his desire that they sleep together in the chamber. He immediately retracts this wish with profuse apologies for his presumption. Then in the seventh strophe he switches from his involvement with the lady to blame the "seignor dels Galecs", Ferdinand II, king of Galicia and Leon (1157-1188), for taking prisoner young Raimon, son of Raimon V, count of Toulouse, while a pilgrim (perhaps on the way to the shrine of St. Jacques de Compostella) in his territory. If the king does not 15

Les Poésies d'Arnaut Daniel, ed. R. Lavaud, Annales du Midi, XXII, 17-55, 162-179, 300-339, 446-466 (1910) and XXIII (1911), 5-31, no. XII, pp. 314-323.

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return the young man immediately, warns the poet, he will have difficulty "de pretz cobra": 28 Que son paren27 pres romieu, so sabem Raimon lo filh al comte, et aprendi Que greu fara l reis Ferrans de pretz cobra Si mantenen nol solve e nol escampa. (Strophe VII, 11. 53-56) Arnaut ends his "love" lyric by mentioning his obligation to stay where he is because he assists at the coronation "del bon rei d'Estampa", Philip Augustus of France, crowned 1180. The moral sirventes is particularly receptive to the admixture of occasional political references. Guiraut de Borneill's "Era, can vei reverditz",28 is a complaint on the state of the world. He begins with the traditional Natureingang used by the love poets, but soon reveals his dissatisfaction with contemporary affairs: "Mantas res de que sui iratz". Much of his dissatisfaction is due to the "paias malvatz, Enics o tenhs, fals e felos" who have overrun the Holy Land and are in possession of the Holy Sepulchre. He continues to enumerate various evils, and in the fourth strophe, prays that God will guide the crusaders, repair their faith, strengthen their valor and virtue (internal qualities of courage and worth, not of morality), and bring peace among them. The prayer for peace refers to the internecine warfare of the leaders of the Third Crusade, especially Philip of France and Richard the Lionheart. The poet sees hope that they will recover the lost Christian possessions, because now Richard and his armies have arrived to raise up the too long debased Christendom: 26

I.e., to recover the reputation, honor, nobility, he has lost through his action. See infra, Chapter III, pp. 64-68 for a study of the conventional use and application of "pretz", "cobrar". 27 Lavaud claims that "paren" refers here to the blood relationship between Ferdinand II and young Raimon. They are "cousins germain" as their respective grandmothers - Douce, married to Raimon-Berengar III of Barcelona, and Feydide, married to Alphonse Jourdain de Toulouse - were sisters. Ferdinand II frequently took the part of another cousin, Alfonso II of Aragon, in his fights against Raimon V of Toulouse (see Chapter IV for Bertran de Born's poems relative to these wars), and may have seized the son in defiance of the father. 58 Sämtliche Lieder des trobadors Giraut de Bornelh, ed. Adolf Kolsen (Halle a. S„ 1910), I, 444.

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Pos lo reis Richartz es passatz, E pos el es lai aribatz N'i a tans valens conpanhos, Perga so chap crestiandatz, C'un petit l'a trop baissat jos! (11. 52-56)

Often the formal canso will close with a tornada of encomium for the patron or patroness. Sometimes it is simply praise; at other times, as in the two tornados of the canso "Mout chantera de joi e voluntiers" of Guilhem Ademar,29 the praise is mixed with a reference to a political event, the event here being the counts' of Toulouse recovery by force of their possessions which had been taken from them at the Fourth Lateran Council: Domidieu prec, q'es verais chapdellaire, Seign'en Monal, qu'El vos creca honor E us don veneer totz vostres enemis E cobrar l'er g'ac lo corns vostre paire. Seign'en Monal, non ere que tarze gaire Que eu veirai en Raimon mon seignor, Que longamen n'ai estât, so m'es vis; Q'el es de Pretz capdels e governaire. (Strophes VII, VIII) Important for the production and reception of lyrics during this period was the system of aristocratic patronage in the courts of the Midi, Spain, Italy (countries in which the troubadours traveled and wrote), and Germany. Some of these patrons were among the greater luminaries of the time; others were lesser nobles.30 But 29

Poésies du troubadour Guilhem Adémar, ed. K. Almquist (Uppsala, 1951), X. This poem was attributed to Rambertino Buvalelli by Schultz-Gora, Zeitschrift fur romanische Philologie, VII (1883), 197-202, on the authority of the A manuscript. Almquist refutes this and follows the attribution of the T manuscript. 30 Vide Jeanroy, op. cit., Vol. I passim and Moret, op. cit. A partial list of patrons would include the following: in the Midi - the Plantagenets, Richard, Geoffrey, young Henry in Aquitaine; Adhémar V of Ventadour; Gui, Eble, Peire, and Elie of Ussel; Dalfi of Auvergne in Limoges; the counts of Toulouse: Raimon V, Raimon VI and his wife Eleanor of Aragon, Raimon VII and his wife Beatrice of Savoy; in Spain - Alfonso II and Pedro II of Aragon; Alfonso VIII of Castille; Alfonso IX of Leon; Sancho the Strong in Navarre; in Italy - Boniface I and William of Montferrat; William and Albert of Malaspina; Azzo VI of Este; Thomas I of Savoy; in Germany - the

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greater and lesser, they supported the poets and encouraged the writing of poetry. In their courts the poets found welcome, a sometime refuge, and an audience. The relationship of the poet to the patron was quite simply a business arrangement. The poet wrote for the patron, to flatter and to amuse him, and was rewarded by the patron or patroness for his services by gifts of money, clothes, a horse, or infrequently, an improvement in his social position. As in other official relationships of the Early and High Middle Ages, the dominant note was contractual, with obligations on both sides.31 The cases of friendship or intimacy between the poet and patron were rare. At one time, critics believed that a poet was violently in love with the patroness for whom he wrote. However, this hypothesis, based on the fabrications of the writers of the vidas who seized upon a name to concoct a romance, has been shown to be, in the main, untrue. The patronage relation is especially significant in the production of political lyrics, for this relation partially determines the nature of political poetry and its major characteristic: the political poem is essentially partisan. The poet wrote for a patron, to praise him, to publicize him, to counsel him, and, if angered, to criticize or shame him publicly. He wrote to promote and propagandize his patron's cause and, in some cases, it was the cause he himself counts of Thuringia, Meissen, and Vienna; the imperial circles of the Hohenstaufens: Frederick I, Philip, Frederick II, and that of the German Emperor Otto IV of Brunswick. There is the famous court of Champagne in Northern France; however, the number of patrons in France, as opposed to that in Provence, was small, and none of the French courts produced, from 11801230, a poet who wrote political lyrics. There are chansons de croisade by Conon de Béthune, Huon d'Oist, Guiot de Dijon, Châtelain d'Arras, Hughes de Berzé, but although the occasion is political, none of the themes in their poems is. There are ten political poems in toto in French during this period; they are listed in the Appendix. Some of them will be treated in Chapter IV, Section A. 31 "The tendency of feudalism was, in fact, to reduce all social and political organization to a network of contractual bonds between pairs of individuals . . . " . Ewart Lewis, Medieval Political Ideas (New York, 1954), I, 194. " . . . it is quite clear that the feudal relation was almost wholly a contractual one". A. J. Carlyle, "The Sources of Medieval Political Theory and Its Connection with Medieval Politics", American Historical Review, XIX (1913), 8.

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espoused; to denigrate or defy his patron's enemies; to rally his patron's allies or to scold them for not coming to his assistance. These partisan poems deal much more with personalities than with political concepts or abstractions. The poetic response to politics during this period was less a response to events and their theoretical implications, and more a response to personalities. In fact, what amounted to a "personality cult" grew up around certain of the public figures for whom the poets wrote. This fact is attested to by the method former scholars have used to study and organize these poems.32 Richard the Lionheart and Frederick II, especially, became hero-figures and attracted to themselves certain actions and characteristics which became conventional in the songs which praised or supported them. Conversely, Philip Augustus was almost universally condemned by poets who had no connection with him and who wrote against him because he was the enemy of their hero. In the same way that actions and attributes were conventionally used in connection with the hero-figures, certain insults and detractions became conventional in the poems in which Philip was mentioned.33 The most notable personalities were sometimes celebrated or damned by poets who had no direct connection with them or their 32

See Wittenberg, Die Hohenstaufen im Munde der Troubadours (diss. Munster, 1908); Gmelin, "Richard Lowenherz und die Trobadors", Zeitschrift fur franzôzischen und englischen Unterricht, X X V I (1927), 561-574 and X X V I I (1928), 14-28, 81-88; Martin de Riquier, "La littérature provençale à la cour d'Alphonse II d'Aragon", Cahiers de civilisation médiévales, II (1959), 177-201; Paul Meyer, "Les troubadours à la cour des comtes de Toulouse", Histoire de Languedoc, ed. Privât (VII), 441-448; O. SchultzGora, Ein Sirventes von Guilhem Figueira (Halle, 1902), in which Appendix I is devoted to a listing of all mentions of Frederick II in Provençal poetry. 33 For an example of the way in which certain conventions accreted around a specific figure, and the fact that often these conventions bore little relation to the reality of the person and his actions, see Olin H. Moore, "The Young King Henry Plantagenet (1158-83) in Provençal and Italian Literature", Romanic Review, IV (1913), 10-26 and V (1914), 45-54. Political poetry as a genre based on partisanship generated its own conventions. In addition to the partisan conventions mentioned above, there are certain ways in which a patron or public figure may be praised, and even censure, in most instances, is limited to a few qualities or specific, well-known actions; see Chapter III for a study of conventions and vocabulary in regards to the "bos reis".

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courts. These poets became their partisans and allied themselves to their respective causes without being solicited. Conversely, they became partisans of the opponents of a particular ruler and as a result condemned his cause. Therefore, even though certain poets who composed political lyrics were not always writing under direct patronage, they always took sides. There is no way of knowing the intensity of the poet's allegiance to his patron, or the extent to which he personally espoused his cause. The writer of the political poem put his art at the service of a public figure; this much, at the very least, was his commitment. Complimentary poetry constitutes a small part of political poems and a large segment of political references. In Provençal, formal panegyric is most frequently used in the tornados, although it may occasionally comprise an entire poem. In panegyric the public figure is of prime importance: events, if they are even mentioned, are secondary. However, Gelegenheitsgedichte, quite rare in political poetry, are also complimentary insofar as they celebrate an occasion by which a noble personage may be honored, such as a marriage or a coronation; in the "occasional pieces" the event is used as the means by which the poet may praise the public figure. The planh is an extension of panegyric: the event - death - is used as the occasion to speak hyperbolically of the dead person. Political poets were more generous with their criticisms of the public personalities than they were with their praises. Criticisms are frequently found in political references - an aside or an adjective attached to a well-known name - or in a single strophe in a poem of a different content. Entire poems of political criticism are extant, e.g., Bernart Sicart de Marvejols' "Ab greu cossire"; they are often combined with counsel to the ruler. The poets' criticisms are most often connected with specific events: how the patron behaved or failed to behave in relation to an event, a crusade, a promise, a battle. Rarely are their criticisms of personal appearances or peccadilloes; even the charges of stinginess and cowardice relate to actions the patron has failed to perform. Sometimes the object of criticism may be an action taken by a group, as the combined intervention of the clergy and the

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French in the affairs of the Midi during the Albigensian Crusade. Poems which deal more with events than with public figures are less common. In those that exist, the treatment of an event may be topical or theoretical. If it is topical, the event - for example, a battle, the anticipation of victory, the exultation after victory, the embarkation for a crusade,34 a truce, - is mentioned and treated from a partisan viewpoint. The poet may warn of an event to come and the serious consequences which will follow if the warning goes unheeded. He may wish for an event which will aid the cause for which he writes. The events selected cover a wide range, yet, as will be noted in later chapters, the omissions, considering the amount of political ferment, are astonishing. Certain public events such as coronations, deaths, battles, truces, alliances, are natural occasions for a political poem. In an analysis of the occasions utilized by the poets, it is found that many fall into the above categories. Frequently, however, a poet will write about an event which is treated by no other poet, and which has particular reference to the poet's patron in relation to the event, or to the personal feelings of the poet about the event: for example, Walther's warning to Philip about the debacle in the Byzantine kingdom following the fall of Constantinople in 1204, which may be paralleled in Philip's own kingdom if he does not change his policies. Who or what determines which events are to be treated in a political poem is a difficult problem, a discussion of which must be reserved for detailed treatment in a later chapter. It is important at this juncture only to note that the poets had great latitude in their selection of events. Although they may have been limited by conventions of patronage and partisanship, this freedom of selection lifts the stiffening hand of uniformity and monotony from the genre as a whole. The treatment of contemporary events in terms of their theoretical political implications is extremely rare. Generally the poets interpreted the events in terms of their practical consequences 34

The crusade songs present a special problem, insofar as the occasion is political, but the themes rarely are; they are usually religious and moral. A specific discussion of the Kreuzlied is found in Chapter IV, Section A-

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how an event affected or would affect the patrons or causes for which they wrote. Elias Cairel tells William of Montferrat if he does not aid the Lombard barons in the Thessalonican revolt, he will be dishonored. Whether the barons have a right to revolt, for what cause they revolt, or even what this revolt means in terms of feudal authority is not considered. Bertran de Born advises Richard to break the truce with Philip because if he holds to it, he will thereby lose property. The validity of the truce itself is not considered by the poet, neither does he indicate that Richard has any ethical obligations to keep it, nor does breaking a truce seem to involve, for him, any breach of contract. These poets did not attempt to link present events to a theory of government, nor to see in them abstract concepts of justice, liberty, rights of the individual, freedom, or tyranny. Even in the poems of the partisans of the house of Toulouse during the Albigensian Crusade, only Tomier and Palaizi's "A tornar m'er enquer al primer us" mentions, and there only once, the fact that they are fighting to preserve their rights. The poets are much more concerned with rallying their allies and denouncing their enemies than with discussing justice. These partisan poems are rooted in the pragmatic. Isabel Alpin says of a chronologically later group of political poems, those written in Anglo-Norman in the mid-thirteenth to mid-fourteenth century, and her statement is applicable here:35 There is no trace in these poems of the theologico-philosophical controversies which impassioned those centuries; and where God's interests are defended, one sees selfish motives behind the pious facade. Even the faint stirrings of feeling for an ideal justice .. . cannot be entirely dissociated from an undercurrent of selfish advantage, if not power politics. Robert Harlan Gere in his study of the troubadours and the Albigensian Crusade finds the abstract concepts of patriotism or nationalism totally absent from the partisan poems written in the Midi: 30 Nationalism and its implications in the field of ethical behaviour had 35

Anglo-Norman Political Songs, ed. Isabel S. T. Alpin for the AngloNorman Text Society (Oxford, 1953), introduction, p. xiv. Gere, op. cit., p. 70.

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not yet crowded out the feudal contract and the concept of personal loyalty on which, in part at least, that contract was based. To interpret the behaviour of the troubadours as "patriotic" or to see in their language an expression of nationality is "anachronistic."

The small number of abstract political statements in these poems makes the lack of theoretical abstractions a characteristic of the political lyric of this period. The writers of political poems generally do not show any theoretical awareness. An exception to this generality, however, is the political poetry of Walther von der Vogelweide, and perhaps a single poem of Peire Cardenal, "L'afar del comte Guio". These poets manifest concern for such abstractions as order and law and, in Walther's case, an awareness of the theoretical implications behind the power struggle between Emperor and Pope. One might postulate that in those political abstractions with which these few lyrics do deal - order, law, authority - the political poems reflect to a degree the same concerns of the political theorists of their time. Since it is impossible within the scope of a literary study such as this to deal in detail with the political theory of the Middle Ages up to the early thirteenth century, a few general statements must suffice. Political theory in the Middle Ages cannot be regarded as a static body of thought; it was dynamic and changed as new philosophic works, such as Aristotle's Politics, were rediscovered, and as the feudal network gave way to a new societal basis. The great medieval political theorists postdate the time limits of this study: Marsiglio of Padua, Thomas Aquinas, Aegidius Romanus, Dante Alighieri, William of Occam, Nicholas of Cusa. Earlier political theory dealt primarily with the problems raised by the Investiture Controversy, e.g., York Tractates, Manegold of Lautenbach, Honorius Augustodunensis. The most outstanding political treatise before Thomas is John of Salisbury's Policraticus, although it is an eclectic piece of work.37 37

"The Policraticus of John of Salisbury is the earliest elaborate medieval treatise on politics.... It is the only important political treatise written before western thought had once more become familiar with the Politics of Aristotle." J. Dickinson, "The Medieval Conception of Kingship and Some of Its Limitations", Speculum, I (1926), 308.

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"It is the idea of law which in the Policraticus as throughout the political thought of the Middle Ages really dictates the approach to all the other problems of government."38 The origin and nature of law were inextricably bound with the Christian theological structure of the universe. The universe was seen as a coherent whole, an ordered hierarchy ruled by God, the ultimate source of law and authority. The cosmic hierarchy was duplicated on earth where an ordered society was ruled by the temporal head, God's regent, the prince. The order of the macrocosm was reflected in the order of the microcosm, the world, and finally, in the internal order of each individual.39 Society itself was thought of as a unity, a body in which each of the members performed its proper function, thus assuring political order. The most famous example of this theory is John of Salisbury's organic analogy of order in the "body politic", and a similar concern for order, although no direct influence is postulated, lies behind Walther's Reichston. Law was a gift from God to men; its observance preserved equity, and therefore order, within the society and reflected God's 38

The Statesman's Book of John of Salisbury, trans. J. Dickinson (New York, 1927), introduction, p. xxvii. "The principle foundation upon which medieval political theory was built was the principle of the supremacy of law " R. W. Carlyle and A. J. Carlyle, A History of Medieval Political Theory in the West (New York, 1903-36), V, 457. Both these quotes refer, of course, to a theoretical conception of law. The pragmatic legal application cannot be so easily generalized about, for medieval law, not the idea of law, was not a single entity. The revival of legal studies in the eleventh century - at Valence in the Dauphiné, Lombardy, Ravenna, Bologna - concerned itself with a critical study of the Corpus Iuris Civilis. Facets of Roman civil law were later incorporated into the existing laws of different countries in Western Europe, which varied from country to country. See P. Vinogradoff, Roman Law in Medieval Europe, 2nd ed. F. de Zulueta (Oxford, 1929); F. C. V. Savigny, Geschichte des römischen Rechts im Mittelalter, 2nd ed. (Heidelberg, 1834-51), 7 vols.; F. Pollock and F. W. Maitland, History of English Law, 2nd ed. (Cambridge, 1923); Philippe de Beaumanoir, Coutume de Beauvaisis, ed. Salmon (Paris, 1899); J. Brissaud, Manuel d'histoire du droit français (Paris, 1899). Further, law was formulated in terms of both civil law and ecclesiastical canon law. For a study of the canonists' point of view on papal power and its relation to law see W. Ullmann, Medieval Papalism: The Theories of the Medieval Canonists (London, 1949). 39 See Otto Gierke, Political Theories of the Middle Ages, trans. F. W. Maitland (Cambridge, 1900).

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will. The prince was the instrument of authority both by the will of God, from whence all authority stemmed, and by the consent of the people, who delegated to the prince this function. Although the prince was thought of as the embodiment of law, law was seen as the set of principles which bound the ruler and the ruled and forced obligations on both.40 The theories of the theological structure of law found no reflection in the political lyrics. But the idea that the maintenance of law guarantees an order in society without which chaos and anarchy would reign is implicit in the poems of Walther and Peire Cardenal. Paramount in the political theory of this period was the office of the ruler, his power and his responsibilities. The "structure of government revolved, from the beginning, around the figure of the King".41 The emphasis on the figure of the ruler, as viewed by political theory in his obligations to law and to his subjects, takes a different form in the political lyrics. The lyrics are not concerned with the theoretical obligations of kingship, yet the figure of the king or of the local authority is at the center of most - although not all - political poems. We have seen above the tendency of political poets to react more to public figures than to events, and what we have termed the "personality cult" poetry reflects the importance of the position of the ruler in medieval society. Medieval society, conceived as it was by John as a whole body with each member fulfilling its function, was, however, both religious, a Christian community, and temporal. Herein lay the "dominant problem of medieval political thought":42 the conflict between Pope and Emperor as to who had the primal authority on earth. The papal position held that the Pope was God's spiritual vicar, and as the spiritual supersedes the temporal, so the authority of the Pope is above that of the Emperor and the Em40

Later these theories of law, authority, and the ruler became more complex. Theorists sought a more precise definition of law, distinguishing "natural law" from customary, man-made law. The relationship of the ruler and the people to law and authority gave rise to both the "concilliar theory" and the "divine right" of monarchy. 41 Lewis, op. cit., I, 241. » Ibid., II, 506.

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peror takes his authority from God through the Pope. The imperialists maintained the imperium a Deo, that is, the Emperor's authority came directly from God and non dependei ab ecclesia. The struggle for supremacy between regnum and sacerdotium is reflected in the political lyrics in terms of partisan politics: the poets' attacks are either pro-Pope or anti-Emperor or vice versa. Only Walther, and only rarely Walther, attempts a more theoretical presentation of the claims of one side - in his case, the imperial. And even Walther's poems which deal with the regnumsacerdotium problem are nearly all partisan attacks on the Pope and his clerical henchmen. Medieval political lyrics, then, are partisan and pragmatic; their contents deal with specific persons and events. As such, one might suppose them to be clear and direct, but paradoxically, they are arcane: these poems are full of allusions.43 This is partially due to the manner of presenting an event, for these poets generally dealt with events by alluding to them rather than detailing or describing them. Thus, to understand these poems, the modern reader may find that "one-half a page of footnotes is necessary to explain the meaning of the topical allusions".44 Some of the allusions are deliberately obscure; these represent that technique known as the "closed style", trobar clus. An example of trobar clus is Bertrán de Born's tornada to "No pose mudar un chantar non esparja" 45 in which he sends Papiols, his jongleur, to tell those at Trainhac (Treignac) "qu'eu no trob mais omba, ni om, ni esta". The references to shadow, elm, and rest are initially puzzling. Thè poem is partially a plea for funds so that Bertrán can wage war with Richard the Lionheart against Philip, and it is written after the agreement between the two, formalized at the second meeting in 1188 at Gisors, under an old elm tree, which was a traditional place for such ceremonies, was broken. Thus Bertran's reference is to the old elm of Gisors, and can be understood only 43 Infra, Chapter III, pp. 72-77 for a more complete discussion of allusions and trobar clus. 44 Wedgwood, op. cit., p. 4. 45 Bertrán de Born, Poésies complètes, ed. A. Thomas (Toulouse, 1888). AU references to Bertran's poems hereinafter are to this edition, and the titles of the poems and the strophes referred to or quoted appear in the text.

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by those who know the significance of the particular tree and the happenings there. The poet craftily wishes to inform others that the truce is broken, that he approves of no longer finding any vestiges of the "elm", and that he wishes to fight also. There are several possible reasons for the deliberate obscurantism. It could be, as Paul Andraud suggests, the consequence of the artificial nature of the poetry in this period.46 In certain cases, the poet may wish to protect himself from possible reprisals. Both of these may be valid suggestions, but it is most likely that these political poems were written for a small "in-group" audience at the courts. The allusions were part of the game played by the poet and his audience; he teased them with difficult references at which they could amuse themselves by guessing; or, if they immediately recognized the references, they could flatter themselves that they were "in the know", and admire the poet's skill. Peire Cardenal, in defense of his obscure allusions, says in "L'arcivesques de Narbona", Strophe V: "Now one will say that I should explain my sirventes to people, as if I spoke the Greek tongue, for no one will understand me. But enough will understand me of those who are meant to understand. As for the other foolish people, for them I will sing of the son of lady Arsen and Beuve d'Antona." The elite audience, comprised of persons with influence in court circles, was very important for partisan poetry. They could recognize the power of the insults, the worth of the praise, the strong sentiments of an interest group behind the propaganda for a cause, and where action was demanded, they could perhaps bring pressure to see that it was done. In an attempt to bring present-day readers closer to this poetry, to make it familiar, and therefore comfortably acceptable, many eminent critics have compared these political poems to our contemporary newspapers. Considering the arcane nature of this poetry and the frequent use of obscure allusions, we find it difficult to see how this idea has received such widespread currency. Jeanroy calls the political sirventes a "campagne de 48

"Toutes les littératures précieuses ont abusé de l'allusion sous toutes ses formes." La Vie et l'œuvre du troubador Raimon de Miraval (Paris, 1902), p. 35.

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presse"; de Boysson claims "les sirventes des troubadours constituaient, au Xlle-siècle, de véritables gazettes . . ."; 48 Isabel Alpin says, "Reading them, one can fancy one is reading medieval newspaper leaders";49 and Martin de Riquier states, " . . . la poésie des troubadours est réellement une sorte de précédent de la presse de nos jours .. .".50 Such comparisons are objectionable because of the distortion of certain characteristics of the poems. True, the poets do publicize the figures and events of which they write, but not for a "newspaper" kind of audience. The medieval political lyric is not popular poetry. The audience is small and, except in a few cases such as Guilhem Figueira's "D'un sirventes far" in which the poem is of wide interest and intelligible to many, so is the dissemination. The purpose of these poems is not, as a newspaper's is, to reach as wide a public as possible. Further, the opinions expressed by a newspaper are ephemeral; the opinions of these poets are transmuted into partisan feelings which have vitality centuries later. Finally, and foremost, these are poems written by poets, not articles written by journalists. As a poet, albeit a contemporary one, affirms: It is difficult to get the news from poems. William Carlos Williams, "Asphodel, That Greeny Flower"

We must, therefore, studying these political songs centuries later, remember that they are poems, not reportorial articles, and we cannot judge them solely on the basis of the amount of information they provide. They deserve to be investigated aesthetically as well, as products of the poet's craftsmanship and as a medieval poetic genre. Since a critical discussion of medieval lyrics involves a study of the conventions and language of the particular genre and of the poetic techniques employed, it is to these that we turn our attention. 47 48 48 50

Jeanroy, op. cit., I, 226. R. de Boysson, op. cit., p. 138. Alpin, op. cit., p. xiii. Martin de Riquier, op. cit., p. 177.

in THE POLITICAL LYRIC: CONVENTIONS, TECHNIQUES, STYLE

When we speak of conventions1 in medieval lyric poetry, we think immediately of the genre of love poetry. Unlike the canso, or the Minnelieder, the political lyric has no conventional technical vocabulary, nor does the political poet establish fictive personae. Yet this genre, although not highly stylized, has a few conventions which are particular to it, the most obvious being that set by partisanship. If a poet is for a person or a cause, he is automatically against the enemies of his side. He lends poetic support, according to his partisanship, and denounces the opponents. This convention reduces the complexities of politics to black and white partisanship; there is no gray position. Although the convention is reductive, it is not so oversimplified as it would seem. Within the limitations of his partisanship, the poet criticizes or reproaches his own leader or allies. Such criticism does not entail a defection to the other side, for one of the major functions of the political poet is to be critical. But it is not objective criticism. The medieval poet is not giving incisive commentary on an event from the viewpoint of a third party. He does not separate himself from the "Establishment" of his time and criticize its policies and leaders. He remains aligned with whatever partisan position he has chosen; the tenets of the 1 This chapter on conventions and style will deal only with the French poets. A s Walther is the only political poet in Germany during this period, and as his style is markedly different from the French, both his themes and style will be treated in an individual chapter, infra, Chapter IV, Section C, passim. A s will be seen in the discussion of Walther, certain of the conventions and the major themes which are part of the political lyric as a genre are applicable to his poems also.

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political system are never attacked, but implicitly upheld. Although the actions of its leaders may be subjected to severe censure or reprimands, their position as leaders or their right to act is unquestioned. One of the stylistic techniques of the political lyric grew out of the commitment of partisanship: the unfavorable comparison. The poet praises his leader by denouncing his enemy; thus when Bertran de Born wishes to praise Richard, he compares Philip unfavorably to him. The one denigrated in the comparison, however, need not always be a direct enemy of the one praised. Peire Vidal in "Ben viu a gran dolor" unfavorably compares Philip, whom the poet detests, to Aimeric, the king of Hungary and Peire's new patron, and thereby compliments Aimeric: Meins en pretz maint croi ric Manent ab cor mendic: E diran qu'en o die Del filh de Lodoic. (Strophe II) The unfavorable comparison can even work between two persons who are essentially on the same side. Bertran de Born's "D'un sirventes nom chal far lonhor ganda" is a critique of the "joves rei", Henry, for acceding to his father's wishes and giving up his requests for land. The poet, disgusted with the young man, compares him unfavorably with his younger brother Geoffrey, who was young Henry's ally: Lo corns Jaufres, cui es Bresilianda, Volgra fos premiers natz, Quar es cortes, e fos en sa comanda Regismes e duchatz. (Strophe V) Bertran wishes Geoffrey were the elder because he would make a better ruler than his brother. Certain conventions in political lyrics are set both by partisanship and by the type of poem - for example, partisan battle exhortations. Contrary to popular conception, these are not the most typical nor the most numerous of medieval political lyrics.

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They are, however, the most conventional because they follow standard thematic patterns and make use of standard phrases. They include partisan denunciation of the enemy and support for "our side". This support usually consists of anticipation of victory or boasts of future glory, and words of commendation for "our leaders". Frequently exhortations to the partisans to fight or to other allies to join in are added. Often, but not always, a joyous description of the impending battle is included. These themes are conventional, but the presentation of them varies. Few battle poems contain all of them. They were probably set by the poems of Bertran de Born and other later and lesser poets adapted them. Bertran's sirventes may contain one or two of these themes mixed with strophes of advice to the ruler on fighting for property, or with personal reproaches. His influence on later battle poetry is strongest in the descriptive passages. The following are typical examples of his use of battle equipment and actions: Lo corns m'a mandat e mogut Per n'Arramon Luc d'Esparro Qu'eu fassa per lui tal chanso On sian trenchat mil escut, Elm e ausberc e alcoto E perponh faussat e romput. (Strophe I) Guerra vol qu'om sane espanda E qu'om foe abras E que ja no sia las De donar ni meta ganda; Qu'eu sai fraires aital dos, L'us es reis, l'autre es corns pros! Mas ges no ditz vertat aicel que men, Ni fuit lauzat no son pro ni valen. ("Gen part nostre reis liuranda", Strophe III)

Bertran's particular reason for the emphasis on fighting was not picked up by later poets,® but his phrases were. They took the style and let the substance be. Thus the "elms e ausbercs", "lan2

Infra, Chapter IV, Section B, pp. 146-149 for a detailed exposition of Bertran's use of war; his linkage of war with his ethos of the feudal seigneur; his emphasis on the necessity of fighting for and controlling property.

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zas", "escutz", and all the banners and pennons of war recur in the standardized descriptions. The emphasis is more on the equipment, the trappings, than on the actions. When actions occur, they, too, are generally standardized: blows are given and received, and the expenditure of "foe e sane" is conventional. Verbs of breaking and piercing are frequent, as is the verb "mesclar", to mix in battle. The third strophe of "Ar ve la coindeta sazos", which is entirely a battle description, is unique in Bertran's political poems. Similarly, the later poets intersperse lines of conventionalized battle description in their strophes and rarely devote a whole strophe to a depiction of war. The anonymous poet of "Vai Hugonet" 3 combines standard description with a partisan anticipation of victory: Elms et ausbercs me plairia, Et astas ab bels penos, Vissem huei mais pels cambos, E senhals de manta guia; E qu'ens visson ad un dia Essems li frances e nos, Per vezer quals miels poiria Aver de cavallairia: E quar es nostra razos Cre qu'el dans ab els n'iria. (Strophe IV)

Pedro de Bergerac, writing in anticipation of a battle between the king of Aragon and the house of Montpellier, however, devotes the first and third strophes to war description.4 He concentrates on the sounds and sights of battle: the "ausbers", "corn", "perpoinz", "penos". The action consists of seizing the enemy and their goods and "feiren colps, voidan arsos". Two conventions are borrowed from other genres; naturally these are the most noticeable to readers familiar with other medieval lyrics. They are the Natureingang and the poet's reason for writing. Often they are linked, but not always. Both occur at the 3

Mila y Fontanals, Obras completas; Vol. II: De los trovadores en espana (Barcelona, 1889), pp. 141-142. 1 Ibid., II, 139-140. "Bel m'es cant aug lo resso."

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beginning of the poems and serve as a convenient, if stylized, introduction to the poet's message. The use of the Natureingang is not widespread in the political lyrics. Usually, it appears briefly, in one or two of the introductory lines of a poem. In these truncated Natureingangen, the new season, bird song, and flowers are emphasized. With the canso, the season of spring either intensifies the poet's joyous mood, or contrasts with his dissatisfaction. This correlation of springtime and the poet's mood is not characteristic of the political lyrics. Of all the French political poets, Bertran de Born makes the most extensive use of this convention.5 In "Quan la novela flors par el verjan", there is the rare instance of a spring description occupying an entire first strophe; it is unrelated to the political message of the poem. As an opening similar to that of a canso, it logically would set the scene for love and an expression of the poet's feelings. But in the second strophe Bertran announces "Eu no sui drutz...", and spends the rest of this strophe augmenting that statement. Finally, the third strophe brings him to his point: "Om sens domna no pot far d'amor chan", which the Natureingang might have led the listener to believe he would hear. Instead, Bertran says: . . . sirventes farai fresc e novel. Pois chastiar cuidon en guerrejan Nostre baro lo senhor de Bordel. Similarly, Bernard de la Barda uses the topos only to reject it as a stimulus to writing: 4 Foilla ni flors ni chautz temps ni freidura No m far chantar ni m merma mon talen. (Strophe I) What makes him write is not spring, but the new peace between Raimon VII of Toulouse and the crusaders. Unlike the love poet, the political poet's heart does not "leap 5

Walther, as an interesting contrast, never uses the Natureingang political lyrics. 6 Raynouard, Choix des poésies (Paris, 1819), IV, 194.

in his

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up" with the "douz nou termini blanc". Bertran admits that logically it should for Quan la sazos es plus genta E plus avinens e val mais E om deuria esser plus gais ("Al douz nou termini blanc", Strophe I) But this strophe is a preamble to the poet's dissatisfaction with the Gisors truce between Richard the Lionheart and Philip of France. Most frequently Bertran links the spring topos with the setting for a war: Ar ve la coindeta sazos Que aribaran nostras naus E venral reis galhartz e pros Qu'anc lo reis Richartz no fos taus. (Strophe I) "Adonc veirem", Bertran continues, the dispense of gold and silver, the implements of war, walls fall, towers brought low, and enemies taken. Spring and the jongleur singing in the battle tents lead the poet to make a sirventes for Richard to hear: Quan vei pels vergiers desplejar Lo sendatz grocs, indis e blaus, M'adoussa la votz dels chavaus Elh sonet que fan li joglar Que viulan de trap en tenda, Trompas e corn e graile clar. Adoncs volh un sirventes far Tal quel corns Richartz l'entenda. (Strophe I) But the song contains no political message for Richard; it is an invective directed against Alfonso II of Aragon. Bertran's other sirventes directed against Alfonso, "Pois lo gens terminis floritz", opens, likewise, with a Natureingang. The season, which is a time to be gay, leads the poet "far un novel sirventes". Springtime as an excuse for writing, or an incentive to poetry,

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7

is used by Bertran de Born lo fils. The topos here is a prelude to his purpose, which is to make . . . un sirventes cozen Que trametrai lai per presen A1 rei Johan, que s n'avergonh. This progression from spring topos to "farai un sirventes" to "trametrai l a i . . . a l . . . " in an initial strophe is used also by Elias Cairel in "Pus chai la fuelha del jaric": 8 Farai un gai sonet novel que trametrai lai part Monbel al marques . . . The borrowed convention of giving a reason for writing, which is found in the canso (I write because of love, a lady, sorrow), is infrequently coupled with the spring topos in the political lyric, but frequently appears by itself in the initial phrases of the first strophe. The reasons for writing are numerous. Bertran explains that he writes at the command of others or because he wishes Richard to hear his sirventes. Tomier and Palaizi write "pois al comte plaz".9 An event calls forth a response from the poet, and he explains the occasion of his sirventes by reference to the event. The massing of the German Emperor Henry VI's troops, a danger to the Italian Guelph cities, prompts Peire de la Cavarana to warn the Italians: 10 D'un sirventes faire es mos pessamenz, qel poges retraire viaz e breumenz; qel nost' emperaire ajosta granz genz. (Strophe I) 7

Anthologie des Troubadours, ed. J. Audiau (Paris, 1928), pp. 151-154, "Quan vei lo temps renovelar". 8 V. De Bartholomaeis, "Un sirventes historique d'Elias Cairel", Annates du Midi, XVI (1904), 468-494. • I. Frank, "Tomier et Palaizi, troubadours tarasconnais (1199-1226)", Romania, LXXVIII (1957), 46-85, "A tornar m'er enquer al primer us." 10 U. A. Canello, "Peire de la Cavarana e il suo sirventese", Giornale di Filologia Romanza, III (1880), 1-11.

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Guilhem Figueria writes not only because of an event, but adds to this his personal qualifications for writing a poem of advice to the Emperor, Frederick II: 1 1 Ja de far nou sirventes No quier autre ensenhador, Que ieu ai tant vist et apres Ben e mal e sen e folhor Qu'ieu conosc blasme e lauzor, E conosc anta e honor; E conosc que malvat labor Fan Lombart de l'emperador. (Strophe I) In a very few instances in the political lyrics, the poet's emotions are his reason for writing, as they are most often in the canso. Bertran writes because his spirit is raised ("Ges de far sirventes nom tartz", Strophe I), and conversely, Tomier and Palaizi make an effort to compose a song to pass time and to bemoan their great distress.12 There are a few standard formulae in the political songs; they are phrases set by convention which serve the needs of the genre. None is unique in the political lyric, but is found in canso and sirventes of other types. Although their use is not restricted to the political lyrics, phrases which are common and insignificant in other genres come to have a special significance for structure or for meaning in the political lyrics. From the analysis of the conventions used in opening a poem, it is obvious that the combination of "far" in variant forms and "sirventes" is extremely common. It is a standard component of the "reason for writing" convention and is also used in moral and personal sirventes. Because of the critical nature of political lyrics,18 the poet frequently expresses his displeasure about someone or something. The phrases most often used are "nom platz" or "greu m'es". Conversely, if he is pleased, the formula is reversed: "mi platz", "bem platz", or, less frequently, "m'agrada" or "bel m'es". Of 11 12 13

Levy, op. cit., #3. F r a n k , op. cit., " D e chantar farai". Infra, Chapter IV.

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course, these simple phrases are found in all Provençal lyrics, but due to the frequent expression of poetic displeasure, the occurrence of the negative formula is high in the political lyric. Phrases which recur very frequently and set up a formula whose parts, A and B, differ are "vol mais" and "val mais". Both are comparative phrases which express criticism. In the first instance the poet shows that someone prefers one thing to another, A to B, which he should not do. Bertrán says of Alfonso of Aragon that he makes songs praising himself "e vol mais deniers qu'onor". It is clear that Alfonso not only fails to choose honor, but lacks it. Or the poet wishes to pass a moral judgment on a ruler by showing what he chooses to do (A) and what would be a better choice (B). For example, Amoros de Luc 14 says that young Henry III of England eats good sauce, wine, white bread, listens to poets entertain, and hunts, but he, Amoros, "vol mais lo reis que desartar carniza". In other words, the king, rather than luxuriating in pleasure, should put on the shirt of the warrior. "Val mais", too, is a comparative phrase: A is better, more worthy in itself or as an action, than B. Amoros continues his statement above by contrasting the life of the fighter king with that of the mentioned aristocratic pleasures: "E valgra-1 mais ausberc et aberjos/Elm, coirassas, perpoint et alcotos." "Val mais" is also used as a persuasive device; Tomier and Palaizi, in exhorting their allies not to succumb to the deceitful truce offered by Simon de Montfort, warn them:15 mais valria guerreges que s'avol plag fazia ("Si co l flacs molins torneia", Strophe II) Mais val que hom si defienda que hom l'ausia n-1 prenda. (Strophe III) Structurally the phrase "val mais" is important in the political lyric. It may be used simply in a single line: "val mais" A "que" B. Or a single "val mais" may organize an entire strophe; either component of the comparison, A or B, can be expanded through 14 A. Jeanroy, "Un sirventes politique de 1230", Mélanges d'histoire Moyen Âge offerts à M. F. Lot (Paris, 1925), pp. 275-283. 15 Frank, op. cit.

du

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several lines of the stanza. If the form "val m a i s . . . que" is used, the good action (A) precedes the bad (B). If only "val mais" is used, B, a description of a wrong, precedes A, which is what is right. Peire Cardenal uses a series of "val mais" to build a strophe up to his main point: Aissi cum val mais naus en mar Que bus ni sagetia, E val mais lees de senglar E bels dons que fadia, Val mais lo corns de autre bar; ("Ben volgra, si Dieus o volgues", Strophe III) His purpose is to praise "lo corns", Raimon VII of Toulouse, and the remainder of the strophe does so. The political lyrics contain few rhetorical topoi of the categories listed by Curtius.16 Of those used, the invocation to nature, a conventional opening discussed above, is the most obvious and frequent. Cardenal makes use of the "world turned upside down" topos in "L'afar del comte Guio", as does Bernart Sicart de Marvejols in "Ab greu cossire". 17 The "inexpressibility" and "outdoing" topoi are found, of course, in the planh, but these poems, with a very few exceptions, are not political. The topoi involved in the praise of rulers are found in eulogies in the lyric. The political lyrics, however, contain few instances of formal panegyric. But the concept of the "bos reis", or the good ruler be he king, count, or marquis, is very important in these poems; it is used both rhetorically and thematically. Further, it is applied both positively, to praise a particular ruler, and negatively, to criticize a ruler who does not exhibit the proper qualities. These qualities are expressed in a few words which imply values or standards and which are conventionally linked with the names of various rulers or their titles. The two most conventional words are "pretz" and "pros". 18 Simple in themselves, their implications 16 E. R. Curtius, European Literature and the Latin Middle Ages, trans. W. R. Trask (New York, 1953), passim. " Infra, Chapter IV, Section C, pp. 161-162, and Raynouard, op. cit., IV, 191. 18 For Bertran's use of these value words see infra, Chapter IV, Section, B, pp. 146-148.

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are wide. "Pros" essentially means worthy. But for a leader to be worthy, he must possess inherent qualities by birth which make him act in such a way as to justify the compliment. It is difficult to pin down these inherent qualities, for they are never stated. We can infer that nobility of birth and attitude, magnanimity, awareness of the proper exercise of authority, and an understanding of the right conduct of a ruler comprise worthiness. Occasionally "valors" is added; it refers to battle prowess and to courage, which itself is occasionally included in the complimentary canon. "Pretz" is more complicated; no single synonym can cover its meaning. It follows from "pros", for if a ruler is worthy, he will have "pretz". "Pretz" refers to the honor a ruler's actions bring him; the reputation he has as a strong leader and generous sovereign; the weight he carries in the society. For this period, it also includes his skill as a knight and a warrior, and his readiness to fight. When the "good ruler" concept is used to criticize a bad ruler, the terms (x) are not reversed or given their corresponding opposite but negated (not y, but non-x). The poet does not enumerate the qualities of a bad ruler; instead he states that the particular count, marquis, or king is not "pros", or his "pretz" is diminished or lost. The reasons why he is not a good ruler are conventionalized. If he refuses to fight when he should,19 concludes a truce which compromises his position, or fails to take action against those who have dishonored him, he is not "pros" and his "pretz" suffers. If he jousts and hunts rather than fights, he loses the basis of his prestige in the society: his power and his possessions. If the poet considers him totally dishonorable as a person, he brands him as lacking all worth. The "good ruler" concept, based on the use of "pretz" and "pros", does not include the ruler's fairness, his knowledge, his piety, or his political finesse. Nor does the negation of the good ruler contain a denunciation of the tyrant. Unlike medieval 19

Guillem de Berguedan, "Un sirventes ai en cor a bastir", Strophe VII: "q'om non es pros qui ses colps tera pert". Martin de Riquier, "El trovador Guilhem de Berguedan y las luchas feudales de su tiempo", Boletin de la sociedad Castellonense de cultura, X X I X (1953), 218-271.

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political treatises, such as John of Salisbury's Policraticus, none of these poems portrays a tyrannical ruler, nor do they suggest, in any way, that the people or the feudal vassals have a right to rebel or overthrow him. The poets are not spokesmen for revolution or even for a change of any kind in the system. They accept it and whatever ruler is in power, and seek only to correct his actions in relation to fighting, prestige, and honorable conduct. Invectives against a ruler must be dissociated from the concept of the "good ruler" and its negation. The purpose of personal invective is not to correct, but to ridicule and insult. As a technique, it has a long tradition, extending back to the Graeco-Roman period.20 The poet exaggerates features of the ruler and makes wild accusations about his conduct - the wilder, the better. The audience, as well as the poet, recognizes the improbability of the charges. In Bertran de Born's invectives against Alfonso II of Aragon, none of the charges have any historical validity. Each anecdote, however, shows the king as cowardly, stingy, and deceitful. Many of the anecdotes are humorous and bawdy as well as vicious, and by provoking audience laughter, the poet further ridicules his victim. Certain poems, however, make use of the technique of invective, as Peire Cardenal's against Esteve de Belmon, but are based on truth. In this particular cycle Peire accuses Esteve of participating in the massacres at Le Puy during the Albigensian Crusade and of betraying his own parents as heretics. Departing from this probably, at least partially, valid charge, he heaps insults upon Esteve, caricaturing his personal appearance and elaborating on his treachery. Certain words which are commonplaces of a spoken and poetic vocabulary may take on a special significance in a particular genre. Such a word is cobrar. Used in lyrics of many types, it becomes a topos in the political lyric. In other lyrics, "recover" may apply to multitudinous objects; in the political lyric this "recovery theme" is always linked with property and possessions and is used 20

I am indebted to William T. H. Jackson for bringing this point to my attention. Standard classical examples of invectives which "bring a man's reputation down worse than he deserves" are Demosthenes, On the Crown, written against Aischines, and Cicero's attack on Anthony, his Second Phillipic.

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as the justification for battle. The poet exhorts the ruler to fight to recover, to take back, what is his. As a political concept, this seems very unsophisticated. There is no question of impartial justice involved, for it is assumed that whatever has been lost belonged and does belong rightfully to the particular ruler, however he may have acquired it in the first place. Most of the feudal quarrels revolved around just this point which the poets ignore: who had ownership or suzerainty of what territory and by what right. Many could contend through inheritance or marriage that they possessed a certain territory which someone else had "taken" from them by battle or by other, equally valid, feudal contracts. An example of this is the long-running dispute between Toulouse and Aragon over certain territories in Provence. Bypassing any possible legal or moral intricacies, the poets simply emphasize the need to "recover" possessions. Cobrar is used not only in feudal quarrels, but also in connection with the crusades. The recovery of Jerusalem, regarded as Jesus' feudal possession, is a prime objective expressed in many crusading and non-crusading songs alike.21 Peire Cardenal's opening strophe of "Ben volgra, si Dieus o volgues", applies the "recovery theme" to several political situations similarly: Ben volgra, si Dieus o volgues, Acsem cobrat Suria, E-l pros emperaire agues Cobrada Lombardia, E l valens corns, dues e marques Agues sai cobrat Vivares; Qu'en aissi me plairia, Que aitals voluntatz m'a pres Que dels afars volria So que dreitz es. (Strophe I) The Christian recovery of Jerusalem is treated in the same terms as the German Emperor's recovery of Lombardy and the count of Toulouse's recovery of Vivarais. The same justification pertains 21

Infra,

C h a p t e r I V , Section A , p p . 109-110.

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in each case: the poet wishes that right be done in all these affairs. Right, in this case, is that which supports Peire's partisan viewpoint. His political prejudices are not in the least shaken by an abstract concept of justice or the troubling questions which it might pose. It has been stated earlier that the political lyric developed no technical vocabulary. Yet, as a genre, the language has certain characteristic features, the most outstanding being the frequent use of personal and place names. Given the type of lyric which deals with contemporary persons and events, we find such usage logical. Bertran de Bom's poems contain the highest incidence of names; he makes songs from the sound of them. Other poets, too, perhaps following his example, make names an important part of their poetry. A single personal name may be the focus of the strophe, or a stanza may be partially or totally comprised of names. In the political lyrics, particularly in poems of insult, the poets take greater liberties with the kind of language used than they would in a canso. Sexual and scatalogical references can be found, sometimes directly, sometimes, as with homosexuality, through insinuation. Considering the potential for crude abuse in a political lyric, especially in an invective, we find, however, the amount of bawdiness is small. Generally, with the exception of certain exaggerated invectives, these poems were not written for belly laughs; the poets' purposes and messages were serious. An interesting, but minor, feature of these poems is the incorporation of a few words or a phrase of a foreign language to characterize an alien enemy. Although in each instance the language differs, the purpose is always uncomplimentary. When Giraut de Luc wishes to impugn Alfonso II of Aragon, he attacks his association with the Saracens which is exemplified by their formal greeting; "peace be with you", which the king exchanges with them: 2 2 salem alec, volon que lor respona, per ualica zalem, cui Dieus confona; ("Ges sitot m'ai ma voluntat fellona", Strophe IV) 22

M. de Riquier, "El trovador Giraut de Luc y sus poesjas contra Alfonso II de Aragon", Boletin Real Academia de buenas letras Barcelona, XXIII (1950), 209-248.

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Peire de la Cavarana writes a warning to the Lombards to guard themselves against the now massing German army. He throws in a few gratuitous insults to the Germans which have no connection with them as fighters. Their language makes a good target for ridicule:23 Cans engles resembla en dir: brod et guaz, ("D'un sirventes far", Strophe V)

Bitterness prompts Bernart Sicart de Marvejols to write against the Northern French invaders and conquerors. When he sees what has become of conquered Provence, he sighs and weeps:24 Aug la corteza gen Que cridon Cyre A1 Frances humilimen: ("Ab greu cossire", Strophe II)

The Provencals' humble use of the French respectful term of address to their new masters indicates their defeat. In The New Criticism, John Crowe Ransom analyzes poetry as a "complex of meaning" and a "complex of sound".25 In applying his terms to the medieval political lyric, we can dispense with a discussion of the "complex of sound" which consists of meter and musical phrasing, for political poetry has no special patterns of metrics or rhyme which distinguish this genre from other sirventes.2e That leaves us with the "complex of meaning", which refers to "logical structure" or paraphrasable argument, and "texture", which consists of all that is "poetic": metaphor, imagery, symbol, irony, ambiguity. Applying these two terms to the medieval political lyric, we find that these poems are generally characterized more by their paraphrasable content than by their poetic texture. The political poets in France concentrated more 23

Canello, op. cit. Raynouard, op. cit., IV, 191. 25 (Norfolk, Conn., 1941.) 28 Further, it is very difficult to discuss "sound" in connection with the old languages because we are not sure as to all the pronunciations. "Musical phrasing" presents a special problem, for most of the musical texts for these songs have been lost. 24

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on getting across their message than on demonstrating their artistic techniques. This statement by no means implies that the political poets were uniformly unartistic; Bertran de Born and Peire Cardenal are both good practitioners of the poetic art. But among the works of political poets, the quality of their poems is the exception, not the rule. Symbol and ambiguity as we think of them are nonexistent in the political lyric. Granted, a poet may make an obscure reference to someone or something, the meaning of which is difficult for the audience to ascertain. Yet this is not deliberate ambiguity, as is "merces" in the canso; the poet wishes either to tease the audience into guessing to whom he refers, to eliminate from understanding all of those outside the coterie audience who do understand the esoteric reference, or to protect himself by not directly naming a person who might retaliate. A few of the poets use irony, particularly those in Southern France who attack the union of clerics and French against the Midi. The irony is applied to the clerics: Bernart Sicart de Marvejols effusively compliments the "franca clergia" and ends by undercutting all he has said, "Qu' ieu no die ver de vos!"27 Peire Cardenal uses juxtaposition to create irony. He places that which is next to that which should be and leaves the moral judgment implicit in the irony.28 Imagery, other than that used in battle descriptions or in the Natureingang which is standardized, is infrequent. There is no other set type of images we can discuss in the French political lyrics. There are scattered examples of imagery, as Bertran de Born's image of the "Young King" checkmating his brother, Richard, or Peire Cardenal's image of Esteve stealing the cords from the other criminals who should be hung with him. But, again, what is most characteristic of imagery in the political lyric is the lack of it. Metaphors and similes, too, share this characteristic. There are a few simple comparisons scattered throughout the poems; they are ornamental, not functional, in the poems. Bertran describes 27 48

Raynouard, op. cit., IV, 191. See "L'afar del comte Guio", infra. Chapter IV, Section C, pp. 161-162.

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Richard as an "esmoledar" who will sharpen the lazy barons; Tomier and Palaizi open "Si co-1 flacs molins torneia": "I am like a lazy mill which turns badly when too much water puts it in motion. The abundance of subjects chills me, because I can scarcely find anything which pleases me. . . . " Here the poetic comparison is linked with the "why I write" convention, and has no relation to the development of the poem. It is an excuse to get going, to launch into a partisan statement; the mill image is not picked up again later. In only one poem of this genre is a metaphor used throughout to structure the poem. This is Aimeric de Pegulhan's panegyric for Frederick II. The poet builds his strophes on the theme of the "bon metges" who will heal the ills of the world and who, it is revealed in the last strophe, is Frederick. A poetic device which is frequently used is repetition. It is usually quite elementary: repeating the same word or phrase in several lines of a single strophe. The word or phrase repeated is rarely carried throughout several strophes of the poem. We have already seen examples of this in Peire Cardenal's "Ben volgra, si Dieus o volgues", in which he repeats "cobrar" in various forms in Strophe I and "val mais" in Strophe III. Bernard de la Barda writes against the "patz de clercs e de Frances" forced on the Midi.29 To emphasize that it is not peace which he condemns, but this particular peace, he concentrates first on detailing a good peace: Patz Patz Patz Patz

sitot s'es bon' e ferma e segura, d'amistat qu'a tot estion gen, qu'a facha pros hom e leialmen, com puesc om ben amar ses rancura,

Then he contrasts a good peace with this peace: Bona patz mi platz cant dura, E patz forsada no m platz ges; D'avol patz ven mais mals que bes. ("Foilla ni flors ni chautz temps no freidura", Strophe II) "

Raynouard, op. cit., IV, 194-195.

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As noted in Chapter II, the political lyrics are filled with allusions; this technique, rather than imagery or metaphor, characterizes their poetic texture. The kind of allusions used depends on the audience for which the poem is written and the obscurity of the reference. Many are relatively easy: a simple circumlocution. Bertran de Born often describes a person with a formula of possession rather than directly naming him: "eel cui es Marsas". This kind of allusion is not meant to be obscure; the audience would immediately recognize the reference. Another non-obscure allusion is that which refers to events well known to the audience. Guilhem de Berguedan asks Alfonso II of Aragon 30 la Marquesa far fondejar ni traire aissi com fatz vos ab vostres archers. ("Reis, s'anc nuls temps fos francs ni laus donaire", Strophe II)

In effect, the poet is saying to Alfonso: call off your attack on Marquesa. The audience for Guilhem's poem would recognize this reference to Alfonso's siege of the castle of Marquesa, wife of Pons de Cabrera, who was in revolt against the king. The partisans for whom Tomier and Palaizi write well knew of the defeat of Simon de Montfort at Beaucaire during his night raid of August 24, 1216, to which the poets caustically refer: 31 S'il vol venir per querre son trabus, no-ill lau qu'el torn a Belcaire jazer on escampet la veilla de son bus, ("A tornar m'er enquer al primer us", Strophe II)

Moderately difficult allusions are those in which the person is not named nor are there any direct allusions to deeds done by the person, only clues. Such a poem is Peire Cardenal's "Atressi com per fargar" in which the poet castigates treachery and traitors, especially two unnamed companions in deceit. Peire, in describing any traitor, uses the evasive formula: "Que tal en sai", to indicate 30

Martin de Riquier, "El trovador Guilhem de Berguedan y las luchas feudales de su tiempo", pp. 258-259. 31 Frank, op. cit., p. 71.

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one of them. The only indications throughout the poem as to who these two may be come in the fifth strophe: one is a seneschal or bailiff, the other, a "gran prelat" is now "segner e regire". These allusions would identify the two for a small audience restricted to the geographical area where the two operated in their mentioned official capacities. Another form of moderately obscure allusion is that which refers to an event or story outside of that treated in the poem, which would be unfamiliar to most in the audience. Some allusions of this type are easily identified, for example, references to chanson de geste heroes and their exploits. But a reference such as the following requires not only a knowledge of the contemporary event alluded to, but also the historical parallel: 82 Marques, li baron vair e pic au contra eel trait un cairel que lor tornara sul capel; e de l'emperador Enric vos die aitan, que ben semblal rey Daire qui sos baros gitet de lor repaire; ("Pus chai la fuelha del jaric", Strophe IV) The "Marques" is William of Montferrat and the poem is an appeal for his aid to the Lombard barons in Thessalonica in revolt against the Emperor of that region, Henry of Hainaut. "Li baron" who "throw the arrow at the sky" are those who follow Henry and who fight against those who are in revolt. The poet predicts that their weapons will boomerang on them and Henry and destroy them all - a partisan boast for the Lombard strength. Thus far the allusion is clear to those who know of the Lombard revolt. Then the poet compares Henry to Darius who supposedly dispossessed "sos baros". The audience must know the story to make the parallel: Darius, after this action, was destroyed by his barons. "Sos baros" are to be identified with the Lombard barons, and the inference to be drawn from the parallel is that they will destroy Henry. Deliberate obscurantism is practiced by the poets who wrote trobar clus, the "closed style". In love poetry, part of the purpose 32

De Bartholomaeis, op. cit.

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of using trobar clus is its ambiguity and the resultant mystery." The lady of the canso may be real or a fiction. She may be an ordinary woman, an abstract ideal of beauty or wisdom, or the Virgin Mary. The love of which the poet sings may be sensual passion or an intellectual or spiritual yearning. This kind of ambiguity was not sought by the political poets. While using very obscure allusions, the political poet, nevertheless, had a specific event or person in mind. The trick was that of concealing the event or person by choosing an allusion which tangentially connected with it and which would, were the hearer clever enough, reveal it. Thus the listener would be forced to rack his brains before finding the specific meaning. Such an example is the elm Bertran de Born speaks of, to which we referred earlier: "Qu'eu no trob mais omba, ni om, ni esta."84 The elm exists; it is an old tree in Gisors under which peace treaties were signed, and where Richard and Philip made their truce. Thus when Bertran says he no longer finds shade nor elm, he means this truce is broken and fighting will begin again. Some of Bertran's allusions are very obscure and it is not possible, as with "Cortz e guerras e joi d'amor", Strophe V, and "Bern platz quar trega ni fis", Strophe VI, to figure out the specific reference. Some of the peculiarities of his allusions are puzzling. In "Pois Ventadorns e Comborns ab Segur", Strophe II, the following line appears: "D'en Charetier que guerpis la chareta". Placed in context, it is a comparison; others are greater than the "Charetier" who loses the cart. The 35

"The best of the trobar clus is characterized by a parabolic quality, the result of a studied ambiguity which implies a reserve of meaning beyond the comprehension of the average intelligence. The poem communicates a feeling that more is meant than meets the eye, and what meets the eye is by no means certain. We are thus aware of penumbral significances which may or may not have been intended, as well as of a general breakdown of communication. Such poetry teases the mind into poetic activity on its own account. It elicits an athletic response which is in pleasant contrast with the more passive pleasure of easy poetry, and thus brings about an enhanced participation on the part of the listener or the reader, who has a feeling, if he succeeds in penetrating the poet's meaning, of greater intimacy than less exclusive types of poetry can afford." Maurice J. Valency, In Praise of Love (New York, 1958), pp. 125-126. For further discussion of the "closed style" see pp. 106-110 of this work. 34 Supra, Chapter II, p. 52.

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razo explains the reference: "e reprenden [the poet] lo jove rei quar el en guerra non era plus pros, remembran a lui com en Richartz li avia toltas las rendas de las caretas...". But the razo was written after the poem, and not by Bertran, and the author may be simply reading out of the poem whatever information he can glean or capitalize on. It does identify the "Charetier" as the "Young King", but does not clarify Bertran's reasons for referring to him as this, nor does it tell us what the cart means, if anything. Further complications ensue for readers of this obscure poetry centuries afterwards when the exact wording of the obscure reference is in doubt because of variations in the manuscripts. Peire Vidal's "Pos ubert ai mon rie tezaur" contains a puzzling strophe. According to Anglade, Peire's editor, Strophe VI reads as follows: E Lans'agud'atenha l Maur Ab dur os et ab negra pel, E negra noit e mal coutel E crebacor e compenha, E renhas ab que s'estrenha. Mal mati conques e mal ser, Quan det Ceva per pauc d'aver. Seus es Viellans e Mons Antics, Malas meissos e voitz espies; A cavas dens e pais lombrics, E cordolor e fastic fai E mala mortz de vida i trai. Anglade postulates that "Lans" refers to Manfredi I Lancia and "1 Maur" to Albert of Malaspina, called the Moor. Peire, according to him, hopes that the sharp Lance may strike down the Moor who did a bad day's work when he gave Ceva for little money. In the "Index historique et géographique", Anglade identifies Ceva as "ville d'Italie; allusion à une période obscure des luttes de Manfred I Lancia avec ses voisins". This hardly clears up the reader's confusion as to the exact reference: "det Ceva per pauc d'aver". What kind of deal was this? A treacherous betrayal? A business transaction? Peire tells us that "To him belong Viellans e Mons Antics, poor possessions, empty of corn (grain)." Anglade identifies Viellans as Vegliano, a village in North Italy, and leaves Mons Antics with a large question mark. Thus far, all we can get

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out of this strophe is that Peire is writing against someone (Lancia? Malaspina?) who will be lacerated and strangled because he gave Ceva for a little money. This person has other possessions which are of little value; the worms will feed in his mouth and cause disgust, and he will have a bad death [the idiom used there may mean to commit suicide]. Our inability to discover about whom the poet writes, what the Ceva reference means, what the significance of Vidians and Mons Antics is, prevents us from getting any more out of the strophe than the sense of Peire's hostility. Frederico Torraca studied this strophe and made certain textual emendations which go far toward clearing up some of the obscurity of the references.35 He suggests this reading: E lans'aguda tenga l Maur ab dur os et ab negra pel, entrecan mutz e mal coutel e crebacor, e scopienha, e ronhas ab que s'estenha. Mal mati conques e mal ser, quan det treva per pauc d'aver. Seus es Viell-ans e Mons Antics, malas meissos a voitz espies, a cav'a dens e pais lombrics, e cordolor e fastic fai e mala mortz de vida-1 trai.

There is no confusion here between Manfred Lancia and Albert of Malaspina. The line reads, "the Moor holds a sharp lance"; this is a reference to Manfredi Lancia which plays on his name. It is not trobar clus of the same type as Bertran's elm, but still a deliberate attempt at word play to conceal and yet reveal the identity of the one referred to as a Moor. When the line reads "quan det treva per pauc d'aver", the allusion becomes less confusing, though far from specific. He made a truce for a little money; this dishonored him and sufficiently angered those compromised to wish for his death. "Viell-ans" and "Mons Antics" are personifications which allegorically express Lancia's old age: "he owns Many Years and Old Mountain", both of which yield 35

"Pietro Vidal in Italia", Atti

della Reale

Accademia

lettere e belle arti, nuova serie, IV (1915), 213-250.

di

archeologia,

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a poor harvest. Since the strophe is about a feudal lord, the allegory of his aged condition is suitably expressed by naming his "possessions". Now the strophe becomes more unified. Lancia has made a truce for little money for which he will or ought to be captured and lacerated, maybe strangled. But he is old; he will die a vicious death, and the worms will eat him. Despite the new textual reading, the allusions are still relatively obscure. Peire's audience would identify Lancia by the verbal play with lance; the truce for a little money would, in all probability, be known to most of the audience, at least to those who knew of the events concerning Lancia in Northern Italy where this sirventes was most probably written. Torraca, then piecing together poetry and history, comes to this conclusion:36 Fu Manfredi Lancia quello, che tradi il commune di Asti del quale era allcato o vassallo; fu egli, che fece tregua, si rappacio per proprio conto con Bonifazio di Monferrato e questi, allora, compero da lui tutta la terra, "che possedeva in Lombardia," per la somma di cinquemila once d'oro.

The syntax of the political lyrics is not greatly distorted from normal speech patterns; 37 most of the syntactical intricacies which are found were made to suit the demands of the rhyme scheme. We cannot generalize about the syntax in all of these lyrics, for some are nearly statements with normal speech ordering, and in others words and phrases are rearranged so that normal speech patterns are broken, and, as a consequence, the message of the poem is less easily accessible than that of the direct statement. Guilhem Figueira's political poems are an example of the former. The syntax of this opening strophe is near normal speech pattern: 38 Ja de far nou sirventes No quier autre ensenhador, Que ieu ai tant vist et apres Ben e mal e sen e folhor 36

Ibid., p. 250. Often these lyrics give the impression that the normal word order is changed because of the elliptical and condensed nature of the poetry, the omission of demonstrative and relative pronouns and transitional phrases. 38 Supra, p. 62, note 11. 37

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Qu'ieu conosc blasme e lauzor, E conosc anta e honor; E conosc que malvat labor Fan Lombart de l'emperador. Literally it translates: Now in making [a] new sirventes I do not seek any other teacher, Because I have so much seen and learned Good and bad and wisdom and folly That I know blame and praise, And I know shame and honor; And I know that bad work Made the Lombards of [to] the emperor. To alleviate the prosy directness of his statement, Guilhem uses pairs: "vist et après, ben e mal, sen e folhor, blasme e lauzor, anta e honor"; and he repeats phrases "ieu conosc... e conosc... e conosc". The point of the strophe and the motivation for the sirventes come in the last two lines. Here only the poet changes the logical position of "malvat labor" and "Lombart" to keep the -or rhyme; they would be reversed in normal speech pattern. In the strophe by Peire Vidal quoted above, the syntax is less close to speech patterns. "And a sharp lance holds the Moor" is a reversal of the subject, verb, object. The final three lines are a case of hysteron-proteron: first come the worms eating the body and then the bad or violent death. Also the phrase "cordolor e fastic fai" illustrates a frequently used technique, the placement of the verb after the objective adjectives. The following lines from a song by Tomier and Palaizi, "que mot n'a malvaiz' esmenda/ d'avesques, cui Dieus deissenda", are an example of the frequent separation of the phrase of possession from the noun: " m o t . . . d'avesques". The structure of the Provençal political songs is somewhat similar to that of the canso; rather than evince a progressive or logical development of thought, the poems circle round a theme, or one or two themes.88 Some of the strophes have no direct 39

Valency, op. cit., pp. 135, 138-139. "The song was a revery, a train of thought revolving about a central theme Each stanza is an independent element. The whole makes a design; but the stanzas might conceivably be

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relation to the one preceding or the one following and could be placed anywhere in the poem. In other cases, however, the strophes connect consecutively; the message of the first is picked up and developed in the second. Tomier and Palaizi's "Si co-1 flacs molins torneia" 40 is a representative example of the composition and structure of a political lyric: I.

II.

Si co l flacs molins tomeia quan trop d'aigua-1 desespleia: trops de rasons mi refreia, c'a pena m plai ren que veia, ni mos chanz non s'esbaudeia si com far solia: per so chascus pot saber de que me plaingneria. Tan trop de rasos que dire, que non sai vas cal me vire. Mas chascus pes e conssire et en Tolosa se mire: qu'il plus ries a pietz d'ausire; e qui sen avia, mais valria guerreges que s'avol plag fazia.

III.

Mais val que hom si deffenda que hom l'ausia ni-1 prenda, que mot n'a malvaiz' esmenda d'avesques, cui Dieus deissenda. Ar prec chascun que m'entenda cals fon la bausia que feiron a sel de Fois, car en lor se plevia.

IV.

Mais val l'avinenz "comtessa d'Avignon," cui Dieus adressa, car miellz s'en es entremessa qe parens de part "Alguessa";

rearranged without any essential alteration of the total effect.... The song has a point of inception, and necessarily a termination, but not necessarily a conclusion. The strophes are conceived of as autonomous and collateral units; they do not develop syllogistically. What the chanson illustrates is a method of composition, essentially Gothic, which involves the juxtaposition, not the subordination of units." 40 Frank, op. cit.

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que negus cara non dressa ni ten bona via, que l'uns ten vas Portegal e l'autr'en Lombardia. V.

VI.

VII.

Qui que fina nis recreza, Avignons puei'en proeza; e par que Dieus lo s arreza. qu'en els es senz e largueza. Ai, rica gent e corteza, vostra gaillardia es honors del Proensals, on c'om an ni estia. En Guillems del Baus si loingna del regissme part Coloingna, e met ben en fol sa poingna qar sec Franssa ni Borgoingna, c'atresil torn'en vergoingna con fes la baillia c'om li det en Venaisin, don aras a fadia. Pauc a en Deu d'esperanssa qui-1 Sepulcre desenansa, car clergue e sel de Franssa preson pauc la desonranza de Dieu, qu'en penra venjansa. C'ab lur raubaria an tout los camins e-ls portz d'Acre e de Suria.

I. I am like a feeble mill which turns badly when too much water puts it in motion. The abundance of subjects chills me, because I can scarcely find anything which pleases me, and my song is not joyful as it once was. By it, each is able to know what I have to lament. II. I have so many reasons to speak that I don't know toward which to turn. May each consider [and think and reflect] on Toulouse: that there the most noble has the worst of torments. To whoever may have understanding: it is better [worth more] to fight than to make a bad peace. III. It is better [worth more] that a man defend himself than a man kill him or capture him, for the word of the bishops has in it sad recompense, may God destroy them. Now I tell each who hears me such was the treachery that they made to the one of Foix, since he made peace with them.

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IV. The noble countess of Avignon is worth more, may God reward her, because she is better occupied than these [whose] ancestors [are] from the section of the Algais; neither raise the head nor take the good way, but one goes to Portegal and the other to Lombardia. V. When another desists and turns recreant, Avignon shows her prowess [worth]. And it seems that God equips them, for in them is wisdom and generosity. Ah! noble and courteous people, your gallantry is the honor of the Provencals. In such a place may one sojourn! VI. Seigneur Guillem del Baux estranges himself from the kingdom near Cologne, and well places in madness his strength because he follows the French and the Bourguignons [This] turns to his shame, as in this way he used the power that one gave to him in Vienne, which he now has lost. VII. Little hope he has in God who abandons the Sepulchre. Because the clergy and those of France think little of the dishonor of God, for which He will avenge himself. For with their rapacity, they have taken over all the ways and the ports of Acre and Syria. The first strophe is introductory to the main point of the poem. The poet uses a metaphor to ease himself into his subject; he explains that he writes so that each listener will know what he laments. The "trops de rasons" of the first strophe are picked up in the first line of the second strophe: "Tan trop de rasos", thus linking the strophes. The second strophe also makes specific his lament: the suffering of Toulouse. Despite the suffering, the poet exhorts the audience of partisans, "it is better to fight than make an evil peace". This is not merely a general platitude, but has specific reference to the peace sought by the crusaders which would compromise the Midi. The conventional phrase "mais valria", it is worth more, it is better, in the last line of the second strophe, becomes "mais val" in the first line of the third strophe, tying it to the second. The message of the second strophe, a partisan exhortation, is augmented in the third. Simply to make war, "guerreges", is followed by the more urgent reason for fighting "deffenda", defense, the

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alternative being death or capture. The bad peace proposed by the French is explained by an allusion to the fate of Rogier, count of Foix, supposedly treacherously murdered by the crusaders. He made a truce, and look, the poet says, holding up the horrid example, what happened to him who had the "mot... d'avesques". The fourth strophe changes in subject matter, but the first line opens with "Mais val" like that of Strophe III. It is a strophe of praise for Avignon, a center of resistance in Southern France, and a city which sent aid to Toulouse during the second siege of that city in 1218. The entire strophe consists of allusions, a good example of this technique characteristic of the political lyric. Avignon is referred to as the "countess"; "qe parens de part Alguessa" refers to those who did not aid Count Raimon. The allusion is to Spain, the country of the brigand Martin Algais, where Raimon could not get routiers. The references to Portegal and Lombardia have more than geographical significance. "Portegal" means indifferent, and an allusion to the Lombards, when not referring to the Lombard League, was nearly always a derogatory reference to those who were merchants, not fighters. The fifth strophe connects by theme, but not by syntax, to the fourth. It is a further praise of Avignon, but now by direct compliments, not indirect allusions, which compare Avignon favorably to others who do not aid Toulouse. The sixth strophe has no relation to any of the preceding; it is a denunciation of Guillem del Baux, one of the Southern lords who fought with the French against the Midi. The allusion to "del regissme part Cologne" refers to the Emperor, inimical to the French king, who invested Guillem with the title of king of Aries and Vienne; but, because of Guillem's sympathies with the French, the title was made ineffectual. The final strophe is another denunciation, this time of the clergy and the French. The poet calls up the familiar charge: they have abandoned the crusade in the Orient and their greed leads them to keep the monies intended for the Orient campaign. This poem has a beginning, an elaborate metaphor explaining the reason for writing, but no conclusion. All of the strophes deal with the Albigensian Crusade, in particular the second siege of

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Toulouse in 1218 and the aid sent to Toulouse by Avignon, but no single theme is developed through each successive strophe. As a type, the poem is an example of a partisan exhortation, and it is this partisanship which organizes and unifies the song. Strophes I, II, III deal with the poet's lament about the suffering of Toulouse and his exhortations to the partisans not to give in to the truce, but to keep fighting. These strophes are joined thematically and syntactically; they form a unit. The fourth strophe, while having a syntactic connection, breaks the theme, but its theme is still part of standardized partisan battle poetry, the praise of allies. Strophe IV and Strophe V are, then, another unit set in the poem. Strophe VI changes the direction of Strophes IV and V from praise to denunciation. This is, again, a conventional partisan procedure, reviling the enemy. Strophe VI is an entity, syntactically independent of the rest of the poem; the only thematic connection it has with the previous strophes is based on the partisan viewpoint of the poem. The poet is for Raimon of Toulouse and the forces of the Midi and, therefore, against all their enemies. This partisanship links the sixth strophe to the fifth. It too is a denunciation, this time of the arch-enemies: the French and the clergy. The poem stops here; more could be added: exhortations to partisans, or further denunciations. The structural ordering of the poem proceeds by units. Strophes I, II, and III form the opening unit and as such must be in that order. Strophes IV and V belong together, but could appear at the end as well as in the middle, without destroying the logic of the poem. Strophes VI and VII connect tangentially with the others. Their order could be reversed, they could be separated by intervening strophes, they could be placed earlier in the poem; none of these changes would affect the poem's message. Although political poets make use of certain conventions and poetic devices in writing their songs, this poetry, in general, is neither stylized nor poetic. It is this negative statement that this chapter is written to document. The ubiquitous allusions and obscure references prevent these poems from being, in many cases, solely paraphrasable statement. But it is the statement or message, however expressed, which is of major importance in

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these poems, not the poetics. The poet's purpose is to communicate to the audience his criticisms, his exhortations, his advice. These, in all their variety, are his themes, and our focus now turns to them: what the poets select to write about and how they treat their subject.

IV THE POETS AND THEIR POEMS

A. THE MINOR POEMS

As noted in Chapter II, there are only two lyric poets in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages, Bertran de Born and Walther von der Vogelweide, who can be considered political poets. Numerous other contemporary poets, however, wrote a political poem, or even a few political poems and, therefore, in terms of the genre (despite any other amount of cansos, moral and religious sirventes they may have produced), they must be considered minor poets. Bertran and Walther are distinguished from their minor contemporaries by the large number of political poems they wrote, and, most significantly, by their development of a consistent political message throughout their works, the respective messages of each being tailored to the political situation in which he was embroiled. Generally, most of the minor poets who wrote political lyrics left one or two poems.1 These poems differ according to the occasion and the particular partisan viewpoint which elicited them. There are certain stylistic similarities and thematic consonances, but uniformity is not a characteristic of these poems as a group. Exceptions to the "one or two poem" minor political poets are the Northern French poet Hugh de la Ferte, and Guilhem de 1

This statement must be qualified by saying to the best of our knowledge. It is made on the basis of all the sirventes written during this period which have been found. It is remotely possible that others, which have been lost, were written; yet if any of these minor poets had written a considerable number of political lyrics, it seems reasonable to assume that more than one or two would have survived.

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Berguedan and Peire Cardenal, both of whom wrote in Provençal, although Guilhem wrote in Catalonia and Peire in Southern France. Each wrote political criticism and invective; each left a number of political poems, but not a sufficient amount to justify calling them major political poets. The approach to a study of these minor poets must differ slightly from that used to analyze Bertran and Walther. With a minor poet, it is not possible to trace the expression of a consistent political message throughout the totality of his works. And any attempt to discuss each minor poet and his one or two poems would result in a chaotic presentation. The discussion of the minor poems, therefore, will proceed by an investigation of dominant themes and tones, characteristic of the genre and used also by Bertran and Walther. Not all of the minor poets and poems will be discussed in detail, only those which are thematically the most representative of the genre.2 All the minor political poems can be classified by a combination of the subject treated - person or event, or both - and by the partisan attitude of the poet toward the subject, in support of or against. Although E. R. Curtius claims a book could be written on a study of the topics of personal eulogy, few examples for such a book could be gleaned from the political lyric.8 Panegyric in it is sporadic and infrequent. When it does appear in a political poem, it may take the form of a few complimentary adjectives in the body of the poem: "bos reis", "corns prezans"; it may appear as hyperbolic phrases in a tornada, or, rarely, as a single strophe of praise.4 *

A list of the political poems from 1180-1230 will be found in Appendix I. E. R. Curtius, op. cit., p. 159. There is a group of poems which praise a public figure, which are not political; these are the Bittspruch or request poems. In these, the poet extravagantly praises the ruler, or his noble patron, and then reminds him of his duty to reward the poet, or directly asks for payment. Such poems have no political significance; they are personal poems reflecting the poet's situation in the patronage relationship. 4 W. H. Nickel says rightly, "Ganze Lobgedichte sind im Provenzalischen selten." He adds, "Bedeutend häufiger sind einzelne Lobstrophen in den Sirventesen", op. cit., p. 41. This latter statement is much more true of moral, religious, and personal sirventes than of the political poem, where 3

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The vocabulary of panegyric is conventional. The poets use the same words and phrases of praise used in other lyric genres. Compare, for example, the following panegyrics from nonpolitical poems: On la rein' a tan ric pretz conques, Qu'ab lieys val mais so que alhors es bo, Per qu'honra si e l ric oom d'Araguo.® ricx cors et ardimens vos an dat pretz que us fai a totz grazir pers del pretz es tot el ben fenir.7 Et eu que sai sui vengutz, Bos reis, per vostra valor Car sai que -ns etz guitz a paire De pretz e tenetz las claus.8 Lo sieu ric pretz fin e car e valen Totz los bos aips del mon en lieis assis,9 The first is to a noble patroness, a queen; the second to the count of Toulouse; the third to a Spanish king; the fourth to the "dompna" of a canso. In these examples, little distinction is made by the poet in his choice of adjectives and phrases to praise a particular individual, or to differentiate the individual by sex or rank. This same lack of distinction is found in the vocabulary of the political poet. A ruler is not praised for his justice or political finesse, and rarely for specific political actions, but for the qualieven a whole strophe of praise is rare. Also, the complimentary tornada is not so characteristic of political lyrics, where it is infrequent, as it is of these other sirventes and, of course, of the canso. 5 See Chapter III for a study of other conventions of this genre. 6 Aimeric de Belenoi, "Aissi quo.i près que s'en cuja fugir", Strophe VI. Les Poésies du troubadour Aimeric de Belenoi, ed. M. Dimitrescu (Paris, 1935), I. 7 Cadenet, "Miravoll me de tot fin amador", Strophe VII. Cadenet, ed. C. Appel (Halle, 1920), #16. 8 Giraut de Bornelh, "S'es chantar ben entendutz", Strophe VII, Kolsen, op. cit., #62. • Guiilem Adhémar, "Mout chantera de joi e voluntiers", Strophe V, Almquist, op. cit., X.

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ties which are connected with the poetic concept of the "bos reis": "pretz", "pros", "valors". Certain minor political poets, however, are more inventive in their compliments. Peire Vidal praises the "marques de Sardenha" because he knows how to give and withhold and thus increase his honor and power. 10 Of Henry of Malta he says: E mos cars filhs, lo corns Enrics, A destruitz tots sos enemies Et als seus es tan ferms abrics Que qui-s vol ven e qui-s vol vai Ab meins de duptansa e d'esmai. ("Pos Ubert ai mon ric tezaur", Strophe I) thus emphasizing Henry's strength as a ruler and guardian of the realm - all may come and go without fear. Peire Cardenal's strophe of praise to Raimon VII, count of Toulouse, combines banal and inventive terms of praise: Lo corns del Tolosa val tan, Tan fai e tan embria Que lunh home del mon non blan Per mal, qui-s, vuelha sia; Aitals es com ieu lo deman: Lares, arditz, alegrez' aiman, Francs, de bella paria, Vertadiers, drechura gardan Leials e ses bausia, Bels, gen parlan. ("Ben volgra, si Dieus o volgues", Strophe IV) It is unusual to praise a ruler because he does not flatter anyone to further his own evil purposes. It is even more unusual in a lyric poem, but appropriate in regards to a ruler, to praise him for "drechura gardan." This phrase is similar in idea to that of Guillem de Saint Gregori, who praises the father and the uncle of Ademar II of Poitiers, count of Valentinois and Diois, for "s'ab 10 This compliment is very much like those in the patronage poems in which the poet praises the patron for his generosity, or exhorts him to be generous, and implies that by doing so, the patron increases his worth, his honor, his reputation, his power.

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11

ferm voler de tot bon dreit". Both phrases signal a political awareness of the role of a ruler expressed in the form of panegyric; they are unique among the minor political poems. With one exception, sustained panegyric is nonexistent in this genre. The exception is Aimeric de Pegulhan's paean to Frederick the Second: "En aquelh temps que-1 reys mori N'Anfos." 12 This poem was composed before Frederick's coronation by the Pope in Rome, November 22, 1220 because Aimeric does not call him Emperor. The poet begins with a lament for several dead rulers and former patrons. Because they are dead, the poet thought "pretz" and "dos" also died, but now he sees them both restored. He speaks of a "bon metge" from Salerno, sent by God, who knows all the bad and all the good and doctors each according to what it is. Aimeric uses the metaphor of this wise physician who will heal the world to structure and develop the rest of the poem. He praises him extravagantly for his knowledge, youth, generosity, courage, firmness, et al., in a lengthy Vorzüge Katalog, a characteristic device of panegyric.13 None of the poet's compliments has any particular political relevance, except perhaps the one in which Aimeric claims the physician will, by the practice of his medicine, cure the world. This seems, however, to be an elaboration of the metaphor and not an astute comment on the German political situation. Finally, in the fifth strophe, the poet reveals that "Aquest metges savis, de qu'ieu vos die, Fon filhs del bon emperador Enric, Et a lo nom del metge Frederic." In the first tornada, Aimeric plays with the name Frederic, a trick device used to 11

Guillem de Saint Gregori, "Ben grans avoleza intra", Strophe VI. G. Bertoni, Sludj romanzi, XIII (1917), 31-39. 12 The Poems of Aimeric de Pegulhan, ed. W. P. Shepard and Frank M. Chambers (Evanston, 1950), XXVI. 13 Nickel, op. cit., discusses the technique of cataloguing virtues, using several examples from nonpolitical Provençal and German poetry. On the basis of this catalogue, the word play in the tornada and the custom of setting the name of the praised one at the end, Nickel claims Aimeric's poem may be taken from the German and reveals German techniques. Yet he fails to show any direct German antecedents; he does not refute the argument that there are similar techniques in Provençal and Latin poetry from which Aimeric's techniques could as well be taken. Therefore, it seems unnecessary to postulate German influence and his hypothesis can be disregarded.

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lengthen hyperbole: "Que l dig son bon e l fag son aut a ric". This device is also used by Peire Cardenal in the tornada praising Raimon VII of Toulouse:14 E pos sa valors tot afron Sobremonta tant sobre-1 mon La sia senhoria, Que de comte-duc a renom Que l noms o signifia, Que ditz: Rai-mon. ("Ben volgra si Dieus a volgues", Strophe VI) Because its contents are primarily extended hyperboles, the planh belongs in a discussion of panegyric. As a genre, it is not political; poets wrote laments on the death of noble patrons and patronesses, of their ladies, and of their friends. If, however, the person for whom the lament was written was a political figure, and especially if references are made in the poem to his political role, this planh can be included among the political poems.15 Springer,16 who has studied this genre and catalogued its poems, lists three poems which he calls "Planhs politischen Inhalts": Gaucelm Faidit's lament for Richard the Lionheart, Guillem Augier Novella's planh for Raimon-Rogier of Beziers, and Guiraut de Calanso's for the Infante Ferdinand of Castille.17 14

See Nickel, ibid., pp. 44-45, for Wortspiele with names. Here a careful distinction must be made between a political figure and an historical personage. There are planh for many minor patrons, persons important to the poet they supported, but persons of no political significance. A planh for a person such as Beatrice d'Este is of historical interest, but it is not a political lyric. 16 Das altprovenzalische Klagelied, Berliner Beiträge zur germanischen und romanischen Philologie (Berlin, 1895). Because the planh is not a political genre, its contents will not be treated in detail in this study. Briefly they can be summarized by the following themes: the poet's sorrow at the death of the person for whom the poem is written; an extension of the poet's sorrow to a more general and sometimes even a universal sorrow; an extended eulogy of the dead person in terms of the conventional praiseworthy qualities; as a result of his or her death all joy, courtesy, worth, reputation, is gone from the world; a prayer to God to pardon him and to care for the soul of the dead person in paradise. 17 Although Springer lists only the three above-mentioned planh as political, I would include in this category the two laments of Bertran de Born for the 15

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Richard the Lionheart died in 1199 during a feudal war with the count of Limoges. Gaucelxn Faidit praises him in the terms of conventional panegyric; he is "de valor caps e paire", he is "lares, pros, arditz, donaire"; he is like Darius, Charlemagne, Arthur; he is outstanding in "tornei", "cortz", and "don". Although most of the poet's eulogizing is conventional, Richard's political role as a crusade hero and a member of the Plantagenet family set him apart from the ordinary: Longa ira e avol vida a u r a n e tostemps dol, qu'enaissi lor es pres; 1 Sarrazi, T u r c , P a y a n e Persan, que-us duptavon mais q u ' o m e nat de maire, creisseran t a n d'erguelh e lur afaire q u e plus tart n ' e r lo sepulcres conques; m a s Dieu o vol, que, s'il non o volgues e vos, senher, visquessetz ses falhir de Suria Ios avengr' a fugir. H u e i mais n o n ai esperansa q u e ian reys ni princeps que c o b r a r lo saubes; pero tug silh qu'el vostre loc seran, devon gardar c u m fos de pretz amaire e qual f o r o n vostre dui valen fraire: L o ioves reys e l cortes corns G a u f r e s ; e qui en loc r e m a n r a de vos tres, ben deu aver aut cor e f e r m cossir (de comensar totz bos faitz e fenir.) 1 8 ("Forts chauza es que tot lo maior d a n " , Strophes V, VI) "Young King" (d. 1183); Folquet de Marseille's lament for Barrai of Marseille (1193); Giraut de Bornelh's for Adémar of Limoge (1199); and three planh of Aimeric de Pegulhan: two for Azzo VI of Este and Boniface of Verona (1212) and one for William of Malaspina (1220). These poems are for political figures, but their contents are the conventional themes of the genre. None contains any themes of special political relevance which merit discussion in this text. Nor does the planh for the Infante Ferdinand, except the one statement that had he lived but one more year, he could have served God with his heart and his talents and been a wall against the Arabs. 18 R. T. Hill and T. G. Bergin, Anthology of the Provençal Troubadours (New Haven, 1941), pp. 144-146. The reference to the three valiant Plantagenet brothers became so popular, as a standard of excellence by which to measure other rulers and heroes, that it was almost a topos. Notice that

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Whereas the political references in Gaucelm's planh are relevant to Richard's role in world affairs, those in Guillem Augier Novella's lament for Raimon-Rogier Trencavel refer to the supposed murder of the young viscount of Beziers. During the Albigensian Crusade, Raimon-Rogier was taken as a hostage by Simon de Montfort and imprisoned at Carcassonne; he died there at the age of twenty-four, and most people believed him to have been murdered. This, at least, is the burden of Guillem's implications, set in amidst the hyperboles and protestations of grief: "they, the cowards, have killed him; never has anyone seen such a crime committed". Except for the planh, where it is excessive, panegyric is curiously absent from the political lyric. Perhaps this lack is due to the difference between a patronage and a partisan situation. The political poet, writing as a partisan of his patron, did not feel compelled to praise him in order to serve him. He served his cause, and therefore his patron, through his support in the form of a political song, not a eulogy. Another reason for the absence of praise, and one which is not conjectural, but can be documented, is that the political poet, major or minor, is foremost a critic. The form of the criticism and the degree of its intensity depend on the role the poet adopts in relation to the person or situation criticized. The impartial critic does not exist; the political poet places himself in the role of enemy, partisan, or wise counselor, and writes his criticism accordingly. The poet as enemy delivers a verbal attack of unrelieved viciousness against his victim, the subject of his poem. The most extreme form of personal criticism is the poem of invective or the tirade of insults.19 Princes of the Church who excessively involved themselves in politics were often the target for these. In "Atressi com per fargar" (XIV), Peire Cardenal lashes out against a John Lackland is never included with his brothers, and they themselves did not, during their lifetimes, do anything nearly commensurate with the glory that was attributed to them posthumously. 19 As noted in Chapter III, this is a conventionalized, rhetorical technique of gross exaggeration.

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traitor and his accomplice in crime, a prelate, born of a traitor, who is now established as a "segner e regire". The poem circles around the theme of treason; the poet carefully and obscurely builds his case against these two. He begins subtly and slowly: "if a man forges, he is rightly called a forger; if he steals, a thief; if he is treacherous, a traitor. Because of a man's profession, a name is applied to him that suits him". Then, cagily, the poet retreats from direct attack, but implies, "Que tal en sai", who, as one hears tell, would be, because» of what he has done, called a traitor". Then there comes the implication of treason in Velay: "there they teach the jongleurs the wisdom of Ganelon, and one cannot trust cleric or laity who give little thought to the first blow Cain struck". The accusations become more direct: there are two, "one [who] deceives with actions and murders, [while] the other deceives with words and writings". These two are compatriots in treachery because to work treason, one needs other traitors. While one directs, the other commits the massacre. Formerly it was the custom to hang a traitor, but "now he is held dear and made a seneschal or a bailiff". And when a "gran prelatz" is descended from a "fort gran trachor verai", "one is hard pressed to see why he is established in such a place that he may be a master, ruler and governor". The poet tosses out his defiance and instructs the sirventes to go wherever it wishes and tell everyone that traitors and treachery "mi non plai", and "whoever wishes may love me for it, whoever wishes may hate me". This poem is political in its motivation and implications. Although Cardenal withholds the names, the audience for such a poem, the ruling nobility of Velay, would identify the seneschal as the bishop of Le Puy, Bertrand de Chalencon. In 1157, by virtue of an act of Louis VII, the bishop of Le Puy was made seigneur of Velay. From that time on, succeeding bishops struggled to impose their authority on the neighboring, recalcitrant feudal lords. In 1213, Bertrand was successful, and the nobility of Velay recognized his suzerainty, not without animosity. Bertrand had also led a contingent of the Northern French crusaders against Beziers in 1209 - possibly the massacre to which Peire refers. His partner in crime was Arnaut Almaric, the "gran Prelat", abbot of Citeaux

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and papal legate. It is he who supposedly imprisoned and poisoned Raimon-Rogier Trencavel, viscount of Beziers. In March 1212, he was elected archbishop of Narbonne and usurped the title of duke of Narbonne which belonged to the house of Toulouse. Here lies the cause for the partisan hatred of the poet, for Peire wrote in behalf of the counts of Toulouse. It is also against Arnaut and Bertrand that "L'Arcivesques de Narbona" (XIX) is written. Again, Peire employs the technique of circumlocution, but says those who can understand, will understand his references. He does name the archbishop directly, and his accusations against a certain bishop, Bertrand, grow more intense: he steals, lies, deceives, kills, and poisons. But even these poems of attack are mild compared with the invective Peire delivers to Esteve de Belmon, canon of the cathedral of Le Puy, in a cycle of three poems (XVI, XXVI, XXVII). In the first he alternates between gross accusations and caricature. He concentrates on Esteve's personal appearance: ugly carcass, huge head and belly, sloping shoulders; his appetite; his traits: he slaughters hosts, pigs, and servants for his pleasure; if he were hung, he would try to steal the cords from the others who were hung with him. The poet combines humor with a rhetorical insult. "I wish", he says, "to make an ointment with which to oil traitors who have no shame." It must be pressed out of the very strongest, worst traitor. He selects Esteve to produce the essence: De te fara hom la liquor Don seran onh l'autre trachor. ("D'Esteve de Belmon m'enueia", Strophe II) This sirventes may seem to be a poem merely of personal attack, not political, but the other two in the cycle reveal Esteve's political crimes for which Peire condemns him. Esteve is, like Bertrand de Chalencon and Arnaut Almaric, a traitor. He cooperated in the pillage of Le Puy, Tudelle, and Montferrand by the crusaders in 1211-12; this pillage was under the direction of Bertrand, bishop of the cathedral of which Esteve is canon. Those who have done this, Peire states, will never learn "li code ni le droit"; their actions

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are against all justice. But Estéve is the worst traitor descended from the race of Cain. Even Judas and Ganelon never did what he did: he murdered his own parents as heretics at Eynac, a small village in the arrondissement of Le Puy. Another cycle of invective directed toward a cleric is that written by Guilhem de Berguedán against the bishop of Urgel.20 Arnau de Perexens, bishop of Urgel from 1167-1194, was involved in the feudal struggles between Arnau, viscount of Castellbo, and Alfonso II, king of Aragón. The bishop was on the side of the king, and the poet on the side of the count. The cycle of four poems is, as de Riquier terms it, "una feroz campaña politica". A man with an acid tongue for a weapon, Guilhem wrote other cycles against nonpolitical enemies in which he caricatured and burlesqued his victims, tempering his insults with irony. But in "el ciclo del obispo, en cambio, desaparecen este tono de burla y los matices ironicos para dejar paso únicamente al insulto desnudo, a la indignación destemplada y a una ferocidad denigratoria que no busca la risa del auditorio sino hacerle participar de un odio profundamente sentido".21 Each strophe of each poem contains a series of rhetorical insults, many repetitive. The bishop is a "fals mendic", "malvatz prezic", "fals coronat cur Dieus contraigna", "mescrezen". He destroys the law; he has killed hundreds of men; he does not know good but exercises his own "mal talen"; he follows the law of the Saracens. It is implied that he is of Jewish origin. He is the worst of all clerics and holds his office wrongly for he is unfit for it because "el non a coillos en la pel". The poet, in his desire to malign his enemy, becomes slightly confused and accuses him, in addition to being a eunuch, of being a rapist and a homosexual. Although there are no references in these poems to Arnau's specific political crimes - unless the killing of hundreds of men can be taken literally - the cycle is an attempt to discredit and malign a leader of the Church and a political enemy. In invective 20 Martin de Riquier, "Las poesías de Guilhem de Berguedán contra el obispo de Urgel", Sludi medievali, nuova serie, XVIII, fascicolo II (1952), 272-291. « Ibid., p. 273.

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as strident and compact as this, few accusations are based on truth; most are unsubstantiated, wild charges which the poet utilizes in his political smear campaign. Guilhem Figueira's poem "D'un sirventes far", 22 written between November 1226 and April 1229, is an outspoken attack on the secular politics of the Church. Unlike Peire Cardenal and Guilhem de Berguedän, he does not direct his attack to one person, but to Rome, symbol of the whole of the Church hierarchy. Many themes in this sirventes are similar to those in the other, ubiquitous, anticlerical pieces. Guilhem, however, makes direct accusations concerning all of "Rome's" specific political involvements. Because the poet is a partisan of Raimon VII, count of Toulouse, the Albigensian Crusade is seen as Rome's major political sin. "With false pardons", you Rome, lead "the barons of France far from paradise"; "you have killed the good King Louis when you drew him from Paris with false preachings".23 You make "martyrs of Christians". You have done "grievous treachery to Count Raimon", and "if the worthy count lives yet two years, France will bear the grief of your tricks". God will aid the count, and he will "clip and break" the French when they grapple together. The poet expresses the hope that God may never show honor to him if he forgives the pilgrimage Rome made to Avignon - a reference to the siege in 1226. He remarks the cruel butchery at Beziers in 1209, described by Levy as "ein furchtbares Blutbad", the massacre to which Peire Cardenal refers in the poems against major prelates examined above. Nor does the poet omit castigation of the Church's other crusades. In 1221, the major city of Damietta was recaptured by the Saracens, and the poet blames Rome: "you lost Damietta for us, through your evil trafficking and folly". Guilhem hearkens back 22

Hill and Bergin, op. cit., pp. 178-182. Louis VIII died after besieging Avignon while engaged in the crusade. "Als Ludwig VIII 1226 gegen die Albigenser zog, wurde ihm der Durchzug durch Avignon verweigert. Er belagerte die Stadt und nahm dieselbe nach dreimonatlichen Belagerung ein; sie musste Lösegeld zahlen, Geiseln stellen und die Mauern niederreisen. Aber auch die Sieger erlitten grosse Verluste, da eine Epidemie im französischen Heere ausbrach, die viele Opfer kostete." E. Levy, op. cit., p. 84. 25

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to the fiasco of the Fourth Crusade, which turned from a religious holy war to a war of secular greed and conquest, supported, nonetheless, by Rome. You, he charges, are false and deceitful to us and to the Greeks; "you make little damage to Saracens, but deliver Greeks and Latins to carnage". The poet enters the controversy between the imperium and the sacerdotium for secular supremacy, on the side of the Emperor: the Pope does wrong "when he disputes with the Emperor over the right and the crowning" and "when he pardons his [the Emperor's] enemies". If the righteous Emperor does as he ought, Rome will come to a "mal port". Guilhem even drags up Innocent Ill's excommunication of John Lackland for opposing the election of Stephen Langton as archbishop of Canterbury. This poem is not an invective to malign or ridicule the Church, but a brief of serious charges. From the point of view of an imperialist, which Guilhem is, all his accusations are true. These poems by Peire Cardenal, Guilhem de Berguedan, and Guilhem Figueira examined above are weapons. Although each poet makes few references to the side for which he writes or his own partisan involvement, each poem is elicited by partisan sentiments. The poet, finding himself in a singular political predicament, attacks his adversary: the attacks run the gamut from the insults, caricatures, ridicule, insinuations of invective to more direct accusations of specific political crimes. Peire is a partisan of the house of Toulouse and as such writes against those who lead and abet the attacks of the crusaders in his particular locale. These clerics against whom he writes are of the Midi and therefore traitors to the cause of Southern France.24 Guilhem de Berguedan fought for Arnau of Castellbo against the king of Aragon and his allies, and on this fact alone rests his vindictive poems against the bishop of Urgel. He, like Peire, writes because of a specific situation. The audience for the poems of both these poets would be limited. In Peire's case, the poems would serve to rally the nobility of the forces of Southern France and to expose their 24 See infra, pp. 114-120 for a discussion of the partisan poetry of the Albigensian Crusade and the attitude of the Provencals toward the clerics in league with the French.

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general sentiment against the enemies among them. Guilhem de Berguedan's poems are as rooted in Catalonia as Peire's are in Provence, and the audience is, naturally, composed of the partisans of that locale. Guilhem's poems make especially good fodder for the enemies of the bishop. In either case, these poems would not induce any of the clerics attacked to change their policies or actions. Guilhem Figueira's poem reaches a wider audience. Since the person attacked is not a local cleric but the entire hierarchy and polity of the Church, it would find a receptive audience among imperialists everywhere in Western Europe. The poem was well known and its circulation must have been wide, for, as a political attack, it provoked a counter poem in defense of the policies of Rome: Gormonda's "Greu m'es a durar". 25 In this poem, Gormonda answers each of Guilhem's charges, accuses those in Southern France of being "heretjes" following the "falses Tolzans", and claims Rome will triumph over count and Emperor. Wild political invectives were directed at secular as well as at sacred princes. Alfonso II of Aragon (1162-1196) is perhaps the most calumniated of all the rulers. In addition to the two invectives of Bertran de Born, 26 there are the violent sirventes of Giraut de Luc and Guilhem de Berguedan against him. The reasons for the poets' attacks differ in each case, but all are based on partisan hatred. Alfonso did, for many years, dispute with the counts of Toulouse over a claim to territory in Provence. In addition, he was allied with Henry Plantagenet against the house of Toulouse and later against the "Young King", Henry, in the 1183 revolt. This feudal situation marked him as an enemy and a target for Bertran. In Catalonia, at the end of the twelfth century, Alfonso fought against Arnau of Castellbo, and thus incurred the attacks of Arnau's partisan, Guilhem. Allied in revolt against Alfonso was Pons de Cabrera, whom Giraut de Luc supported. This same, much maligned Alfonso was a great patron of the troubadours; his court was a center of literary activity, and the ties between Aragon and Provence were close - politically and 25 26

Levy, op. cit., pp. 74-78. Infra, Chapter IV, Section B, pp. 144-145.

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literarily. Although Martin de Riquier claims that Alfonso used Provençal poetry to elicit the good will of his subjects north of the Pyrenées,27 there is no evidence of political propaganda in any of the poems favorable to him. Among the several Provençal poets who praised him in their songs are Giraut de Bornelh, Folquet de Marseille, Peire Vidal, Arnaut Daniel, Raimbaut de Vaquieras, and Aimeric de Sarlat. His proponents, however, were less effective in their occasional praise than his opponents in their thorough-going denunciations. In "Si per malvatz seignoril", and "Ces sitôt m'ai ma voluntat fellona",28 Giraut de Luc omits the standard criticisms: dishonorable, lack of "pretz", and attacks Alfonso for his so-called political "crimes". The critics have regarded these poems as "fort obscurs" because of Giraut's use of allusions and references to not easily identifiable persons and places, not easily identifiable perhaps because most of his charges are fabricated.29 He accuses Alfonso of having deceived and destroyed his own brother and uncle in order to hold his throne. The historical veracity of this charge is a vexed question. In an attempt to discredit the king and arouse emotional prejudice, Giraut emphasizes his friendliness to the Saracens; the king rejoices in their victories and holds commerce with them as well as with Jews. In a tornada, Giraut combines the truth of an historical situation with a vilifying smear: Reis apostitz, Marquesa-us ochaisona -pois Cabrieira us ditz reig de Mediona de las très mongas g'enpreignetz a Valbona qand agron dich compléta et ora nona.

The reference to Marquesa is to the wife of Pons de Cabrera whom Alfonso besieged in her castle during the revolt of her husband. Guilhem de Berguedan also bitterly chastised Alfonso 87 Martin de Riquier, "La littérature provençale à la cour d'Alphonse II d'Aragon", pp. 177-201. 28 Martin de Riquier, "El trovador Giraut de Luc", pp. 209-248. 29 For an analysis of the technique of obscure allusion see Chapter III, pp. 72-75, and as it operates in the poetry of Bertran, Chapter IV, Section B, p. 139.

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for his conduct toward Marquesa, and even Peire Vidal, an admirer of the king, solicited his mercy on her behalf. Giraut's accusation in the last two lines is of Alfonso's alleged violation of three nuns at the monastery of Valbona de la Monjas. The combination of the two in the tornada shows that the poet was not interested in the theoretical problem of what to do about a ruler who is unjust to his subjects. Nor did he wish to explore the implications of his statement. He simply wished to defame Alfonso in every and any possible way. Another ruler who elicited poetic enmity and consequent denunciation was Philip of France. Bertran de Born criticizes him,50 as does Peire Vidal, among others. Peire's criticism takes the form of moralistic judgments rather than rhetorical invective as do Giraut de Luc's attacks, combining reference to specific political events with wild allegations of murder and rapine. The frenzy of Peire's enmity, unlike Giraut de Luc's, is tempered by a sober judgment on the qualities of the king; and it is qualities, not specific actions, which he emphasizes in his criticism in "Ben viu a gran dolor". Philip is a "rei galiador", who does not love valor, who believes traitors and lying servants. The poet relies on adjectives and nouns which carry moral implications to show his disapproval of Philip, rather than references to names and places connected with events. Peire's tone differs from that of Giraut and Guilhem because his role vis-à-vis the ruler is different. Giraut and Guilhem speak out of personal hatred as direct political enemies of Alfonso. Peire, because he has no direct quarrel with Philip, is able to present his criticism in a more detached way. Because his involvement is less personal, he speaks with a more general and, consequently, a more authoritarian voice. To some degree, the conception of the poet as having the same sanctions in criticizing and castigating the ruling order as did the Old Testament prophet is operative in the role of the poet as political critic: Volontiers les poètes du Midi se mêlèrent des affaires politiques des pays étrangers où ils séjournaient et disaient leur mot dans les queM See Chapter IV, Section B, pp. 143-144 for Bertran's criticisms of Philip.

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relies, qu'ils y trouvaient. Ils se croyaient autorisés à faire des remontrances ou à donner des conseils salutaires même aux plus grands.81 Thus in "A per pauc de chanter no m lais", Peire Vidal turns his critical eye on the kings of France and Spain, on the German Emperor and calls all of them to account. The French king has no "pretz" because he abandoned the sepulchre (a reference to Philip's hasty departure from Syria); the Emperor (Henry VI) destroys "pretz" because he keeps Richard the Lionheart imprisoned; the kings of Spain are overcome by pride and thus war among themselves instead of with the Moors. In all three instances, the actions of the rulers are reprehensible because, in performing them, the rulers exhibit the possession or lack of qualities which are not kingly. Implicit in these criticisms is the concept of the "bos reis" which these rulers have failed to fulfill. To the poet, the actions themselves are less worthy of opprobrium than, for example, the display of the lack of "pretz" which such actions entail. In the poems discussed above, the various attitudes of the poets are those of enemy, hostile critic, or detached critic, and the tone and degree of criticism vary accordingly. The poet may also be a sympathetic critic, aware of the shortcomings of the ruler, ready to castigate him, yet not inimical toward him, though the poet's language may be strong. In this role, one of the favorites of Provençal poets, the poet often - though not necessarily - adds his wise counsel to his criticisms of the ruler. This attitude is much more frequently taken by the major political poets, Bertran and Walther, than by the minor poets. These poems of criticism, frequently coupled with counsel, are meant for the ruler criticized, in the hope of influencing him to change his policy. They are meant, too, for a wider audience in the courts of the supporters of the particular ruler. Because they are not weapons of attack, but "constructive criticism" meant to bring the ruler up to the standard of the "bos reis", such poems are not intended for an audience comprised of opponents of the ruler. 31

E. Hoepffner, "L'Espagne dans la vie et dans l'œuvre du troubadour Peire Vidal", in Mélanges 1945, II, 39-88, Études littéraires (Paris, 1945).

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In 1208, Elias Cairel wrote "Pus chai la fuelha del jaric" in an attempt to persuade William, the marquis of Montferrat, to come to the aid of the Lombards in Thessalonica, then part of the Latin kingdom of Byzantium. The situation there was close to civil war; the Lombard barons in Thessalonica were in revolt against Henry of Hainaut, the current Emperor of the kingdom. The barons pretended to be holding the land for young Demetrius of Montferrat, then a minor, but, in return for much needed help, they were prepared to offer the crown to William, Demetrius' brother. In 1208, Henry came to Salonica, the seat of the insurrection, and Elias, in Salonica and on the side of the Lombards, made "un gai sonet novel/que [he sent] lai part Monbel/al marques, quel sobrenom gic/ de Monferrat.. .". 3 2 The poet's purpose is to shame William into coming. He begins with an allusion to his mother's family: William takes after them more than he does after his father's side. This insult was well calculated, for on the maternal side William was a Savoyard; they did not take part in the crusades, and their name was synonymous with cowardice. William is not like his ancestor, the hero of the First Crusade: mal resembla lo filh Robert Guiscajrt, qu'Antiocha conques e Mongizart. (Strophe I) The poet's final appeal to family honor comes in the tornada: Vostr'ancessor, so au dir a retraire, foron tug pros, mas vos non soven gaire; si del venir non prendetz geynh et art, de vost'onor perdretz lo terz el quart. In case shaming William by an invidious comparison with his ancestors fails to have the desired effect, Elias adds a few round insults: Y o u are a better monk than a ruler; you would rather eat beef in Montferrat than be an Emperor (of the Byzantine kingdom); you have delivered your allies to maltreatment, they are shorn and "an paor del raire"; they await your help. Turning from insult to appeal, the poet dangles before William: M

De Bartholomaeis, op. cit.

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L o regisme de Salonic sens peireir'e ses manganel Pogratz aver e maynt castel d'autres qu'ieu n o m e n t a u ni die.

But should he refuse, Elias threatens more defamation of honor: Per D i e u , marques, Rotlandis e sos fraire e G u i s Marques e Ravas lor contraire, 3 3 F l a m e n c , Frances, B e r g o n h o n e Lombart van tug dizen que v o s semblatz bastart! (Strophe V )

Similar tactics are employed by Amoros de Luc in a different political situation.34 In 1230, Amoros, writing on behalf of Peire Mauclerc who sought the aid of Henry III of England, requests an English invasion of France.35 The poet devotes two strophes to a list of all those who will ally themselves with Henry. Amoros' shaming of Henry is more subtle than Elias' approach to William. "Ara cant es lo reis joves e sans", says the poet. "Degra venir guerrejar lo Frances". He continues by gently reminding the king that a "joves reis" who breaks lances, who is courageous, worthy, ardent, wise, generous, humble, and proud, is a good choice for the ruler of a kingdom (literally: "in his hands a land is well placed"). Amoros never directly accuses Henry of wallowing in aristocratic pleasures and forgetting the ruler's role as a warrior, but he implies it. Now that the king does not yet have a "grey beard", he ought to prefer fighting to eating, drinking, and hunting. For a city is worth more than "one hundred hunting dogs and one thousand hunting horns". The strongest criticism the poet brings into his appeal is "Ai! reis engles, non siatz flacs ni vans." In the only sirventes left of the work of Bertran de Born lo fils,36 the poet directs strongly worded criticism "al rei Johan, 33

The references are to leaders of the revolt in Thessalonica. Jeanroy, "Un sirventes politique de 1230". 35 The English did land at Saint-Malo on May 3, 1230. See E. Berger, "Les préparatifs d'une invasion anglaise et la descente d'Henri III en Bretagne (1229-30)", Bibliothèque d'École de Chartes, LIV (1893), 5-44. 36 "Quan vei lo temps renovelar", Audiau, op. cit., pp. 151-154. See also Peire Cardenal, "Aquesta gens cant son en lur gaieza" (XII) for a criticism

34

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que-s n'avergonh". The poem was written in 1205, probably at the behest of Savaric de Mauleon, a partisan of John Lackland, in the hope of spurring on his lord. The poet reproaches John for allowing himself to be despoiled of his land and disinherited while alive by Philip of France. He presents his grievance simply and directly: E deuria-s be vergonhar, Si lh m e m b r e s de sos ancessors, Quar laissa sai Peitau e Tors A1 rei F e l i p ses demandar: Per que tota G u i a n a planh L o rei Richart, q u e d e f e n d e n E n m e s maint aur e maint argen, M a s d'aquest n o m par, n'aia sonh. (Strophe II)

Like Elias Cairel, Bertran uses the comparison with family heroes, here John's Plantagenet and Aquitanian ancestors and especially his brother Richard, to shame him; it is not the only reproach the poet directs at him. He brings in standard criticisms of rulers: John prefers hunting to fighting and he leaves his allies (people) without help. As a result he has no "pretz". Neither do his barons, whom Bertran includes in his "chastiar", for theirs has "fallen in the mud". The king's lack of honor inspires the poet to a final insult: he has a "cor flac, recrezen"; it is a "cors sofranh". In these three poems of criticism and reproach, the poets attempt to incite the rulers to action in battle. Because the ruler prefers easy living to fighting, his "pretz" is diminished or destroyed. Although these poets do not make positive didactic statements, their negative pronouncements imply a standard for the lord: being a warrior is part of his role as a good ruler. In this, the poems of Elias, Amoros, and Bertran are similar to those of Bertran de Born in which such criticisms are frequent and consistent.37 of the English court and of John's loss of Normandy, his ridiculous attempt to reclaim Gatinais, and his unwillingness to fight because of fear. Strophe V. 37 Bertran de Born incorporates this type of criticism into his attitude toward feudal property and constructs a positive ethic for a feudal lord. He carries the idea of criticism and of an ethic farther than any of the above minor poets. See infra, Chapter IV, Section B, pp. 142-144, 145-149.

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Occasionally a poem solely of political advice without any criticism of the ruler is found. Cases in point are Peire Cardenal's "Per fols tenc polhes e lombartz" in which he counsels Frederick II not to take part in the senseless killings done by the French and the Picards (an allusion to the Albigensian Crusade), and the Monk of Montaudon's "Seigneur, si aguessetz regnat" to the German Emperor Otto IV, exhorting him not to listen to unwise counselors.38 Guilhem Figueira, aroused perhaps by the renewal of the Lombard League against Frederick II in 1226, writes an exhortation to Frederick to recover his honor: Quar nol tenon per senhor Enaissi q u o n deurian far, E s'ilh n o n repaira e n v e s lor E n breu per sas antas venjar, L'enperi s'en poira clamar D'elh e del sieu enperiar, S e laissa tolre ni mermar L o dreit qu'elh d e u adreiturar. ("Ja de far n o u sirventes", Strophe I I ) 3 9

The renewal of the moribund league is not seen by the poet in terms of its political implications for the Empire. Rather, he presents the situation as an affront to the omnipotence of the Emperor - an "anta" which must call forth vengeance. If the Emperor does not respond to the affrontery of the Lombards, never again will his "bon pretz" be above all others, and he will never have as much as he should. But if he listens to the poet's advice and hastens to put down the League, then no one will dare to move unless it is according to the imperial wish. Thus the politics involved in the complex relation of the Italian city-states to the Empire are reduced by the poet to the terms of the power of the 38

This poem, of which only a single strophe survives, is thought to be a cobla or part of a tenson. The explanatory notes by Otto Klein, who edited the Monk's poems (Marburg, 1882), are incomprehensible in terms of the poem itself and historically inaccurate. For an explanation of the historical matrix of the poem and the meaning of the Monk's counsel, see C. Fabre, "Le moine de Montaudon et l'empereur Othon IV", Annates du Midi, X X (1908), 351-361. 39 Levy, op. cit., #3.

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Emperor which is his by "dreit', and this "dreit" is unquestioned. It might be well at this point to pause and reflect on the nature of the political criticism expressed in the poems already discussed. The poets, when criticizing the ruler, never attack his justice, or lack of it, nor his right to do as he has done. If he has committed a political wrong, or made a political mistake, these actions are not judged in and of themselves in terms of a theory of government or of the political consequences. By a hostile critic, the actions are used to defame the ruler. By a sympathetic critic, they are seen as reflections on the intrinsic qualities a ruler ought to have; most frequently these actions are criticized because in their performance the ruler does not fulfill the poetic concept of the "bos reis"; he compromises his "pretz" or honor and, therefore, his power. A parallel statement cannot be made about the criticisms of ecclesiastics. In the poems of Guilhem Figueira against Rome and of Peire Cardenal against Esteve de Belmon, these poets directly condemn the Church and churchmen for their specific political crimes. These is no suggestion that such actions are counter to certain qualities inherent in the role of a spiritual leader. Many times, however, the adjective "false" is used in the denunciations of certain clerics. Its implication might be that a prince of the Church is untrue to his role if he engages in secular political machinations and crimes, or if he attempts to mold the political policies of the secular kingdoms. The event during this period which elicited the most criticism of and counsel to the rulers, in political and nonpolitical poems alike, was the crusades. In their response to the crusades, the poets showed a lack of political awareness: they seemed impervious to the political issues involved in undertaking such campaigns, and to the problems incurred when a local magnate left his own territory to fight in the Orient. The explanation for this is that, paradoxically, the poets did not see these important political events - the crusades - in political terms. These were holy wars, undertaken on behalf of God and for the sake of one's personal salvation. This was the propaganda line expounded in the preachings and sermons of the Church, and the poets adapted it to their

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40

lyrics. The chansons de croisade as a genre, therefore, are not political.41 They express the religious necessity for the individual to participate in the crusades; the obligation of the Christian to fight and die for Jesus who died for him; the pains of the separation of the crusader from his beloved. Aside from the themes of religious salvation and obligation, and the pangs of love, there are a few crusading songs which have a decided political emphasis and which, therefore, should be noted in a study of the political lyrics. In these, the poets exhorted the rulers to participate in the crusade for God and their souls, and added for the greater glory of Christendom, and the greater glory of the rulers. These were acceptable motivations. No poet ever criticized a ruler for being motivated by the lure of aggrandizing his own power, but they were highly critical of those who became crusaders solely because of the profit motive rather than the devotion to God and concern for salvation. In 1213, Innocent urged new crusading effort, and Aimeric de Pegulhan, responding to this, wrote an exhortation "A1 sepulcre cobra": "Ara parra qual seran enveyos".42 This song is particularly interesting for its depiction of motivations for crusade participation. Those who desire "pretz del mon e-1 pretz de Dieu" will "adreitamen" become pilgrims. To the glory and reputation the world will give the crusader is now added the glory God will give. The rewards fighting this war and conquering will be the same in the world's standards as any other war of conquest, but the significant difference is that a seigneur can now have "pretz" in 40

See F. W. Wentzlaff-Eggebert, op. cit., especially the sections on "Die kirchlichen Aufrufe und Predigten" which show the influence of the sermons on the intellectual and emotional climates preceding each crusade. 41 The songs which refer to the crusades, termed chansons de croisade or Kreuzlieder, form a separate genre within the corpus of the sirventes and have been examined in an excellent study by Kurt Lewent, Das altprovenzalische Kreuzlied (diss. Berlin, 1905), and in an earlier study which includes the German poets: Hermann Schindler, Die Kreuzziige in der altprovenzalischen und mittelhochdeutschen Lyrik (Dresden, 1889). Of the Kreuzlieder listed by Lewent, seven have a sufficiently political emphasis to be included among political poems. See Appendix I. 42 Shepard, op. cit., XI.

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terms of fighting for God. As in other noble battles, fighting brings out "valens" and "pros", and those who participate in God's wars are "bon combatedor", "ferm", "franc", "larc", "cortes", and "leyal". And if they do not fight, by definition they are none of these things; they care nothing for "leialtat ni valor", and will be dishonored by the dishonor done to God's possessions. This dishonor brings shame on the entire Christian world, and in the crusading songs, the poets repeatedly emphasized the general shame to Christianity and the specific shame to the ruler which the continued success of the pagans conferred upon them. It is this shame, more than anything else, which should rouse the Christians to fight. In stressing shame, the poets are using the same tactics as they do in other exhortation-to-battle poems; only here it is more emotionally charged: we are allowing our God to be shamed by the pagans, if we do not fight for his honor. The crusade songs, with their emphasis on the pagan threat and shamed Christianity, are an attempt to arouse partisan hatred. It is an ideological partisanship, but no less effective in recruiting crusaders. The role the poets played in relation to the crusades was that of the rulers' conscience. They reminded them of their commitments in this regard, encouraged them, urged, shamed and bullied them into going, and fulminated against them when they delayed. Elias Cairel emphasizes that he is giving good counsel to Frederick when he urges him on to the crusade. The poet presents a more immediate, personal reason - vengeance - to spur William of Montferrat: Marques Guillem, lo soiorn n l dormir de Montferrat non voletz ies gurpir: tart vengaretz lo mort de vostre paire ni l deseret c'om fai a vostre fraire. ("Qui saubes dar tant bon conseil denan", Strophe V I I ) «

Elias' advice even extends to naming the route the crusaders 13

Lewent, op. cit., pp. 115-117. The references are to the death of Boniface of Montferrat and the attacks on the Thessalonican kingdom of Demetrius of Montferrat by Theodor Angelus, the despot of Epirus.

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should take. In his poem, written, Lewent tentatively proposes, in 1219, Elias brings out two of the recurrent political themes in the crusading songs: the Christian rulers fight among themselves instead of fighting Saracens; it is essential to recover Jerusalem. li comte e-1 rei e-il baron e-il marques, qe l'us l'autre s'auci' en gerreian. Aissi faran crestiantat perir, e degron mieills Turcs e paians aucir e recobrar lo dreiturier repaire Jherusalem e conquistar lo Caire. (Strophe II)

The internecine Christian quarrels, "no fan paz ez acort entre lor", from the time of Richard the Lionheart and Philip Augustus on the Third Crusade, were a target for the poets' anger. The alternative always presented was to unify as Christians and fight heathens. The quarrels were not seen as political wrongs in themselves, but as wrongs against God, for the sole reason that they deterred the secular rulers from the crusades. A unique and interesting exception to the usual exhortations to Christian unity is the advice of Folquet de Marseille to Richard the Lionheart in 1194. Folquet capitalizes on the enmity between Henry VI, the German Emperor, and his former prisoner to persuade Richard to become a crusader again. Henry seemed to be preparing to crusade, and the poet reminds Richard that his job is not done, and that he ought to beat Henry to the task and consequently to the rewards. What treachery it would be, he states, if you were to make all the "messio", and he took the prize. The first one who brings help will be the first God will hojior and reward.44 There is a clear implication here that the prize, the reward and honor of God are practical in terms of power and prestige as well as spiritual in terms of salvation. Recover Jerusalem - the war cry of the Third Crusade - persisted for the following four decades, although its emotional power was attenuated.45 Jerusalem was seen as the touchstone of Christian power: if it were recovered, the wrongs done by the heathens to 44 45

"Chantars mi torn ad afan", Stronski, op. cit., XVIII. See Wentzlaff-Eggebert, op. cit.

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Jesus would be righted, and Christianity would become dominant. It is interesting to note that "Nostre Seigneur" is seen nearly in terms of a feudal lord whose possessions are the Holy Land and especially Jerusalem. The Christian lord, as a feudal subject of Jesus, is obligated to fight for the recovery of Jesus' property. The kings were exhorted "desliurar lo regisme reyal", "cum Dieus cobres sa reio". The city, unimportant in itself, became the symbol for the goal of all crusading; in its recovery, salvation came to the Christian world and to each crusader. As a symbolic action, not as a reality, the recovery of Jerusalem held in itself the whole purpose of the crusades. Although all the crusading songs are fundamentally exhortation, there is only one which is a full-fledged battle cry.40 Written by Gavaudan in the 1190's, it refers to the Moorish-Christian wars in Spain. The motivation behind the poem is an admixture of religious sentiment and partisan enmity. As Wentzlaff-Eggebert points out, it was easier for European Christians to work themselves into a frenzy of partisan hatred against those infidels who resided in their lands or lands contiguous to their own, than against the Saracens far away in the East. As with the poem of Tomier and Palaizi discussed in Chapter III, the themes of Gavaudan's poem are organized by the poet's partisanship. The poem progresses thematically from a presentation and denunciation of enemies to a call to the allies and a vision of victory; there are, however, no syntactical connectives. The first strophe outlines the situation: Jerusalem has been taken by Saladin and not yet recovered. And now the king of Maroc makes it known that he wars against all "los reys de Cristias" with his perfidious "Andolozitz e Arabitz". In the second strophe, Gavaudan makes an epic list of the enemy - he uses names much the same as Bertran does - and details the destruction they bring. Partisan poetry usually contains the boasts of victory for "our side", but in the third strophe, the poet repeats the boast of his enemies. "They are so proud", these assembled heathen, "that they regard the whole world as 48

"Senhor, per los nostres peccatz", in "Poésies du troubadour Gavaudan", ed. A. Jeanroy, Romania, XXXIV (1905), 497-539.

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theirs." They "throw their boasts that Provence and Toulouse and all the country from there to the Puy are theirs". Never was heard so "fers gaps" from the "false dogs". Gavaudan seems more outraged at their certitude of victory and presumption than at their lack of the Christian faith. To oppose them, the poet summons all the forces on his side to hear their boast and come to the aid of Spain to "conquer all the dogs seduced by Mahomet": Emperaire vos o aujatz, El reys de Fransa, e sos cozis, El reys engles, corns peitavis, Qu'al rey d'Espanha socorratz. Que ancmais negus mielhs no poc A servir Dieu esser propdas; Ab luy venseretz totz los cas Cui Bafomet a escarnitz Els renegatz outras alhitz. (Strophe IV)

In destroying them, two objectives are satisfied: a hated, powerful enemy who seeks "our land" is removed, and God is served. Having called forth the aid of worldly princes, the poet now assures those who believe in Jesus of His aid in the fight to come, thus uniting religious belief and battle partisanship. Confident of powerful support from heaven and earth, the poet grows more vehement and more defiant: "never will we leave our heritage seated so solidly in the great faith to those black dogs . . .". His poem reaches a crescendo with a vision of the united crusaders, drawn from all over Europe, marching into Spain, butchering the foe: Quan veyran los baros crozatz Alamans, Frances, Cambrezis, Engles, Bretos et Angevis, Biarns, Gascos ab nos mesclatz Els Provensals totz en un floe, Saber podetz qu'ab los Espas Romprem la preyss'el cap el s mas, Trols ajam mortz totz e delitz, Pueys er mest nos totz l'aurs partitz. (Strophe VII)

And to the victor will belong the spoils.

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The final strophe draws the poem into a unity - the poet, his partisanship, and the Christian God: Profeta seran Gavaudas Qu'el dig er faitz, e mortz als cas! E Dieus er honratz e servitz On Bafometz era grazitz. (Strophe VIII) With an ironic twist, Gavaudan, not Mahomet, is the prophet, and what he prophesies - "death to the dogs" - will come true. Throughout the poem, God and Mohammed have been pictured as the military leaders of their respective partisans. Thus the final lines do not reaffirm the religious purpose of the crusade - to gain salvation in serving God - but predict the victory of God, the ruler, over Mohammed, the defeated chieftain. The bellicose nature of Gavaudan's poem makes it similar to the partisan battle exhortation. In these poems, of which Pedro de Bergerac's "Bel m'es cant aug lo resso" is a typical example,47 the poet as partisan reacts to a situation which already exists or an event to come. Thus the combination of partisanship and event elicits the poem. Persons are often mentioned, appealed to, exhorted, and criticized, but the focus of the poem is an emphasis upon the event itself. The audience for such poems is other partisans for the cause for which the poet writes. In attacking the enemy verbally and predicting victory, the poet arouses partisan enthusiasm and morale. In criticizing the partisans, the poet attempts to spur them on, to renew what may be a dwindling allegiance. The partisan poetry written in Northern France during this period was written for the minor lords against the royal power; 48 47

Mila y Fontanals, op. cit., II, 139-140. Hugh de la Ferte wrote three poems in connection with the revolt of the barons during the minority of Louis IX (1226-30) against the regency of the Queen Mother, Blanche of Castille. N o n e of them deal with the events themselves: two are outright political smears of the queen and Count Thibaut. There is the undisguised implication that the pair are lovers, "le tiengnent de compaignie", and together plan to cheat young Louis IX and France out of all they can. Blanche is criticized because she is Spanish and is accused of sending money to Spain and to her lover. But reserved for Thibaut are the 48

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in Italy it was written in Provençal o n behalf of the Italian citystates against the invading Germans. In "Bon'aventura d o n D i e u s als Pisans", Peire V i d a l disparages G e r m a n "cortes" and lang u a g e ; 4 9 he warns the L o m b a r d s to remember h o w A p u l i a w a s conquered. In 1 1 9 1 , H e n r y V I invaded A p u l i a and Sicily and h o p e d eventually t o continue his conquest throughout Italy. T h e Italians, fearful of attack, resuscitated the L o m b a r d L e a g u e and in 1195 L a citta guelfe indessero allora u n convegno, c h e f u tenuto agli ultima di luglio a Borgo San D o n n i n o ; e la f u ristretta la lega di L o m b a r d i a , R o m a g n a e Marc, tra Verona, Mantova, M o d e n a , Brescia, F a e n z a , Milano, Bologna, Reggio, G r a v e d o n a , Piacenza e Padova. 5 0 T h e threat of imminent attack by Henry V I prompted Peire de la Cavarana D ' u n sirventes faire; es mos pessamenz, qel poges retraire viaz e breumenz; qel nostr' emperaire ajosta granz genz. L o m b a r t , beus gardatz, qe ja n o n siaz pejer qe compraz, si f e r m n o n estaz. (Strophe I) H i s warning to the L o m b a r d s repeats itself in the refrain after e a c h strophe. A s with Peire Vidal, the cry is "remember Apulia".

most violent assaults: he is illegitimate, a bad chevalier, old, vile, bloated; he has all the vices. The third poem is a counsel to Louis IX, advising him to distrust his mother and his counselors, to beat down the king of Spain and the count of Champagne, and to call his barons to help him. This poem, written by a partisan of the Barons' Revolt, would indicate that the barons, while still hating and fearing the Regency, are ready to support their king. See Le Roux de Lincy, Recueil de chants historiques français (Paris, 1841). 49 Peire de la Cavarana also mocks the German words and laughter: "Cans engles resembla/en dir: brod et guaz/lairan qant se sembla/c'uns cans enrabjaz." It has been conjectured that it was these poems which prompted Walther to write "Ir suit sprechen willekomen." 50 Canello, op. cit., p. 3.

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A few poets wrote correspondingly few partisan political songs about events in Northern France, Italy, and Spain. Exhortations to the crusades drew considerably more poetic attention. But the single event and the one crusade which elicited the greatest number of political poems was, understandably, the Albigensian in Southern France. Most scholars, notably Alfred Jeanroy and Paul Meyer, imply that the number of these poems is surprisingly few. But if one compares them with the number of poems written about other events, the quantity is, in fact, large. It must also be remembered that no major political poet was writing at that time in Provence, and Walther, in Germany, was not involved with and did not respond to the events of this crusade. The poets who wrote about the Albigensian Crusade did not mention the problem of heresy, nor were they involved with it.51 The religious issue of salvation, so prominent in the poems of the Orient Crusades and the battles in Spain, does not enter into these poems. Of course, the poets now are not writing for the crusade, but against it. They did not see the Albigensian Crusade in terms of a religious war; it was, rather, an invasion of their lands by the French from the North. And in their invasion, the Northern French were abetted by the clergy. It is this union of "clerx e frances" against the lords of Toulouse and other major territorial princes which the poets criticized vehemently. Despite the antagonism of the Midi to the French, the poems are not conceived in, nor do they betray, a nationalistic spirit.52 This war was, for the South, a feudal battle, like all the others, and the major loyalty of the poets was not to the Midi, but to their overlords and patrons in a small locale. To demonstrate their support, the poets wrote partisan songs on their behalf. These partisan lyrics are similar in theme and purpose to all the others written in a feudal and militaristic situation. Appeals 51

Robert Harlan Gere in his dissertation, op. cit., has investigated the relation of the troubadours and the Cathari, and, on the basis of his study, says, "Of Catharism in troubadour poetry, the flat statement must be made that the research done for this essay has failed to single out a Provençal lyric which in my opinion advances a Catharist ideology, or which marks its composer unmistakably as a heretic", p. 97. 52 Ibid., p. 70 and supra, Chapter II, pp. 48-49.

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for help, exhortations to the leader and to the partisans, insults and challenges to the enemy, promises of victory - all are found. An anonymous poet sent an appeal to Pedro II, king of Aragon, who was overlord of certain territories in Provence, before the battle of Muret in 1213: "go, Hugonet 53 to the king and tell him not to wait, lest he be thought lacking. For a long time the French have occupied his undefended land, and since he has so well conquered there [a reference to his victory over the Moors at Las Navas de Tolosa], he should remember his land here." It does not seem at all ironic to the poet that Pedro fought, as a crusader, against the infidels, and now is being asked to fight against other crusaders. In fact, there is an implied causal relation between his victory at Las Navas and his victory to come in Provence. This implication reveals that the poet thought of both struggles in terms of the invasion of territory, of feudal and political contests, not holy wars. He exhorts Pedro to come because his valor will be tripled. "If he comes he can stop the bad things the French - God curse them - say about him because he does not chastise their impudence." It is clear that the assumption behind the poet's statement is that an attack on a feudal overlord's territory is a personal insult to him. This idea is operative also in Guilhem Figueira's poem of advice to Frederick II to chastise the Lombards for their affront. Should anyone try to stop Pedro, the poet expresses the hope that the Spanish king may "triumph by fire and blood" and engines of war so strong no walls can stop them. He revels in the battle to come: "it will please me to see helmets, hauberks, lances, brilliant pennons, and machines of great power on the field. Then will come the combat between us and the French and we will know who will have the prize of chivalry." The goal of the struggle is not expressed as the freedom of the Midi from the hand of the invaders, nor a restoration of the lost property, but in terms of knightly values: the "prize of chivalry". Likewise, Pedro should fight because the crusade represents an affront to his power, and fighting will increase his valor. A challenge not accepted vitiates his honor and his reputation as a knight. As in all the political s»

Mila, op. cit., II, 141-142, "Vai, Hugonet".

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poems of this period in which the ruler is exhorted to do battle, fighting is not a necessity to right social or political wrongs, but to fulfill the image of the powerful, warrior king.54 Since the side for which the poet writes has "bon dreit", he claims the enemy will have the loss. The expression as it is used here does not involve the question of rights; it is merely a partisan statement: we are in the right. As such it fits well with the tone of the whole poem, defiant partisanship and battle eagerness. Pedro II answered the appeal; he came and was killed at the Battle of Muret, the high hopes of the anonymous poet of "Vai Hugonet" notwithstanding. But it was not only vigor from the outside which was sought to carry on the fight. The count of Toulouse was exhorted by Montan Sartre in 1215 to continue the war, not to stop now; "if you do not hasten your valor is neither true nor alive."55 It is not only imperative for his valor that he "guerra recaliva", but also for his honor. Because of the wicked deeds of the French, if his standard is not raised against them, all his land will die. He is the symbol of resistance, and he must serve as an example for the partisans: Del vostre fag nuls hom no si conorta, Ni o pot far, mas que leves l'esporta De salvamen, (Strophe III) "Salvamen" is curious in this context. Technically a theological term, and used most often in the chansons de croisade to mean the reward given by God for crusade participation, it is here secularized and refers to the hope of being saved from the power of the enemy. The most expressive poems of resistance are the three political sirventes written by Tomier and Palaizi, partisans of the house of Toulouse,59 and they merit special attention. The events which in54

The exception to this statement is Bertran de Born; as we shall see in Chapter IV, Section B, Bertran develops his ethic for the feudal lord to include the necessity of fighting for property rights. 55 "Corns de Tolsan, ja non er quieus o pliva", "Poésies inédites des troubadours du Périgord", ed. Chabaneau, Revue des langues romanes, XXVII (1885), 157-161. 56

Frank, op. cit. Because, in the poems, the poets speak in the first person

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spired each of the poems are respectively the siege of Beaucaire in 1216, the aid given by the "Avignonnais" to the city of Toulouse, beleagured for the second time in 1218, and the siege of Avignon by Louis VIII in 1226. It is possible to trace, in the progress of the resistance as seen in the three poems, the change in the atmosphere from confident opposition to frustration and hopeless holding-out, unaided, against a too powerful enemy. After their return from the Lateran Council in 1215, the counts of Toulouse, Raimon VI and his son Raimon VII, began to undertake the recovery of their despoiled possessions by force. Beaucaire was their first victory, and Tomier and Palaizi's first sirventes, "A tornar m'er enquer al primier us", is written in the enthusiasm following. It is written by a confident partisan and directed against Simon de Montfort: "I will sing, since it is pleasing to the count; I will draw forth my anger with his support and I will direct it toward Simon de Montfort." In directing his anger, the poet makes use of allusions, but it is not a case of deliberate obscurantism, for those acquainted with the events will pick up the references: e si mos chanz sap un pauc ves reclus, vostr'es lo tortz e non de mon saber, (Strophe I) The next two strophes are taunts which refer to Simon's defeat at Beaucaire. The poet takes heart from Simon's defeat; it indicates fortune has shifted, and now victory will come again and again. The victory of the counts of Toulouse is seen by the poet as a sign that God and Justice support their cause and have turned the victory from the French: "Mas Dieus e Dreitz lor a camjat lor sort." It is difficult to ascertain whether "Dreitz" is used as an abstract, a rallying force to support the partisans - the right is on our side - or whether its use implies in the poet a sense that the exploitation of the Midi by the crusaders is an unjust and hypocritical action. It may include something of both; for in the next, and very significant, strophe, he develops the idea of "acort". A singular, I shall discuss them in their joint authorship as "the poet". For a discussion of their second poem see supra, Chapter III, pp. 79-83.

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truce must have been in the wind and, earlier in the poem, the poet warns against it because the French are not to be trusted. In this strophe he states an honorable peace nourishes and uplifts; "e a cascun sa raison mantener". That is, it guarantees the maintenance of each individual's rights. "But that peace which Simon leads us to despoils and kills and makes destruction." The significance, therefore, is that peace in itself is not right, but may be, as in this case, wrong. And it is not wrong simply because it dishonors the ruler or detracts from his power, as in Bertran de Born's fulminations against a dishonorable peace. It is wrong because it destroys their lands and their rights: "let us defend our plains and marshes", the poet exhorts his allies. The urgency of the poet's message culminates in a warning to the cowardly barons who would make peace with Simon: be-ous tenon enbregatz clerc e Frances ab lor enfeigna patz, que sai venon, et autreis lor acort: tornar fara de ciutat a un ort. (Strophe V) The poet in this poem demonstrates a greater awareness of the political situation than the run-of-the-mill partisan poet. He does not content himself with a superficial partisan statement: we are right, they are wrong; we shall win, they shall die. Nor does he waste his breath in bombast; he evaluates the weakness of the count and his allies, and sees the ironic danger that they may help to forge the fetters by which the deceitful French and the clergy will bind them. Bitterness from past experience with the French and fear that the enemies will seduce his gullible allies with their promises of peace spur him to a passionate appeal. His allies must be made to realize the precariousness of their position and carry on from the first victory: "take up arms and hands, you who are strong and firm, against these arrogant ones. It is by their own effort that many men save themselves who, otherwise, would have been conquered and put to death." The spirit of strength and optimism, tempered by cautious reservations about his allies, which the poet exhibits in the first sirventes, is absent from the second, "Si co-1 flacs molins torneia."

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The lament is for the city of Toulouse, besieged in 1217-18. Things were not going well for the Provencals. Although in the previous sirventes the poet designates the forces of the Midi as "lz maritz", the sense of anguish that is carried in these quietly understated lines about the siege in this poem is absent in the first: Mas chascus pes e conssire et en Tolosa se mire: qu'i l plus rics a pietz d'ausire; (Strophe II) The poet returns to his warnings against a peace with the French. But in the alternatives he presents to the "evil peace", there is no hopeful talk of future victory. It is better to endure the suffering and fight on than be captured and killed. He underlines the fact that this is a very real possibility with a reference to the fate of Raimon-Rogier, who attempted to make a deal with the French and the clergy. Thus fighting on becomes a goal in itself. Either way, however, the future is bleak. As in all partisan poetry, the enemy - here the clergy and "sel de Franssa" - is damned; 57 the poet's condemnations become more frequent in the second and third sirventes than in the first. The one ally who is praised is the "comtessa d'Avignon" as the poet designates the city who sent reinforcements to beleagured Toulouse. And it was resistance at Avignon which later, in 1226, stopped Louis VIII's triumphal march through the Midi. Tomier and Palaizi's poem, "De chantar farai", the third in this group of sirventes was written during the king's siege of this city. Avignon still holds firm her "fina proeza", but she fights on alone. Meant for an audience comprised of Southern partisans, as are the other two sirventes, this poem shows a despondency not found in the earlier poems. Each strophe ends with this desperate refrain:58 57 The other enemy who is castigated is Guillem del Baux, who did not aid the counts of Toulouse; the animosity shown by the poet toward him reflected general sentiment, for Guillem was assassinated on July 30, 1218 by the Avignonnais. For another poem directed against him see Gui de Cavaillo, "Seigneurs e cavals armatz". 58 The only other political poem which has a refrain is Peire de la Cavarana's "D'un sirventes far".

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Segur estem, seignors e ferm de ric socors. The tone, despite the exhortation in the words, is hopeless. There is a sense that these forces are holding out against insurmountable odds. The "ric socors", so eagerly awaited, is not forthcoming from other earthly allies - only in God is the poet able to see the aid which is so badly needed to combat this "falsa croisade": 59 Ric socors aurem, en Deu n'ai fianza, dont gazagnarem sobre eels de Franza: (Stophe II) In the first sirventes, the poet exhorted the Aragonese and Catalonians to enter the war and avenge the death of their king, Pedro II. Until they fight, they live shamed "tro guerra vos escus". But now he laments: Els Arragones ai perdut ma poigna e mon sirventes et en Cathaloigna; (Strophe IV) The remainder of the poem consists of reproaches to Frederick II for not coming to the aid of those in the South, and the familiar angry words to the clergy for their perfidiousness and lack of devotion to the Orient Crusade. There are no more taunts to the enemy, nor assurances to the partisans that they will have the final victory. It is a saddened and hopeless poet who still repeats - "be strong". But the resistance was not strong enough; Avignon fell and in 1229 Toulouse followed suit. What Tomier and Palaizi feared came to pass: an "enfeigna patz" which marked the end of local control in the Midi. All the partisan poems whether written about a feudal war, a particular battle, or a prolonged enmity between nobles, factions, or national groups present a common puzzle to the scholars: why 55

This is the sole poetic reference to the invasion f r o m the North as a crusade.

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are certain events written about and certain others never treated? Why, for example, is an insignificant encounter in Catalonia worthy of mention, and the Battle of Bouvines, of fundamental importance for the whole of Western Europe, brings forth no poem? Why should events in Thessalonica, so far removed from France, elicit an appeal for help to an Italian prince from a Provençal poet, while noteworthy critical situations in France receive no poetic notice? Why does the young Infante of Castille, dead at the age of twelve, merit a planh, and the death of Pedro II, king of Aragon, at the Battle of Muret receive no commemoration? Some scholars attempt to answer this puzzle by implying that a certain mystique is operative which somehow determines what events are celebrated; thus some are and some are not. This mystique seems to consist vaguely of conditions, circumstances, what have you, and somehow these all together move in a mysterious way as the determinants for the occasion of a poem. Another answer is the lame recourse to the hypothesis that a great number of poems about different events did exist and have been lost. Neither the implications of a mystique nor the bleatings about "many thousand gone" are sufficient answers. The first is too airy to be of any practical value; the second has the implication that the political lyric is a large genre, that many political poems were written, which is not true. The answer to the problem: what determines which events warrant a political poem, does not lie in the event itself. The determining factor is the role of the poet. The existence of an event or situation - no matter how important - does not produce the poem; the poet selects the event on the basis of his personal response, and this response gives shape to the poem. It follows, therefore, that this simple, but overlooked - perhaps because it is so simple - statement is the key: to have a political poem about any event, you must have a poet who responds to the event and whose response leads him to write to express himself. An objection may be raised to this answer: were these political poems not written because they were commissioned and paid for by patrons or interest groups. This is certainly true of some poems, but it by no means explains all of them, especially not the very

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critical, unsolicited poems. And if it were true, then logically, there would be more political poems about the many important events. Surely the patrons and interest groups, recognizing the importance of these events, would solicit partisan comments on them. We can conclude, therefore, that important as patronage may have been, and it was more important for the production of poems that entertain than for those that criticize and denounce, it is not the principal answer to the problem of what determines a political poem. The response of the poet is. Seen in this light, the number of poems which were elicited by the Albigensian Crusade is explicable. Surely the events were of great importance to Southern France, geographically and politically; the result of the crusade determined the direction France as a whole was to take. The chain of the consolidation of French national power under a king was begun. The people of Provence reacted with strong opposition and general ferment to the invasion from the North. Most of the poets felt it too; it is impossible to believe they had no reaction. Few, however, felt the need to express their reaction poetically. There was no poet whose primary creative outlet took the form of political song; no political poet was alive in Southern France during the crusade. Had Bertran de Born been alive then, the history of the Provençal political lyric would, in all likelihood, be different. Most poets - major and minor - did not write political lyrics. And those who did, no matter how infrequently, wrote as poets and partisans, not as reporters. They were under no obligation to "cover the news"; they did not see their purpose as reporting or recording the major events. Therefore, it is not the importance or unimportance of the event itself which elicits the poem, but the relationship of the poet to the event and the persons involved. Those poets who composed political lyrics wrote out of a necessity to make their views heard; they wrote in anger, as Tomier and Palaizi say: "I will draw forth my anger." With a critical temper, the poet turns his attention toward persons, situations, and events which provoke him. Because he writes a poem about an event, we should not infer that the general response is the same as his, or that it even exists. It is an error to identify the

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poet's response with a mass response, or to assume that the existence of a particular poem about an event necessarily reflects the general agitation, or, conversely, that the lack of a poem indicates the lack of a general response. Although sometimes the poet may speak for a group or express popular sentiment, he speaks in his own voice. He does not speak primarily because others are angry or critical, but because he is. A slightly different situation obtains when the poet is a hired spokesman for a particular cause, but in serving in the employ of the prince or an interest group, he promulgates their cause as a partisan for their side, and thus involves himself with it. There is not a specific or set audience for political poetry. The audience for each poem differs; it is determined by the poet's purpose, the response he wishes to evoke, his patron - if one exists and the locale of the events. Some political poems would have a very small audience composed solely of interested partisans; such would be the poems of Guilhem de Berguedan against the bishop of Obispo. Others would reach a larger segment of the ruling classes; for example, Peire Vidal's poems in favor of the Italians and against the Germans would be widely sung in the Guelph cities. The poems of Tomier and Palaizi would be sung not only at the court of Toulouse, but also in the battle tents to exhort the partisans. The appeal of Amoros de Luc to Henry III is intended primarily for Henry and then for the small group of his advisors and courtiers, who, persuaded by the poet, might add their voices to his appeal. It has been stated earlier that most poets did not write political lyrics. Why not? No one can give a definitive answer to that, but an examination of the poet as writer of political lyrics in comparison with the poet as writer of the canso, which most poets did write, can point the way to understanding. As with events, the solution lies not in the poem per se, but in the role of the poet in his relation to the subject. The political lyricist writes about a ruler, his actions or lack of them, and the political situation; the love poet writes of the lady and his emotions. The political poet's function is to criticize his subject; he may be angry and hostile, or sympathetically critical, but he is objective in the sense that the poem turns

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away from the poet, concentrates on his subject, and the focus remains on the subject, not on the poet. His own sense of a personal identity is not involved; he does not analyze the situation, nor his own emotions, nor question them. His statements are direct and unambiguous; his poems reflect no internal tension on his part; political poetry is, therefore, external expression. The poet of the canso is subjective; his whole sense of himself is intimately bound up with his subject. The love poem turns away from the poet and concentrates on the subject and then returns to the poet, in a continuous back and forth movement. The lady's presence evokes love in him and he analyzes this emotion as it manifests itself and its meaning in him. The role of the poet is highly introspective; he is torn by self-doubts, by doubts about the lady and her feelings for him; he examines himself, his hopes and sorrows. The whole complexity of the emotion of love comprehends the poet's entire identity. In the image of the lady, he sees himself; her eyes reflect what he could be, what he wants to be. Loving her involves not only loving the woman herself, but also becoming perfect as she is perfect. If she acknowledges him, then it is a sign that he is becoming what his image of himself is, as he wishes her to see him, and as he wishes to see himself. And, should she accept him or return his love, it is a validation of his entire worth as a human being. She is, thus, the touchstone for the ideal; and the goal, the realization of the ideal situation, her complete acceptance of him, is fraught with danger. Once the goal is achieved, is it any longer the ideal perfection? Once realized, does the realization destroy the ideal and the entire meaning of this love which finds its expression in the striving? T. S. Eliot said, " . . . for us there is only the trying...", and the lover of the canso must face the possible truth of such a statement. Presented with his dilemma of real and ideal, the discrepancy between objective and attempt, he can only be racked with tension and uncertainty. The political poet is never uncertain; his certitude is his strength. He cannot afford to be introspective. Should he question his right to criticize, or the truth of his criticism, he would invalidate his entire poem. The lady is the conscience of the love poet: she shows him perfection, she inspires him to do what he knows is right. The

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political poet arrogates to himself the function of the conscience of the ruler, and tells him what he is doing wrong. The lady may be real or she may be an ideal image conjured out of the poet's fantasies, or both; she is ambiguous. The ruler is real; the poet deals with him as he is and sets before him certain standards which he, as a ruler, ought to fulfill or has failed to fulfill. The situation the love poet finds himself in may be real or a fiction created by the intensity of his physical, emotional, and spiritual desires. The events the political poets deal with have an objective existence. Although the poet may use techniques of obscure references and allusions, the statement of a political poem is not complex.60 It is simple, and even at times, when the poet declines to analyze not only himself, but also the intricacies of the political situation, it is simple to the point of being reductive. The psychological complexity of the canso is completely absent. Tension, paradox, ambiguity - all are foreign to the political lyric, although irony is frequent. To reduce the comparison to a convenient generality, it can be said that in writing a political lyric, the poet is looking out, while in writing a canso, he is looking in. Thus the experience of the poet - his response, his reasons for writing, his use of the poem - is quite opposite. The purpose of this comparison is neither to make nor to imply a qualitative distinction between the two kinds of poems, nor to evaluate their merits and decide which is more poetic, a higher form of art. It is to show from the point of view of the poet how very different the two genres are. And, therefore, given the differences in outlook and temperament between one man and another, one poet and another, we can state that one poet may respond to and feel the necessity to comment on the political scene, another to write about his "inner weather". One poet tends to be outspoken and critical, another to be analytic and introspective; they express themselves in the medium which suits the necessity of their personality. 60

There is an exception to this generally true statement. The first song in Walther's Reichston has a very complex and intricate message. Infra, Chapter IV, Section C, pp. 152-159.

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Making such a diametric comparison does not preclude the existence of a poet who could write both canso and political lyrics; many did. Poets who wrote cansos for the entertainment of the courts were also hired to write partisan political poems, or wrote them on their own volition. But more poets wrote more cansos than political lyrics. There may be more practical reasons, temperament and inner compulsion aside, why most poets did not write political lyrics, or, if they did, wrote only one or two. The canso was more popular with the audiences. The social rewards for writing it - remuneration, reputation, etc. - were greater, for the sirventes had a lower standing. The technical writing of the canso was felt, by the contemporary poets, to be a proof of their artistic virtuosity, of the refinement of their emotions, of the subtlety of their intellect. But the greatest poets in one genre temperamentally were not drawn to and did not excel in the other. Bertran de Born wrote a few, bad love lyrics. Walther von der Vogelweide, after he emancipated himself from the influence of Reinmar, did not write in the tradition of the high Minnesang, but rejected the psychological complexities, setting as a goal the reciprocal emotions of man and woman and the reality of a mutual love, not the passion of the imagination. Bernart de Ventadorn and Heinrich von Morungen never wrote a political poem.61 This section covers many minor political poets and disparate events. No underlying pattern in the selection of subject matter can be recognized. Yet, with the exception of a few strophes of praise, one fact unites these poets and their poems: all are voices of protest. The critical spirit motivates Giraut de Luc in Spain, Elias Cairel in Greece, Tomier and Palaizi in Toulouse, Peire de la Cavarana in North Italy. Whether the poet be enemy, counselor, or partisan, or any combination of all three, his poem represents his protest. But it is not a protest in the same sense as we, eight 81

It is impossible at this juncture to resist the compulsion to mention Dante. I have structured above an opposition, at its most reductive, between the inner and the outer life. With the exception of Walther in the Reichston, the poets of the period 1180-1230 fall into this pattern. Dante, of course, in the Commedia reflects the union of psychological intricacy and political vision.

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centuries removed, envision it; they are men of their times. These poets are not social revolutionaries, advocating a new political system. Nor are they spokesmen for mass agitation. Accepting and agreeing with the existing political order, they seek to correct its leaders and to express their personal sense of wrong. Not the theory of politics intrigues them, but the practice of power. Although these poets are positive in the sense that they exhort a ruler or a group to action, their anger makes their point of view essentially negative. Rather than propose, they oppose. None of them is sufficiently a "political animal" to do more than raise an occasional voice in protest. The major political poets, Bertrán and Walther share the critical spirit of the minor poets, but they use the lyric in a different way. For them, it is the medium through which they can impart a consistent political message to their respective feudal and imperial worlds. B. THE POEMS OF BERTRAN DE BORN

It has become conventional for every critical analysis of the poetry of Bertrán de Born to begin with a reference to Dante. Dante placed Bertrán in Canto XXVIII of the Inferno: Sappi ch'io son Bertrán del Bornio, quelli Che al re giovane diedi i ma' conforti. Io feci il padre e il figlio in se ribelli. This reference is partially responsible for later misunderstandings of Bertrán the poet and of his political poems. Dante helped to perpetuate the erroneous legend which exaggerated Bertran's political influence on the Plantagenets. This legend began in the razos of the poems in which Bertrán is seen as the key figure in the struggles between Henry II and his sons: Richard, John, Geoffrey, and the "Young King" Henry. He is the wicked counselor who foments interfamilial hatred and spurs the sons against the father and against one another. And they, as a direct result of his exhortations, fight.62 It is Bertrán as the evil genius of the internecine wars in Aquitaine whom Dante has immortalized. 62

"Son rôle de conseiller des princes est exagéré à l'extrême et toute la

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Late nineteenth and twentieth century scholars have shown that the mystique of Bertran's great political role has no historical basis. "Aucun des chroniqueurs officiels des règnes d'Henri II et de Richard Cœur-de-Lion ne semble connaître ce personnage [Bertran]. Seul, un moine obscur de l'abbaye de Saint-Martial de Limoges, Jaufré, prieur de Vigeois, prononce le nom de Bertran de Born, mais sans faire allusion à son rôle politique." 68 Moore goes so far as to assert, " . . . il est impossible que le poète ait connu personellement la famille des Plantagenets".64 But, because of the legend and Dante's condemnation and punishment of Bertran, French critics have felt they must rise to Bertran's defense.65 In attempting to clear his name, to whitewash his supposedly vicious actions, they have not only perpetrated the false legends, but have added some new myths in their misinterpretations. Thus we have Bertran as a political genius who sought to liberate Aquitaine, a great French patriot and precursor of Jeanne d'Arc, a man who "cherished with his whole heart and soul the liberties of Aquitaine; and, when he saw them threatened by the ambition of the English king, like Tyrtaeus in ancient times, he seized the warrior's trumpet, and sang those martial hymns which roused the South of France against the northern despots".66 For Emil Magne, Bertran is " . . . l'inégalable prototype de la bravoure et le symbole impérissable de la liberté..." 6 7 and de Boysson portrays him as a fighter for liberty in Aquitaine against the querelle de Henri II avec ses fils est attribuée aux machinations du poète." Olin H. Moore, "Bertran de Born et le Jeune Roi", Romania, LI (1925), 74. 63 Thomas, op. cit., introduction, xi. A s to the question of Bertran's political role, see also Léon Clédat, Du rôle historique de Bertran de Born (Paris, 1879). 64 Moore, op. cit., p. 61. 45 One non-French critic, however, has come up with an ingenious explanation. Bertran was justifiably and poetically punished insofar as he, in his own poetry, placed a great emphasis on bodily cleavage. H. Boyers, "Cleavage in Bertran de Born and Dante", Modem Philology, XXIV (1926), 1-2. 66 Joseph Louis Perrier, "Bertran de Born, patriot and his place in Dante's Inferno", Romanic Review, XI (1920) and XII (1921), 43. Perrier reiterates the judgments of Thierry, Histoire de la Conquête d'Angleterre and Laurens, Tyrtée du Moyen Âge. 97 E. Magne, Bertran de Born, étude psychologique (Paris, 1904), p. 61.

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encroaching monarchy: " . . . c'est un fier Aquitain qui déteste le roi de France comme le roi d'Angleterre".68 It is surprising that so many fictions should mar the interpretations of Bertran and his poetry, for we have more information about him and the society in which he lived than we have about most of the writers of political lyrics. He was a minor feudal lord who shared with his brother Constantine the ownership of the chateau of Hautefort in Limousin, and as such, he was under the technical suzerainty of the duke of Aquitaine, who, during this period, was Richard the Lionheart. Bertran left twenty-seven political lyrics,69 seventeen of which deal with local events in Southern France which involve Richard, Henry II, the "Young King", and Philip Augustus. His poetic activity can be dated from 1180-1196. Let us, then, dispel the chimerical images of Bertran the Machievellian counselor, Bertran the war lover, and Bertran the glorious Aquitanian patriot and champion of liberty and approach his political poems in terms of the framework of his society, his motivations, and his audience. Most important, Bertran was the seigneur of Hautefort and thus a minor feudal lord. His position in a feudal society shaped his politics. He was not at all concerned with ideas of law and right, nor with power struggles on a national scale. He did not seek to protect France from England, nor Aquitaine fram France; no concept of the nation-state can be found in his writings. He is not a patriot for Limousin against the power of monarchy. He supported the English monarchs; they were his overlords and protectors. No idealistic cries for justice, nor for liberty animate his poetry. He was, as were all the other petty powers, very much concerned for his own skin. The feudal situation in Southern France was such that the smaller and less powerful lords tried to offset the property gains of the greater powers by playing them off against one another and weakening them through a continual 88

De Boysson, op. cit., p. 51. •9 "Ai! Lemozis, francha terra cortesa" is not included, as only two strophes survive. The poem was written on the occasion of the marriage of Guichard de Beajeau to Archambaud de Comborn, one of the four counts of Limousin. It is a panegyric of the lady and a celebration of the festivities to come in her honor.

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series of battles, rebellions, plots, alliances which were more of a nuisance than decisive political events. The petty princes shifted sides to maintain the balance of power best suited to further their own interests. Changing sides involved no opprobrium; it was a fundamental part of the feudal contract. Both overlord and liege man had responsibilities toward one another. If the lord failed to protect his liege man, took some of his property, demanded too much revenue, or behaved in a manner contrary to the aristocratic ethic,70 the man was absolved from his allegiance. Or if the vassal fought on the side of his suzerain's enemy, thus breaking the contract, the overlord could attack his own former vassal. Failure on the part of the lord to reward his vassals sufficiently for their military support was also cause for dissolving the feudal contract. The feudal situation is apparent in Bertran's poetry. As a petty lord, he had a vested political interest, the furtherance of which was foremost for him: how could his position at Hautefort be best served. As Bertran advertises in "Pois Ventadorns, e Comboms ab Segur" and "Eu chant, quel reis m'en a prejat", he along with other vassals supported the "Young King" against Richard, duke of Aquitaine, and their overlord. They held many grievances against Richard, who was not a popular suzerain. In seeking to further the cause and to augment the possessions of the "Young King", they hoped to gain property and privileges. The oath sworn at Saint-Martial in Limoges bound them together, but it was a tenuous bond. The "Young King" and most of the rebellious barons defected from the alliance, leaving Bertran fairly defenceless, which he laments in "Ges no me desconort" and "Rassa, mes si son premier". The death of young Henry in 1183 squashed all subsequent hopes for revolt. Bertran, moreover, had personal reason for enmity toward Richard; in the fight with his brother Constantine for total possession of Hautefort, Richard supported Constantine. When Richard besieged Hautefort, Bertran capitulated and resorted to his feudal rights. It was the feudal custom in Aquitaine that the conqueror 70

For example, when John Lackland stole the betrothed of one of his vassals and forced her to marry him, his vassals were absolved of their allegiance to him.

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return possessions to the chatelain who had surrendered them within forty days. Bertran demanded this of Richard, and, in return, promised to be his man, to support him militarily and poetically. The bargain must have been struck, for Bertran again held Hautefort and became Richard's poetic partisan. He supported Richard in his wars with Henry II and Philip Augustus, always exhorting Richard to stand up and fight for his domains which also meant fighting for the safety of Hautefort. After Richard returned from his captivity, Bertran poetically exposed the faithless vassals and again took up the cudgels for him against his old and crafty enemy, Philip. Whether Bertran believed in the Tightness of Richard's cause is irrelevant. He thought in terms of Richard's property in Aquitaine and elsewhere which Philip wanted to get his hands on. If Bertran had been a man with a vision, perhaps he would have looked ahead to the days of a glorious, unified nation-state, France, and thrown in his lot with the ascendant power, Philip. But he was not politically sophisticated, nor do his poems show any evidence that he was trying to be so. He simply supported the cause of his lord who was pledged to defend and support the interests of Bertran, his vassal. Richard must have fulfilled his bargain with Bertran - which he did not with Dalfi d'Auvergne, as seen in Dalfi's sirventes "Res, pus vos de mi chantatz" — because Bertran remained loyal. If not, given the prevailing customs, Bertran would have written on behalf of a better and more generous protector. Feudalism gave Bertran nearly all of the subject matter of his political poetry. Except for his three poems on the crusades, his half-sirventes for Alfonso IX of Castille on behalf of a crusade in Spain, his two laments on the death of the "Young King", his two insults to Alfonso II of Aragon, his works deal with the feudal wars in Southern France. The events in view of the number of poems are few: the siege and capture of Hautefort; the SaintMartial alliance on behalf of the "Young King" against Richard; the truces of Gisors and Chateauroux at which peace was made between Richard, Philip, and Henry II; the return of Richard from Germany; the subsequent skirmishes with Philip. The themes are consistent and similar to those in other partisan poems. There

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are exhortations to battle, assurances of support, anticipations of excitement, and promises of the glorious victory to come - which often failed to materialize. The poet castigates faithless allies and vassals, and he deplores the dishonorable pursuits of the leaders of the feudal aristocracy, especially hunting, tourneys, and general easy living. He puts forth and upholds before their eyes the right and honorable conduct of a good ruler and fighter. Bertrán expatiates on the evils of a dishonorable peace which involves compromises in regards to possessions and prestige, and emphasizes the need to recover or gain territory. Contrary to popular misconception, it is the latter theme which is paramount in Bertran's political lyrics, not the glories of war. The feudal structure was based on the control and possession of land,71 and Bertrán is very much aware of the importance of property. Most of the feudal wars were occasioned by property disputes, and the bulk of Bertran's poetry is concerned with this. A lord distinguished himself by having "gazanha", which in Provençal means both "gain" and "land", and a lack or diminution of it meant dishonor. "Dreit", property rights or suzerainty of areas, towns, castles, was to be fought for to gain or to retain position and prestige: Reis qui per son dreit si combat A melhz dreit en sa eretat, E quar conqueret Espanha Charles, n'a om totztemps parlat, Qu'ab trebalh e ab largetat Conquer reis pretz el gazanha. ("Eu chant, quel reis m'en a pregat", Strophe XII) 71

In feudalism the possession of land was not always direct. A powerful seigneur, for instance Richard, could have the count of Limoges as his vassal and thus have suzerainty of the territory of Limoges. He would "technically" be in possession of Limoges through his overlordship. Hereinafter, throughout this chapter, when I refer to "possession" of territory, I mean both direct control and indirect control through the system of overlord and vassal. It must also be remembered that the king was theoretically the suzerain of the entire country; but as it was in the interests of the powerful barons to keep the king weak, between the years 1180 and 1204 Philip's suzerainty was more honored in the breach.

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Bertrán chides the "joves reis" about "Un bel chaslar e mes en pía chambo", which he accurately places geographically: Entre Peiteus e la Isla-Bochart E Mirabel e Laudun e Chino A Clarasvals . . . ("Pois Ventadorns, e Comborns ab Segur", Strophe V)

This is Richard's fortress at Clairvaux built uncomfortably close to the holdings of the "Young King", and he will be able to see it, says Bertrán, from Matafelo, his own fortress. Indeed, the construction of the fortress was one of young Henry's major grievances against Richard in 1182 and the poet reminds him of it to incite him to assert his rights. Again the poet criticizes the "Young King" for being too nonchalant about land, for not demanding land from his father and brother and permitting them to encroach upon his holdings: Pois n'Aenrics terra no te ni manda, Sia reis dels malvatz! ("D'un sirventes nom chai far lonhor ganda", Strophe I)

He warns him what possessions, and consequently what prestige, he will never have if he continues to sleep: . . . non aura Coberlanda Reis dels Engles ni conquerra Irlanda Ni terra Angeus ni Monsaurel ni Canda Ni de Peiteus non aura la miranda Ni sera ducs de la terra Normanda Ni corns palatz Sai de Bordel ni dels Gascos part Landa Senher, ni de Basatz. ("D'un sirventes nom chai far lonhor ganda", Strophe III)

"Terra" is of major importance. It is the reason for "aquesta guerra" between Richard and the "Young King": "E sabrem, quan 1'auran jogat, Del qual dels filhz er la terra." When the poet wishes to remind Philip of the shame he suffers because of Richard's affronts, he says: "E pois non es per sa terra iros."

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Bertrán himself was concerned about his own "terra", and the emphasis is on "cobrar". After the siege and capture of Hautefort, he had asserted in "Ges no me desconort", "com cobres Autafort", and humbly asked Richard: Lo comte volh prejar Que ma maiso Mi coman a gardar (Strophe V)

Yet the conqueror was slow in returning the chateau and the poet laments - oddly enough to "Rassa" or the "Young King" instead of to Richard whom he called by the senhal Oc-e-No: E eu qual mal vos en mier Que terra non ai cobrada? ("Rassa, mes si son premier", Strophe I)

He complains bitterly that his enemies have "ma terra adermada/E arsa e abrasada". When he has finally recovered his property, he lashes out at his greedy brother who would take the land his children should inherit: Mos parsoniers es tan galhartz Qu'el vol la terra mos enfans

and adds facetiously: E eu volh l'en dar, tan sui gartz: Pos dirán que mals es Bertrans, Quar tot no lolh port! ("Ges de far sirventes nom tartz", Strophe VI)

He remonstrated with the powerful lords about their holdings as these affected their prestige. In an attempt to arouse Richard, he reminds him of the fighting he has had to engage in to hold Limousin and what a shame it would be should he lose it now through negligence: Anta aura s'aissi pert son afan En Lemozi, on a trait tan quairel E tanta tor, tan mur e tant anvan Fait e desfait, e fondut tan chastel E tant aver tolt, e donat, e mes,

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F. tant colp dat, e receubat, e pres, E tanta fam, tanta set, e tan son C o m el a trait d'Agen tro a Nontron. ("Quan la novela flors par el verjan", Strophe I V )

He names the provinces which represent support for Richard and encourages him to seek the English crown: U n a re sapchan Breto e Norman, E Angevi, Peitavi e Mancel, Que d'Altasvaus entro a Monferran, E de Rosiers entro a Mirabel, Noi aura un no veja son arnes; E pois lo corns o vol e sos dreitz es, D e m a n ades la terra Saint Aimon T r o quelh pausen la cresma sobrel fron. ("Quan la novela flors par el verjan", Strophe V I )

Stylistically, this stanza demonstrates certain of Bertran's uses of names. He refers to large groups of people by the province in which they live. Then, rather than refer to the name of the province, he uses the formula " d e . . . entro a . . . " to indicate a particular territory and those therein. This poetic circumlocution is found also in his reference to England; rather than using the name of the country, he speaks of "la terra" of Saint Edmund, a ninth century English martyr. Here again is "terra" - the poet tells Richard: demand the "terra", thus emphasizing the idea that prestige comes from possession of land. "Dreit" is most often used by Bertran in connection with territory.72 For him "dreit" does not imply an ethical standard. It is There are a few exceptions to this use of "dreit". The poet is critical of Philip's action in settling the dispute over the property of the deceased count of Angouleme because "non es dreit de rei" to intervene as he did. ("Pois Ventadorns, e Comborns ab Segur", Strophe III.) The sense of "dreit" as that which one ought or ought not to do is turned to a satirical purpose when he mocks Philip because his forces at Chateauroux were bought off by the English king and consequently defected: "Sil reis engles li fetz do ni largesa [reference to the bribe]/Al rei Felip, dreitz es que l'en merci" ("Pois als baros enoja e lor pesa", Strophe V). "Dreit" is once used as the right of the vassals when Bertran demands that Richard "dreit nos fassa" ("Pois Ventadorns, e Comborns ab Segur", Strophe IV). And in one of his numerous in72

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not an abstract moral or political right, but the right of possession. In the poem above, Bertran urges Richard to go for the English crown - expressed significantly as "la terra" - because "sos dreitz es". In "Rassa, mes si son premier", a poem in which he laments the dilatory return of his castle, he claims he will "prenda dreit" to get it back. In "Pois als baros enoja a lor pesa", he fulminates against the events at Chateauroux and the truce between Philip, Henry, and Richard. He claims peace is dishonorable when one loses his rights, i.e., property rights, for which he should have fought: E no m'es bel de rei qu'en patz estei Deseretatz, ni que perda son drei Tro la demanda qu'a faita a conquesa. (Strophe I) He praises Philip for his victory at Arras which pleases him because now Philip is showing himself to act as a mighty ruler should and "cobre sos dreitz". But in another poem he mocks Philip for allowing himself to be despoiled of his lands by Richard, "Quar pauc e pauc se laissa dechazer", and warns him E s'aissa pert sos dreits entre qu'es tos Lai quant er velhz en sera vergonhos. ("S'eu fos aissi senher ni poderos", Strophe V) Again Bertran reminds Philip of his waning power by reminding him of the territories of which he does not have suzerainty and by referring to the possessions Richard has: Cinq duchatz a la corona francesa E sils comtatz, son a dire li trei, E de Gisortz pert lo ces e l'esplei E Caercis rema sai en trepei E Bretanha e la terra engolmesa. ("Pois als baros enoja e lor pesa", Strophe II) Richard himself is not spared. Bertran twits him for preferring to stay in a poor, little section rather than take great fiefs and humiliate Philip: suits to Alfonso II of Aragon, the poet questions the king's right to the throne, claiming it belongs to the "bos reis Navars, cui dreitz es" ("Pois lo gens terminis floritz", Strophe V).

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Pos lo corns Richartz mais vol Benaujes sai pres Bordel Que Conhac ni Mirabel Ni Chartre, ni Saint Joan, Greu cobrarar Botenan, Ni fara a son senhor Brajas molhar per paor. ("Greu m'es descendre charcol", Strophe V) Many times Richard felt the goad of the poet. If Richard hurries, he can have "tot a quan vol", says Bertran, dangling before him this prospect: Quar seus es Bristols E Nortensems e Susest E Londres e Titagrava E Carais E Roans E Corras e Cans ("Anc nos poc far major anta", Strophe VI) In 1196 his final word to Richard is: Quar per senhor dormilhos No volh entrar en guerra n'en conten, Quar greu conquer om be terra dormen. ("Gen part nostre reis liuranda", Strophe V) His awareness of the importance of property influenced his use of phrases and formulae. Bertran frequently referred to persons by naming their possessions, for example, the "senher de Montarbezo" is Guillaume VIII, seigneur of Montpellier, and Montarbezo is his chateau; the "senher de Molierna" is Henry II, and Molierna is a fief in Anjou. In "Pois Ventadorns, e Comborns ab Segur", Bertran lists the allies of the "Young King", identifying them by place names used to represent persons: Ventadorns, Comborns, Segur, Torena, Monfortz, Gordo, Peiregorc, Poi Guilhem, Clarenz, Granhol, Talhabores, Pons, Lezinhas, Malleos, Taunais. Often the poet uses a phrase of possession rather than a single place name to identify a man: "eel cui es Marsas", or a group, "cil del Colombier", Colombier being a village in Turenne, and thus Bertran designates the vicomte of Turenne and his allies. Sometimes he enlarges the phrase and uses this particular formula:

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"Lo senher que te Bordel", or "Senhor de Mirandol/Qui te Croissa e Martel". Bertran's technique of identifying a person by a place has often made it difficult for readers centuries later to understand about whom he is talking. Bertran's audience, however, knew to whom he referred, for they were well acquainted with the surrounding territories; they lived on them. They knew about the events, for many participated in them. Although any statements about an audience must be conjectural, since we cannot prove who heard the songs, the poems themselves and the attitude of the poet indicate, in part at least, the identity of the listeners. The persons of whom Bertran spoke were often those to and for whom he wrote - the neighboring seigneurs, be they friends or foes. Most of his political poetry is geographically rooted; place names, persons, local events pertain to the areas he knew.73 These poems would not be of topical interest to the contemporary courts in Northern Italy or Germany. The poems were probably recited at the courts of the local aristocrats; at the place where the "Young King", or later Richard, was currently settled, "Adoncs volh un sirventes far/Tal corns Richartz l'entenda"; and perhaps in the encampments, as Bertran indicates "Elh sonet que fan li joglar/Que viulan de trap en tenda." Bertran's relation to his audience differs from that of the usual political poet. He is atypical insofar as he is one of them - a feudal lord writing to feudal lords. More cognizant of his specific audience than most political lyricists, he draws his hearers and their affairs into his poems. He names more persons and places than any other political poet; this is one of the salient features which identifies his poetry. Bertran's poetic style is a key to the audience for which he was writing. He makes a few direct factual statements about events 73 The poems which are an exception to this statement are few and fall into four groups: the planh, the invectives against Alfonso II of Aragon, the poems for Richard's campaign in Brittany, the chansons de croisade. His reason for writing about events in the North is to shame Richard for his defeats and to spur him on to victory. Bertran's chansons de croisade are not political. He does praise Conrad of Montferrat for leading the Christian forces without aid from other European princes, and when Richard finally goes, Bertran enthuses about the great "pretz" he will now acquire. He once makes mention of the dilatoriness of the French lords in departing for Syria.

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when he wishes the information to be clearly understood. A good deal of his commentary, however, depends on the technique of allusion. We have already seen how he alludes to persons by naming their property. In order to understand these allusions, the audience must be able to supply the reference, and therefore must know what is going on. Some of the allusions are obvious, and some are so obscure that the meaning is lost for contemporary readers.75 To illustrate this technique as Bertran employs it, it is unnecessary to explain each allusion. A few examples will suffice. "Ges nom platz de nostres baros/Qu'an faitz sagramens..." refers to those vassals of Richard who, in his absence, made promise of fealty to Philip. The audience would know who they were and what the oath signified. Philip is urged to "Membrelh sa sor el maritz orgolhos/Que la laissa e no vol tener." The hearers of this poem would react immediately to this well-known scandal. Richard, the "maritz orgolhos", although betrothed to Philip's "sor" Alix, deserted her and married Bérèngere, daughter of the king of Navarre. When Richard is campaigning in Brittany in 1196, Bertran admonishes him: Reis que gran terra demanda Par que fassa gas Quan cheval no trai pas Ni chaussa de fer no randa; ("Gen part nostre reis liuranda", Strophe III)

This allusion refers to the battle of Aumale when Richard was thrown from his horse. The poet reminds him that all the honors of the campaign will be for nought "S'es tais la fis com fetz comensamen", referring to Richard's earlier defeat at Carhaix. Bertran's reasons for writing are very much involved with his audience, and it is impossible to study one without examining the 74

Vide "Un sirventes cui motz", Strophe I; "Eu chant, quel reis m'en a pregat", Strophe V; "Ges no me desconort", Strophe III; "Ges de far sirventes nom tartz", Strophe II; "Bern platz quar trega ni fis", Strophe V; "Ar ve la coindeta sazos", Strophe I; "S'eu for aissi senher ni poderos", Strophes III, IV; "Folheta, vos me prejatz que eu chan", Strophe III. 75 Vide "Cortz e guerras e joi d'amor", Strophe V; "Bern platz quar trega ni fis", Strophe VI; "Quan vei pels vergiers desplejar", Strophe VI.

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other. Many motivations lie behind his poems. He wished to make known certain events to the persons directly concerned or affected by them. Thus he announces the alliance of the barons behind the "joves reis" against Richard: Li gazanh se son acordàt Entre els e ves liu revelat Com aicil de Lombardia; Mais volon esser be menât Per rei que per comte forsat. ("Eu chant, quel reis m'en a pregat", Strophe V)

This announcement works in two directions. On the one hand, it acknowledges the support of the barons for the "Young King"; on the other, it warns Richard of their enmity and potential rebellion. Yet Bertran does not directly state: we are in league against Richard. He expresses his meaning through an allusion to the Lombard League against the Hohenstaufen Emperor, and implies an insult to Richard, only a count, when he pulls his brother's rank on him. The poet is more direct in his statement about the alliance sworn at Saint Martial and the subsequent defection of his allies to Richard, for which he bitterly attacks them: En un mostier antic De Saint Marsal Me jureron maint ric Sobre un messal: Tais me plevi sa fe No feses plait sens me Qu'anc pos no m'en tenc re E nolh estet ges be Quar se mes a merce E s'acordet ab se So vos pieu per ma fe. ("Ges no me desconort", Strophe III)

Bertran also writes of alliances to reassure the leader of the support of his allies and perhaps to frighten the neighboring enemies by a display of strength. Nearly one whole poem, "Pois Ventadorns, e Comborns ab Segur", is composed of impressive lists of

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those who "nos ajudes". He compliments those allied with the cause for which he writes: E seran i ab nos vengut Las poestatz e li baro E li plus onrat companho Del mon e li plus mentaugut Que per aver, que per somo, Que per pretz i seran mogut. ("Lo corns m'a mandat e mogut", Strophe IV) His anticipations of glorious victories must have bolstered the morale of those partisans who listened to his songs. As was the practice with the other Provençal poets, as noted above, his poems connected with battles are always written before the event and serve as rallying propaganda. In reference to the baron's rebellion against Richard, the poet says that the fight began in Limousin, but it will not finish there. "We will carry the battle to the Isle de France and Normandy, to Gisors and Neufmarché where we will hear battle cries. And then we of Limousin will kick the Norman out and he will not return." He turns his defiance against other enemies when he is later writing for the "Norman", Richard. He predicts victory "ab novelas flors" and "in Poitou our torch will burn bright so that all will see it". Bertran occasionally used his poems to mention or greet friends and to thank those who had aided him. As would be expected, however, he did not write only of friends and allies. His fondness for lists extended to making lists of enemies. In "Lo corns m'a mandat e mogut", Strophe VII, he lists those who will fight against the count of Toulouse and anticipates their defeat by referring to their leader Alfonso II of Aragon as the "reis qu'a Tarasco perdut" (Tarasco representing Provence) and the "rei vencut", thus encouraging the partisans of Raimon of Toulouse. Those who will not aid the cause for which Bertran writes are named in "Pois Ventadorns, e Comborns ab Segur". Perhaps the poet's purpose here is to shame them or to arouse hatred of them in the partisans of the "Young King". The poet complains bitterly about his own personal enemies -

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his brother, those who broke the Saint Martial oath, Richard and Ademar of Limoges who burned and ravaged his land.76 He is particularly reproachful toward his former allies and devotes a strophe of "Ges no me desconort" to a list of those "ves mi son perjurat" and goes on to abjure them for their faithlessness: "E anc uns nom tenc pro". As a partisan of Richard he castigates the enemies of the then king of England. He exposes the faithless vassals who made alliances with Philip while Richard was in captivity. The particular tone Bertran takes depends on the person for whom he writes and the specific audience which is meant to hear the poem. When he speaks for himself, he complains of the greed and intransigence of his brother, he defies his enemies, he threatens to make war on them. These poems are meant for them, they are his weapon and his "gabs". When Richard is his enemy, he boasts: "I will ride my horse up to the walls of Perigord and there, when I find the fat Poitevin" Veiran de mon bran com talha, Que sus el cap li farai bart De cervel mesclat ab malha. ("Un sirventes cui motz no falh", Strophe VII) When he speaks on behalf of his feudal lord - first the "Young King", then Richard - he advises him, goads him to assert his rights, exhorts him to elevate his prestige and augment his power by taking property, and chastises him for his failure to live up to what Bertran considers to be his obligation as a feudal lord.77 In these poems Bertran exercises the traditional prerogative of the poet to play the part of the wise counselor, a role which guarantees 76 Vide "Un sirventes cui motz no falh", Strophes I, II; "Ges no me desconort", Strophes II, III; "Cortz e guerras e joi d'amor", Strophe VII; "Quan la novela flors par el verjan", Strophe V. 77 Although Bertran frequently chastises the great, surprisingly enough he only uses the verb "chastiar" twice. Once it is used seriously in reference to spurring Richard on ("Quan la novela flors par el verjan", Strophe III), the other time, he mocks his own role, pretends that he wishes to "chastise" Alfonso II of Aragon and goes on to insult him grossly ("Quan vei pels vergiers desplejar", Strophe II).

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immunity from reprisals. As a vassal he supports his suzerain with his loyalty, and his poetic attacks on the overlord's actions do not imply defection from the cause. As a poet and a partisan, he is free to criticize and advise, even to insult him. The audience for such poems would be composed of those who supported the lord and perhaps the lord himself. At least he would hear about the poem, if not hear the poem directly. It would have the effect of a strong slap. Because the seigneur wished to retain prestige in the eyes of his supporters, he had better comply with the poet's "suggestions", lest another poem deliver an even more stinging blow, or openly remind him and others of his failures, and lead his vassals to doubt his power as a ruler. Although Bertran's poem may be critical of his suzerain, it was not meant for an audience of his suzerain's enemies. When he wrote for someone, no matter what he said about him, he did not seek to diminish or ridicule him in the eyes of his enemies. The reverse is true when the poet writes against someone. The relation of Richard and Philip of France is a case in point. Because Bertran is a partisan of Richard, he is by definition Philip's enemy. He presents Philip as a "pauc rei"; no one recognizes his authority and prestige because of his compromises about land in the Gisors truce. The poet publicizes to Philip's enemies, "feira tan qu'a totz feira saber", what grief the French have because Philip is not noble. France has lost "all good hope" because Philip "pert sos dreitz" and the poet boasts Sai ves Peitau, enanz s'en fan janglos Quan son ensems en Richartz e'n Bertran. ("S'eu fos aissi senher ni poderos", Strophe V) Thus Philip is mocked in the eyes and ears of his enemies. Philip himself probably did not hear the poems against him and for Richard. It would be preposterous to assume that poets or jongleurs would sing a sirventes written against a lord for his enemy at his own court or the court of one of his vassals or supporters. The songs were not written for his amusement, but for his opponents' pleasure. Yet Bertran does not vilify Philip. Unlike the other Provençal

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poetic partisans, Bertrán does not automatically grossly and coarsely insult the one who is not on his side. His insults to Philip are of very much the same nature as those to the "Young King" and to Richard. He reproaches all of them for not becoming more powerful by aggrandizing territory and consequently vassals. He chastises them for loving peace so much that they are unwilling to fight for their rights, and thus are dishonored; tell them, he says, "que trop dormir nom platz". Bertrán even advises Philip on how to regain lost prestige. Strange conduct toward an enemy, very atypical of political poetry and yet very indicative of Bertran's feudal aristocratic ethic. A noble leader should have a noble adversary. Philip is a king and Richard's technical suzerain, and should behave as one, whether or not he is an enemy. All of the poet's insults are meant to arouse these leaders to live up to the standard of what Bertrán believes a leader should be. As such, they are surprisingly gentle. In one poem Bertrán is even coy. "I know two brothers", he says, "one is a king, one a noble count. But those who do not tell the truth, lie, and not everyone who is praised is noble or valiant".78 But he knows how to be nasty. He uses humor to ridicule the objects of his nastiness - those whom he considers unworthy of any respect, cowards and Alfonso II of Aragón, whom Bertrán considers a usurper, not a king by right. The barons are boastful, while it is cold outside, he asserts, but when "lo clars temps" comes, "l'arditz torna en paor". In one of the many stories he relates about Alfonso, the poet describes how this king takes a castle. Its owner invited him to come for a festive visit; Alfonso arrives and once inside, takes over and demands revenues. Alfonso is the object for Bertran's strongest and most exaggerated invectives.79 Accusations of his cowardice, avarice, and stinginess fill two poems: "Quan vei pels vergiers desplejar" and "Pois lo gens terminis floritz". Alfonso is of low parentage; he 78

"Gen part nostre reis liuranda", Strophe III. It may be remembered that Bertrán carried an old grudge against Alfonso dating back to the wars over disputed territory in Provence between Alfonso and Raimon of Toulouse. Alfonso was also the ally of Henry II whom Bertrán wrote against. For other invectives against Alfonso see the two sirventes of Guiraut de Luc, Chapter IV, Section A, p. 99.

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murdered his brother; he betrayed his betrothed, Eudoxie, by marrying Sanche of Castille, but kept Eudoxie's dowry; he prefers money to honor - a cardinal sin in Bertran's book; he hanged his ancestor; and worst of all, he makes songs and praises himself; he will burn in hell. Bertrán has no compunction about repeating libelous stories that cannot be substantiated. His technique in these poems is that of a raconteur who makes considerable use of allusions. Unlike the more conventional political poets of Provence, Bertrán rarely praises anyone - even his patron. His strongest praise is to announce with approval that Richard or the "Young King" is about his rightful business, defending his position and prestige in battles. Perhaps this lack of panegyric is due to his position as a chatelain. Bertrán is not a court poet, hired and kept for the purpose of entertaining, whose duty it is to write for the seigneur. As a vassal — however petty — he supports his suzerain militarily and economically, as well as poetically, and is in return protected by him. Thus his position frees him from the economic necessity of praising the patron in order to retain his job. It also eliminates from his poetry requests to the patron for reward for his services. At the heart of Bertran's political poetry, underlying his motivations, his exhortations, chastisements, and reproaches, is an ethic for the feudal aristocracy. It is not codified; rarely are there direct statements about it, but it is implicit in everything he says. No system of values can be derived from his poems,80 but a consistent 80

There has been much discussion, in relation to the German romances and lyric poems especially, as to a "Tugendsystem". First propounded by the eminent scholar G. Ehrismann, this idea was thoroughly demolished by E. R. Curtius in "Excursus XVIII", op. cit., pp. 519-537. A spate of articles followed in the wake of Curtius' findings, among them F. Maurer, "Das ritterliche Tugendsystem", Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift fiir Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte, XXIII (1949), 274-285, and F. W. WentzlaffEggebert, "Ritterliche Lebenslehre und antike Ethik", Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift fiir Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte, XXIII (1949), 252273, both of whom tried to establish the case for a set of values, although admitting that there was no system as such. I have made the above statement in the text to dissociate my remarks about Bertran's ethic from any idea or implications of a system. I use the word "code" simply because it is a convenient term.

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attitude toward conduct can be derived from the poet's statements as to what the seigneur should do or castigations of that which he has done. First of all, this code is for seigneurs and has no meaning outside of the feudal structure. It traces its lineage, as does feudalism, back to the Germanic tribes and Carolingian values. The most direct statement of it is in Strophe XII of "Eu chant, quel reis m'en a pregat", which has been quoted above and bears repeating: with fighting and generosity (magnanimity) a king conquers (gains) prestige and possessions (land, profit) as did Charlemagne. This basic statement can be expanded in view of Bertran's attitude in all of his political poems. A seigneur must have "pretz", i.e., reputation and prestige. The more territory he controls, according to Bertrán, the greater his "pretz" becomes. "Pretz" is not static; once it has been achieved, it must be maintained by fighting for property, because by his property a man is defined. Herein lies the essential point in Bertran's adaptation of the above statement which differentiates it from the traditional heroic formula to which it is similar. A Germanic hero or Carolingian warrior fights for his lord; he aids those warriors or kings who no longer are able to defend their own kingdoms from deadly enemies and thereby wins glory. A seigneur, according to Bertrán, fights for the control of territorial possessions which in the feudal system brings him power, and that in turn brings "pretz". Therefore, Bertrán fulminates against the lord who never bears arms, and a king who takes "liuranda" from the dispensation of other, more powerful lords is not a hero. If Richard loses Limousin he will be shamed, and the poet reminds him that to the man who loses his territories "Anta l'adutz e de pretz lo descharja". Thus war is the condition through which "pretz" is kept alive and augmented.81 War is not engaged in for its own sake, but as a means toward a more important goal. Fighting in itself, however, 81

It is interesting that Bertrán sees participation in the crusades in these terms. In his chansons de croisade he praises Conrad for leading the forces, and because he alone suffers the hardships of the campaign, he alone will have the "pretz". When Richard departs on the crusade, Bertrán pictures him as the great conquering hero whose "pretz" is glorified by his actions in taking back the Holy Land.

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does not guarantee "pretz"; there are unspoken rules which must be observed, an awareness of honor and nobility, an ethic for the warrior. Simple aggrandizement of land does not make a great seigneur: Per qu'ab onor pretz mais paucha terrata Q'un grant empier tener a desonor. ("Pois Ventadoms, e Comborns ab Segur", Strophe II) One must have honor; the seigneur must be "pro", a word Bertrán uses more frequently than he does "pretz" to distinguish between those who are worthy and those who are not. Whereas "pretz" is societal and depends on a lord's prestige in relation to others, "pro" refers to his inherent nobility, his awareness of right conduct and ability to act accordingly. If he is not "pro", he cannot have "pretz".82 Bertrán praises Richard because he well knows the custom of the lion; he does not do evil to those he has conquered, but matches his pride against the proud. The barons are unlike him, for once their cause is going badly, each tries to make things worse for the other, even if he is an ally. ("Ar ve la coindeta sazos", Strophe V.) Bertrán uses "joc" as a synonym for war and, as with any other game, there are rules and a right and a wrong way to play.83 Philip plays the wrong way. The poet accuses Philip of having been bought off at Chateauroux, and thus changing honor for bribes. Unlike Guerri the Red, uncle of Raoul de Cambrai of the chanson of the same name, Philip seeks peace, although armed for battle: 82

As was discussed in Chapter III, "pretz" and "pros" are used to express the concept of the good ruler; the possession of them defines him. For Amoros de Luc, Elias Cairel, and Bertrán de Born lo fils, in order to be a "bos reis", the ruler must also be a fighter so that he is not shamed nor dishonored. Bertrán carries this idea further. The good ruler is a fighter because through fighting, he gains or regains territory, and on his control of territory, his "pretz" depends. 83 War has a sporting element and, as such, can be enjoyed. But war differs from other sports in that participation in it involves the whole man, his "pro" and his "pretz". His ethical conduct is exercised by it, and his social image depends on it. And those aristocrats who find other sporting pastimes, in which less is at stake - hunting, tournaments - rather than exposing themselves to the tests of war, are severely castigated by Bertrán.

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A rei armat lo te om a flachesa Quant es en champ e vai querre plaidei. Be an chamjat onor per cobezesa, ("Pois als baros enoja e lor pesa", Strophe V I ) Philip's "pretz" is not "fis e verais" because he makes "patz" which is not "genta", i.e., dishonorable, diminishes his territorial strength, and does not choose war to rectify the situation. Richard, on the other hand, is praised: "Qu'anc patz ni fis nolh fo genta". The poet warns Philip that he is badly counseled and guided for he does not value his "conhat" or heritage, and thus his "pretz" will suffer. Fighting is one way to "pretz", but it must be combined with "largetat".84 War is also the situation which brings out this quality: Quar plus es francs, lares, e privatz, Fe qu'eu vos dei, Rics om ab guerra que ab patz. ("Cortz e guerras e joi d'amor", Strophe IV) and "Grans guerra fai deschars senhor larc". But there is a curious twist in Bertran's attitude toward "largetat". Under certain circumstances, the dispensation of gifts, or "aur" and "argent" is appropriate and praiseworthy. However, money as a goal is reprehensible and worth nothing, whereas land is worth all. Some of Bertran's sharpest criticisms are directed against the misuse of coin, especially when the desire to possess it is substituted for motivations springing from the feudal ethic: "Per cor de guerra mesclada/Qu'anc no cobrem denairada." The poet shames Alfonso of Aragon for preferring money to honor and calls him a hired mercenary. Philip was bought off at Chateauroux by "moneda englesa" and thereby lost his honor. In a rare word of approval Bertran praises Count Hugh I X of Lusignan because he refuses to be bought off by "malvatz argen". He fulminates against those men who do sell their services and states his own position clearly: " E nous cujetz qu'eu fassa motz a vendre/Mas per ric bar The theme of "largetat" does not occur half so frequently in Bertran's poems as does that of the importance of territorial possessions and the need to fight for them, which is reiterated over and over.

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deu om totjorn contendre" ("Ar ve la coindeta sazos", Strophe V). The combination of the warrior and magnanimity is the traditional formula for the hero, and in Western Europe is literarily as old as Beowulf. It is exemplified in the legends of Charlemagne, and it is no accident that Bertran uses him and other chanson de geste notables whenever he wishes to give an example of the ideal hero. He even exhorts the partisans to fight well "Si qu'apres nos en chant om de la geste." Perhaps it would not be facetious to say that Bertran would have liked to have written the Chanson de Roland. In addition to using their heroes, Bertran uses stylistic devices similar to those used by writers of the chanson de geste. He makes lengthy lists of persons, places, armaments, devoting entire strophes to them. He seems fascinated with the poetic sound of place names; as noted above, their frequency in his poetry is very high. He repeats formulas to indicate location and possession. The total effect is a curious "epic fullness" in lyric poetry. It should be unnecessary after the above analysis of Bertran's attitude toward feudal property and his particular adaptation of the heroic formula to demolish further the concept of him as a "war-lover". Yet the favorite general misconception about Bertran, and one of the most cherished myths, is strongly entrenched: he loved war for its own sake. If the foregoing statements as to the purpose of war in the structure of feudal society and in the development of the seigneur are not sufficient to eradicate this notion, there are yet other arguments, from his own poetry, against it. He does say in "Ges de far sirventes nom tartz", Strophe III: Patz nom fai conort Ab guerra m'acort Qu'eu no tenc ni crei Neguna autra lei. Excerpted from the context of the poem, this sounds like the bellow of a dedicated warrior who revels in fighting. Put back into the context of the poem and examined, it becomes something else. "Ges de far sirventes nom tartz" was written after Richard returned Hautefort to Bertran. The poet exults at its return and

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now, from a more entrenched position, threatens his enemies, who ravished his lands while he was powerless, with retribution. "Pustela en son olh", he shouts, to those who would deter him from war. The above quotation, therefore, is part of his defiant boast of threatened retribution to his audience, the neighboring greedy barons. By making it, Bertran probably felt he was re-establishing his honor and easing his former disgrace; there is no indication - historically or poetically - that he carried it out. It can be argued that Bertran hates peace since he writes against it so frequently and therefore he loves war. But the poet never writes against peace per se; there is always a political reason, and it is not love of war. Peace is wrong when it is held not because of amity but because of fear of the enemy; it is especially wrong when a great seigneur through peace compromises or loses part of his inheritance.85 Yet there is good reason why readers from Dante onwards have seen Bertran as a war poet. Insofar as participation in war fulfilled, for the major participants, the ethic of the warrior-leader and further gave pleasure as a "joc", the poet enjoined and enjoyed war. His enjoyment was also aesthetic, for he is at his most poetic in his descriptions of war.86 As an artist, Bertran saw and depicted the pageant of medieval warfare: his eye was caught by the colors, the trappings, the equipment. Throughout his poems there are descriptive lines and even whole strophes, as the following, which like stage settings evoke the backdrop of the action: 85

Vide "Pois als baros enoja e lor pesa", Strophes I, II, III, VI; "Greu m'es descendre charcol", Strophe I; "A1 douz nou termini blanc", Strophe VI. Aside from these descriptive passages, Bertran makes sparing use of rhetorical figures such as imagery and metaphor, as do the minor political poets, infra, Chapter III, pp. 70-71. In sum, his political poetry is infrequently embellished with imagery, and when he does use an image or a metaphor, its purpose is decorative not functional in the structure of the poem. For example, he plays with the idea of the "Young King" checkmating Richard by capturing all the territory around him. Then he switches the metaphor from the chess game to hunting and says Richard will become like a trapped wild boar. Later, he compares Richard to an "esmoledor" who will sharpen up the lazy barons, or to a magician who can see who has been faithful and who disloyal. The faithless barons are caught as wolves in a snare, and undependable barons are likened to the chain of Saint Leonard, the patron of prisoners who always breaks their fetters.

88

THE POETS AND THEIR POEMS B e l a m'es pressa de blezos C u b e r t z de teintz vermelhs e D'entresenhz de gonfanos, D e diversas colors tretaus, T e n d a s e traps e rics pabalhos Lansas frassar, escutz traucar, Elmes brunitz, e colps donar e

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blaus,

tendre, e fendre prendre

( " A r ve la coindeta sazos", Strophe III)

In these pictures, Bertran's style is his most conventional.87 He repeats stock words and phrases: "mesclada", "colps donar e prendre", "foe e sane", "abrasada"; his penchant for making lists leads him to enumerate armaments. Because of its conventionality, his depiction of war seems static - a visual idealization. Only twice does he deviate from this picture and mention more realistic aspects, the suffering undergone by those who fight, and then it is to note the hunger and thirst. These descriptions of war, however, have nothing to do with power politics, or with Bertran's feudal ethic. They are decorative embellishments of the poems, good local color but incidental to his political message. What, then, is his political message? Bertran is the poet of the feudal society; his major concern is with the possession of land and territorial suzerainty. A conservative, he does not advocate change in the social order, but seeks to show the great feudal lords the way to power and glory within this system. He looks backward to the idealized conduct of the Carolingian heroes and holds up to the seigneurs the traditional heroic formula: fighting and generosity. But he adapts it to his contemporary society. By emphasizing the importance of control of territory as the basis of power and the necessity of fighting for it as the way to prestige, he transforms the heroic formulation and grafts the feudal seigneur into the tradition of Germanic warrior and Carolingian hero. Bertran uses a few other conventions of the lyric. The "Natureingang" always in the first strophe, with one exception, is used as an excuse to make a new sirventes, to announce the resumption of a war with the new season, o r to indicate the contrast of the season and the poet's displeasure. Another conventional opening is for Bertran to explain why he is writing: I am commanded to; the king asks me; I want Richard to hear it; my spirit is raised. The poet also uses conventional phrases of approval and disapproval: "mi platz", "m'agrada", "nom platz", "greu m'es", supra, Chapter III. S7

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As a poet he adopts the role of the wise counselor - conventional in political poetry. From his "wisdom", he seeks to impart an ethic to the aristocrats. Although his ethic for the warrior-hero may seem idealistic, his exhortations are a practical guide to power within the feudal system for the great overlords. His message remains consistent: gain territory, subdue vassals, assert suzerainty, do not compromise strength. War is the way the game of power politics is played in this society; therefore, advises the poet-counselor, go to war. War fits into Bertran's scheme of things, not as a goal in itself, but as a means to an end. His fulminations against money carry with them ominous echoes of a coming new society based on commerce and the values of the bourgeoisie, which will oppose itself to feudalism. In the new society, Bertran's ethic will be meaningless. As a political poet, Bertran was limited by his surroundings. The politics he knew were those operative in the feudal society in his own area. He had no political ideology, nor was his vision such that he could view his local politics in the scheme of universal order. It remained for the German poet, Walther von der Vogelweide, to express in the political lyric this kind of awareness.

C. THE POEMS OF WALTHER V O N D E R VOGELWEIDE

Ich saz uf eime steine, und dahte bein mit beine: dar uf satzt ich den ellenbogen: ich hete in mine hant gesmogen daz kinne und ein min wange. do dahte ich mir vil ange, wie man zer weite solte leben. So opens Waither von der Vogelweide's initial poem in the Reichsion.88 With this image a new concept of the political poet is pre88 Lachmann, op. cit., 8,4. In this chapter I am following Maurer's grouping of the poems according to Ton, supra, Chapter II, p. 37; Completely political are the Reichston and the Ottenton and, interestingly enough, these are the only two tones all of whose strophes do substantiate Maurer's theory of "Einheit". The erste Philippston, the erste Atzeton, the zweite Philippston, the Meissnerton, the Unmutston, the Kaiser Friedrichund Engelbrechtston

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sented which is a conspicuous departure from the usual roles taken by other poets in their political lyrics. Carefully and with the detail one would give to a piece of sculpture, Walther describes his position in what might seem to be unnecessary attention to minutiae. Yet this very lingering on the image emphasizes the poet sitting and reflecting, pondering an eternal and an abstract question: how shall man live in this world. Unlike the French political poets who never sit nor reflect, but jump into the heat of the partisan fray, braying criticism, lamenting wrongs, urging advice, Walther abstracts himself from the intensity of the situation in order to contemplate better the specific political scene in terms af a general, all-encompassing problem: how to live. The poet presents himself as a contemplative seer: he comprehends the totality of the relation of man to himself, of man to men, of liege to king, of king to empire, of the world to heaven; in sum, the totality of the universal hierarchy. He is also something of a prophet; "Das Bild des nachsinnenden Dichters wird in seine Bedeutungsfülle gesteigert durch seine Analogie zum Propheten im religiösen Bereich." 89 He does not, however, show himself as having the calm sagacity associated with the wise men; he is, rather, tortured by the problem. With "vil ange" he wrestles with the issue which racks him. And it is with a seer's voice and a prophet's authority that Walther will bring his vision, that of world and universal order, to the German Emperors. Germany was, at that time, badly in need of such a vision. contain political strophes; none, however, is totally political, but didactic, moral, personal, and religious. A s this statement indicates, Maurer includes many more poems in his work than are truly political. Crick, op. cit., eliminates many which Maurer later incorporates, but he too labels many poems political which in truth are solely patronage poems, requests for money, compliments, thanks for gifts. They do not belong in a study of Walther's political lyrics, although they may shed light on his relations with his various patrons. In Appendix I, infra, pp. 199-200, there is a listing of Walther's political poems. Their number is not large, considering his total poetic output, but his political poems are among his most important and most artistic products. I shall not deal with all of them in detail in this chapter, but only with the most significant. 89 Rudolph Zitzmann, "Der Ordo-Gedanke des mittelalterlichen Weltbildes und Walthers Spruche im ersten Reichston", Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift fur Literaturwissenschaft und Geistesgeschichte, X X V (1951), 48.

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Following the untimely death of Henry VI, the country was plunged into dissension concerning his successor. Two prominent candidates, the Hohenstaufen Philip of Swabia and Otto of Brunswick, contended for power, and both were crowned, by different factions, in 1198. Civil war was the next probable step.90 Walther's sympathies lay with the Hohenstaufen aims and ideals from his early years, and, consequently, he backed Philip: the Reichston is written in support of him. Even more fundamental in his advocacy of the Hohenstaufen candidate than his traditional loyalties was his overriding passion for order and for a leader who he thought would embody it. But political order, as he saw it, must be an extension of the individual's awareness of man's role in terms of ethics and theology. When this is understood aright and each action placed in its true perspective, man is consonant with the order intended by God. Thus, after his static picture of the poet reflecting, Walther becomes the poet counseling: "deheinen rat kond ich gegeben". Now he is in one of the most common roles of the political poet, giving advice; it is an attitude he adopts in nearly every poem, not only political, but moral and didactic. But in the early poems, it is the counsel of a man who has pondered "vil ange", and, as a result, despite the abstract nature of the message, his tone is urgent. Walther simply presents three things: "ere", "varnde guot", and "gotes hulde". We can call them worldly honor and reputation in the same sense as "pretz", power and wealth, the mercy of God now and at one's death. Obviously, the three are not equal, nor can they be achieved in the same way. "Gotes hulde" is greater and more to be desired than worldly reputation and power. Despite the fact that "gotes hulde" supersedes the other two, all three are presented as positive goods; none is disparaged by the poet, none is wrong. They should, ideally, "zesamene in ein herze komen", and each should be understood in its true order. »» For a discussion of the two coronations, their legality in regard to insignia and place, and their reflection in Walther's poetry see Burdach, "Der mittelalterliche Streit um das Imperium in den Gedichten Walthers von der Vogelweide" (supra, Chapter I, note 13).

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The desire for wealth and power should be tempered by an awareness of honorable action and ethical practice,91 and the ultimate value of both must be seen "sub specie aeternitatis", in the light of God's mercy, more important than either. Disaster comes when conflict arises between them, when disproportion destroys their ordered relationship. As Walther first presents conflict, it is the enemy of order in the inner man. Then he enlarges the scope of the conflict to show the disruption of order in the outer man: men in society. "Fride", the ideal of societal order, and "reht", to each in the proper order, are wounded by the ambush of treachery and the attacks of misused power. "Untriuwe" and "gewalt" are the disruptive forces in society which create conflict. These external forces must be elimininated, just as internal distortion must be eliminated, for man and society to be in ordered harmony. The final line unites both: unless the two are made whole, the three will have no escort. This mutual interdependence is complex in concept, yet simple in poetic expression. For that reason, it is necessary to read not only Walther's statements, but also his implications in juxtaposing both states of conflict and order, internal and external in the same poem. They are not equatable as conflicts: it is "varnde guot", "ere", and "gotes hulde" in disproportion and "fride" and "reht" versus "intriuwe" and "gewalt", but their ordering is interdependent. "Fride" and "reht" can only be established if man, and especially the leader of men, the Emperor, has internal order, for if the ruler has order, so will society. But the dependence is circular, for external order is necessary to help man develop his internal order. Since the poet does not separate the two, we cannot assume that one precedes the other. The perfect union, therefore, is a simultaneous ordering of ruler and society. In addressing himself to the problem of order, Walther puts his finger on a major issue of philosophical thought in the early and 91

In 31,13, a moral poem, Walther laments what happens when "varnde guot" gets out of control and destroys proportion: "Guot was ie genaeme, iedoch so gie diu ere/ vor dem guote: nu ist daz guot so here,/ daz ez gewaltecliche vor ir zuo den frowen gat,/ mit den fursten zuo den kunegen an ir rat./ so we dir, guot! wie roemesch riche stat!"

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high Middle Ages from Augustine to Thomas. 92 Essentially the problem is Christian. God the creator ordains to each creature his rightful place in the cosmic Christian hierarchy: "et aliis dedit esse amplius aliis minus atque ita naturas essentiarum gradibus ordinavit" (Augustine, De civitate Dei, XII, 2). Thus some are higher, the angels, and some are lower, the animals. "Nos autem ponimus Deum agere omnia per suam sapientiam, per quam rerum ordinem disposuit, et sic ab ipsa diversi gradus rerum immediate per creationem producuntur" (Thomas, Qucestiones quodlibetales, III, 6). Each creature in his proper place fulfills its telos, that is the functional end for which it was created, "ad proprios fines et operationes", according to God's plan. When each operates properly, ordo, the original plan, is achieved.93 The nature of the Christian cosmic hierarchy presents no problems for angels in heaven or animals on earth, but many for man. For him, below the angels but above the animals and partaking of the nature of each, a split exists between God and the world. Man, with one foot in heaven and one here, is caught in the God-world duality which must be resolved for man to take his proper place in the ordo. How can the believing Christian resolve the conflict between his worldly nature and attachments and his spiritual, other-worldly salvation? 94 For some Christians of Walther's period, crusading provided a solution. And we shall see that, late, in his life, Walther evinced this point of view. For many Christians, the only resolution was an abjuration of the things of this world. Remembering death, and its imminence, they concentrated on developing their spirituality 92

For the philosophical background of Walther's concept of order see Zitzmann, op. cit. M The concept of an ordo, a plan for cosmic harmony in the mind of God, reflects Platonic idealism. The hierarchy of which the ordo consists, in which each creature fulfills its proper function in its proper place, represents an incorporation of Aristotelian teleology into Christian theology. For a good exposition of Aristotle's thought on this see J. H. Randall, Jr., Aristotle (New York, 1960), Chapter VI. 94 See Friedrich Ranke, Gott, Welt, und Humanität in der deutschen Dichtung des Mittelalters (Basel, 1961) for the treatment of this problem in German literature of this period. Unfortunately, his treatment of Walther is scant.

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to insure salvation. But love of this world dies hard, and consequently "memento mori", the image of death and its horrors was placed, by poets and preachers alike, before the eyes of the Christian too easily seduced by the things of this world. Thus conflict was eliminated and proper order assured at the expense of the delights of the world which were condemned. Had Walther written in this tradition, he would have combined his "gotes hulde" with a condemnation of "weltliche ere" and "varnde guot". But he did not. Instead he resolves the conflict by uniting all three as positive goods in their rightful proportion and consequent harmony. The duality is still there: Walther emphasizes that "ere" is "weltliche", but the components are not mutually antagonistic. In harmony, the Christian can have "varnde guot" and still, if he pursues the proper course, be assured of "gotes hulde". Walther's expression of the ideal inner ordo: "varnde guot", "ere", and "gotes hulde", is consonant with the principles of a Christian moralist. He makes no radical departure in harmonizing the God-world duality, for he hews the standard line: "gotes hulde" is above any wordly goals or rewards and is more to be desired. If his message ended there, he would be known, and rightly so, as another moral poet writing about the omnipresent medieval preoccupation. But Walther takes his message a step further. By involving the political structure, he extends the concept of ordo to the structure of society at large and becomes not only a moral but also a political poet. To most students of medieval thought, this step is familiar, and the famous "body" analogy of John of Salisbury, reflecting the hierarchical order in society, springs to mind. But what Walther does is to unite the Christian concept of the salvation of inner man with the concept of order in the political sphere, the outer man. And not only does he unite them, but most important, he makes the one impossible without the other. Thus sole reliance of the individual on his own spirituality does not insure true cosmic harmony in Walther's vision of order, for the three have no escort unless the two, peace and right, the order in society, are made whole. For true order to exist and for the true Christian to

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fulfill himself, the poet says man and man's government must reflect the harmony intended by God. If one is out of key, the other will be also. This poem, 8,4, shows Walther's tendency to deal in abstract qualities as "ere" and personifications of abstracts, "fride". This tendency is not limited to the Reichston, but characterizes his poetry as a whole. In this, he differs from the other political poets.96 Unlike them, he mentions few specific political events, nor does he delight in the resonance of geographical and personal names. Especially in his early political poems, he does not allow himself to be tied to the specific, yet he is never guilty of being unaware of it. Behind each political poem exists an event, a series of events, a political situation. But he frees himself from the mention of the specific in order to widen the applicability of his message. Bertran de Born writes of the feudal situation in particular territories in Southern France with frequent specific references; the scope of his poetry is correspondingly narrow, as is his message. Walther, in seeking a broader vision of the holistic society, duplicates in his early style the concept of Empire which stands over and beyond the specific locale. "Ich saz uf eime steine" contains no direct political references. In fact, the other two poems in this Ton contain only two direct political references and one possible political inference. Yet the Reichston, written 1198-1201, is considered the keynote to all of Walther's political poetry. "In diesen Sprüchen ist die Art von Walthers politischen Denken und damit das Gerüst seiner politischen Anschauungen festgelegt. Wir stellen sie an Hand der Reichssprüche unter Einbeziehung der übrigen politischen Spruchdichtung Walthers dar." 97 This Ton is the first expression by a young idealist of a theoretical vision of world political order, and contains the themes of his later political poems. In a sense, it is 95

The true Christian here is meant in the sense of the lay person, not a religious. 96 Peire Cardenal also uses personifications, but not to the same extent in his political poetry as does Walther. Further, his personifications are fairly limited and primarily represent sins and virtues. 97 Helmut De Boor and Richard Newald, Geschichte des deutschen Literatur, Vol. I: Die höfische Literatur, by Helmut De Boor (Munich, 1955), p. 314.

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also his last expression of the vision, for, although the political poems subsequent to the Reichston carry many of its themes, they represent a falling away from the ideal. The poet becomes more enmeshed in the practice of politics, and the theoretical vision, so grand in concept, is brought low by the actuality of conflict in Germany. The idealistic urgency of the young poet degenerates, as will be discussed below, into partisan sniping. Walther may never abandon his hope of the ideal order; echoes of it recur through the poems till 1212. Yet he never again expresses it in its totality as he does in the Reichston. The second poem of the Reichston (8,28) further develops the concept of the hierarchy of order. It is given in the form of a parable, an analogy with nature. By reviewing all of the natural world, the poet achieves his desired universality which the use of abstracts provided in the first poem. Of all creatures in nature, none live "ane haz" they all "stritent starke stürme". But to alleviate the conflict, which the poet states is inherent in the lower orders and by implication in man, they enschuefen stare gerihte si kiesent künege und reht si setzent herren unde kneht. Here then is a concentrated formula for world government: the establishment of laws, the observance of justice, the ordered hierarchy of the leaders: king, lords, and knights. After the lengthy analogy with nature, Walther comes to his point. Alas for you, German people, "wie stet din ordenunge!" This question is the focus for the second poem as "wie man zer weite solte leben" is for the first. Both statements are related, for the "tiuschiu zunge" obviously are not living in this world as they ought; the "ordenunge" of their kingdom is distorted. Even the insects have their king,98 a fact which further demolishes the honor of the German people. But now, the lesser nobility are the lords, ,8 Crick, op. cit., p. 35, sees this as a derogatory political reference to the coronation of Otto on June 9, 1198 at Aix-la-Chapelle. Olive Sayre pursues another line of thought and suggests that Walther here was "thinking of the 'topos' of the bees as an example of ordered society". She then refers to several sources from Aristotle to Neckham who use the topos: the bees have

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not the king, and the "armen kiinege" encircle and threaten. Many scholars have argued heatedly over this passage, attempting to identify the "cirkel" and the "armen kiinege".99 This scholarship, although it has importance in establishing the possible historical background, has no value in adding to the interpretation of Walther's poem. What is significant about the "cirkel" and the "armen kiinege" is not who they are, but that they represent a disruption of the right ordering of the kingdom. To give the lesser nobility the authority is to destroy the hierarchy of rulership; an ordered kingdom is protected by its ruler and is not, as Germany is now, prey for other threatening powers. Had Walther intended their names to be important, he would have named them; he does not tend to be coy in withholding information. The name which is of the greatest importance is Philip, which begins the final line. As with the first poem, the major statement comes last. It is an exhortation: put on the "weisen", Philip, and command them to follow after. It means, take the symbol of authority, the "weise", the stone in the crown, and become the incarnation of order. If the king is crowned with the right symbols and in the right place, the kingdom will be in order. Otto's faction had elected him on June 9, 1198 and crowned him on June 12 at Aix-la-Chapelle, the proper place for coronations, but without the proper crown. Philip's party had the proper crown, and the poet exhorts him to take it. In these first two exceedingly political poems, here is the first direct political reference. It is of the utmost importance for it is to this statement that both poems point. The vision of order focuses on the right crowning of the right leader. It is a symbolic action which presages the right ordering of the kingdom and the Empire, in the same way that the action of recovering Jerusalem symbolized for the crusaders the proper supremacy of Christianity. a king. "Walther von der Vogelweide's Poem, 'Ich horte ein wazzer diezen' ", Modern Language Review, LII (1957), 399. 09 See K. Burdach, "Zum zweiten Reichsspruch Walthers von der Vogelweide", Akademie der Wissenschaften Berlin: Sitzungsberichte (1902), 897903; W. Wilmanns, "Zu Walthers 8,28", Zeitschrift fur deutsches Altertums, XLV (1901), 427-439; G. W. Hoornstra, "Walthers Spruch 8,28", Neophilologus, III (1918), 129-130, and J. Frantzen, "Nachschrift", ibid., 130-131.

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A clearer understanding of Walther's poetic technique in these two poems can be effected by a comparison with a poem of Peire Cardenal, "L'afar del comte Guio" (XVIII). Peire, too, views a disordered world, but he singles out one specific incident, expresses his grievance concerning it, and generalizes from it. In 1211, Gui IX, count of Auvergne, pillaged the royal abbey of Mauzac and Philip Augustus, through his emissary Gui de Dampierre, avenged himself and the abbey by taking the chateau of Tournoel, residence of the count, in 1212. The poet opens his poem with a reference to this incident and goes on to ask: why, then, has our seneschal not avenged the pillage of the Monastery of St. Chafre (a Benedictine priory southeast of Le Puy). Peire does not name those who sacked St. Chafre, but in the second and third strophes he describes their entrance, disguised as monks, and in Strophe IV, presents the battle scene: monks who read the lesson and busied themselves with their psalters are now throwing stones and using arms. Outraged, the poet asks: why did not the soldiers of the king prevent this massacre? He then enlarges his frame of reference from the specific to the general: "dreitz" is no more than "volers", that is, will or caprice, when it is used to do wrong. The first four strophes thus consist of a direct statement of the specific event with names and places; expressions of the poet's outrage and horror; a brief description of the fighting with the paradox of those in monastic garb using implements of war; Peire's questions: why was this incident not prevented, why has it gone unavenged; and a general statement on the applicability of the lack of justice in this case to the nature of Justice. Because of what has happened in this specific event, in the fifth strophe Peire predicts general catastrophe: Encar veira hom sazo Que-1 segles non aura lei, E clerc iran a tornei E femnas faran sermo, Et hom non aura que frire Si non es forts deslials; E qui er trachers ni fals Sera maistres e sire.

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This is disorder: a world without law, priests at tourneys, women giving sermons - all bouleversé, the topos of the world turned upside down. But Peire has no plan for reordering; his poem is written to expose the situation and finally to accuse "nos clercs". "They tell us not to pillage and then they pillage St. Gilles" (another name for St. Chafre). The poet names no names, but he does condemn the clergy who do not practice what they preach - one of his favorite targets. Peire uses no imagery nor metaphors, nor does he linger on descriptions. His statements are concise and direct, as is the syntax; for example: L'afar del comte Guio E de la guerra del rey E de Mauzac lo barrei, Ai ben ausit cossi fo, Mas encaras non aug dire Per que nostre senescals, Que tant es pros e cabals Laissa lo morgues aussire De Sant Chafre;

The only manipulation of technique to bring out the meaning is Peire's juxtaposition throughout the poem of opposites or paradoxes which reinforce the irony, the difference between what is and what should be:

b a b

J E silh que solion dire | Las pistolas els missals Trairan peiras reversals E lai on eron sautire, Trevaran massas e pic, (Strophe III) | E dizon en lur prezic Que hom am son enemic, Mas a nos mostra vezers | Qu'en lur es autres volers. (Strophe VI)

}

Like Peire, Walther writes of a disordered world, but his method and his purpose are completely opposite to those of the French poet. Peire comes right to the heart of the issue immediately;

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Walther takes two songs to express a vision and, finally, in the last line, makes a specific demand: put on the crown. Instead of lamenting disorder, he shows the way to order. He makes significant use of imagery, analogy, and detailed description. There is a strong emphasis on the senses, especially hearing and seeing, producing a visualization of thought. In the first song he dwells on the image of the poet in order to establish his role. He turns, then, from specific minutiae to abstracts when discussing ordo "in ein herze". But when he moves from the inner man to society, he constructs a little drama played by personifications. The roads are not safe; Peace and Justice are ambushed by Treachery and attacked on the highway by Power so they, traveling in life, are sorely wounded. The image of the road has more than a metaphorical - road of life - purpose. For in the kingdom, one of the primary jobs of the ruler was to see that the roads of his domain were safe from highwaymen. By implication, without a strong ruler, the roads are unprotected; by extension, all the other tasks of government are left undone. Thus the telos of government is unfulfilled. This highway drama brings action into a poem which had been quiet and contemplative; the technique of following static image with play of action mirrors the inner and outer life. When Walther wishes to represent the authority of kingship, he turns to symbols. The crown is not "krone", but "weise", the stone in the crown which symbolizes its emblematic significance. 18,29, Walther's eulogy on Philip's coronation, September 6,1198, further develops this symbol. As with the Reichston, the other early political poetry written for Philip, in this case the erste Philippston, depends on imagery to carry its meaning. In the coronation poem, Walther, by describing the crown, praises Philip and invests him with the power of the symbol, the authority of kingship. The crown is older than Philip; it is a wonder of the goldsmith's art. Philip and the crown are linked thematically, "daz so ze rehte nieman guoter scheiden sol", and by imagery. Images of light reflect on and are reflected in both. Neither shames the other, they sparkle "beide ein ander an", the "edel gesteine" and the "suezen man". Eagerly the princes behold the "weise" set on his neck. In the final line the "weise" and the man, the symbol of office and

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the person are one: "der stein, ist aller fursten leitersterne". As "leitersterne" Philip assumes the role of leader with all the other lesser lords falling behind in their proper order. Thus, through imagery, a political reality is expressed. The texture of Walther's early political songs is highly poetic. But as he could use his art in 18,29 to reveal the symbolic power of the king, so could he use it to conceal; 17,11, the "Spiessbratenspruch", written 1205-1207, is a completely metaphorical and, as a result, superficially cryptic poem. Its purpose is to give Philip political advice and a sharp rap on the knckles. Before a discussion of the poem, however, it is necessary to examine the political and personal situation to find Walther's motivations and his meaning. Walther's relation to Philip is a vexed question. He certainly supported him between 1198 and 1201, but no favorable poems are written for him after 1201, and Walther's patronage poetry becomes increasingly sharp. Crick hypothesizes " . . . from perhaps as early as January or February 1200, Walther was more closely attached to Hermann of Thuringia than to Philipp".100 The Landgrave Hermann of Thuringia is, to say the least, an interesting figure. A patron of the arts, many of the great contemporary German poets were received at his court. Called by Hatto the "Maecenas of medieval German literature", he seems to have been generous to a fault. Walther even criticizes this: der lantgrave ist so gemuot daz er mit stolzen helden sine habe vertuot, (20, 10-11)

A master of tergiversation, Hermann continuously switched his allegiance, intriguing first for one imperial candidate then the other. He played the same game most of the German princes did, changing loyalty for gain. "Every emperor had to buy the recognition of the princes by gifts, and occasionally could not meet the princes' exorbitant demands." 101 References to Hermann in Walther's political poetry occur as early as the Christmas festival poem, 1199 (19,5). This occasion 100

"»

Op. cit., p. 46. Ibid., p. 103.

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poem celebrates Philip and his wife Irene, the daughter and sister of the Greek rulers, a relationship which, as will be seen, is important for 17,11. It is, of course, favorable to Philip, but the poet adds, "die Diiringe und die Sahsen dienten also da", as if to reassure Philip of the support of Hermann. During 1200-1201 there are moral poems written criticizing the Thuringian court, which show Walther had been there, and his patronage poems to Philip indicate that he was dissatisfied in his service. In none of these poems, however, does Walther attack Philip as a ruler, or accuse him of political misdeeds. His only complaint is that Philip does not show the proper generosity and magnanimity associated with a king; he holds before Philip the salubrious examples of Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, and Alexander. In 1203, Hermann defected from Philip's cause, which he had embraced since 1199. Philip conducted a campaign in Thuringia, subduing Hermann at Ichterhausen in September 1204, and Hermann remained loyal to Philip till 1207. Walther's poem 16,36, another lecture to Philip on generosity, has lines which indicate he was speaking to Philip on behalf of Hermann: "und wolden liep nach leide". What was Walther's political position during these years? It is impossible to make a categorical statement, but a fairly accurate hypothesis, based on what we know of historical fact and what we read in Walther's poems, can be posited. Obviously, Walther was not well paid in Philip's service, and, given his situation, a landless son of a ministeriales, he was dependent upon his patron for bread. He was a wanderer and visited at the Thuringian court during 1198-1202 and again in 1206;102 he wrote several poems over a period of years which either have reference to Hermann or indicate Walther was at the court or in his pay.103 Nevertheless, this fact does not cancel out Walther's continued support for Philip as the king, nor does his patronage relationship with Hermann necessarily mean that he followed Hermann in his political intrigues which would have taken some doing. In discussing Walther's posi102

Maurer, op. cit. Wilmanns, op. cit., claims 19,17; 20,4; 16,36; 17,11; 35,7; 82,11; 104.7 103,13 were all written while Walther was in Hermann's service.

103

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tion, we must not make the error of equating his political partisanship with his patronage relations. Many commentators on Walther are shocked by the idea that Walther, the great idealist, could or did deal in practical politics. How can one square his expressed ideals with what may have been treasonable activity with Hermann? The question should not be how, but why is it at all necessary to do so. The later poetry critical of Philip in no way eradicates the vision of order. In all probability, Walther still maintained an idealized vision of an ordered world, but the man who was to symbolize it was not fulfilling the ideal. On a national level Germany was torn by the wars of Philip and Otto, and on a personal, and very practical, level, Walther was not rewarded by his patron. In other patronage situations, e.g., Dietrich of Meissen, Otto of Brunswick, but this is to anticipate, Walther, when unrewarded, threatened in a poem to leave the service of the patron. Leaving a patron who had not fulfilled his obligation to the poet was not considered a treasonable action. Because Walther needed money and criticized Philip for not being generous enough, does not mean that Walther was less an idealist or intriguing against Philip. None of his political poems up to the time of Philip's death show any support for Otto, nor any evidence that Walther had switched loyalties, despite his patronage relation with Hermann. The years 1201-1205 were troubled ones for Philip. Beset by Otto's forces, Philip, many times, appeared to have lost. Unable to control the shifting princes, he found enemies inside and outside his own political party. His brother-in-law, Alexios Angelos of Greece, sought his aid in recapturing his Byzantine kingdom, but Philip, too busy at home, was unable to give any. Alexios went to the Pope and the doge of Venice, and thus aided in deflecting the Fourth Crusade from Syria or Egypt.104 In view of this situation, Walther's poem 17,11 becomes more clear. The melody, a canso form in which it is written, called the zweite Philippston, is also used for three other poems. Two of these indicate that Walther is unrewarded in Philip's service: one is a serious sermon to Philip and contains a possible reference to " ,4

See supra, Chapter I, pp. 26-27.

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Hermann; the other a humorous tour de force in praise of the "bone". The third is a Dankspruch to Dietrich of Meissen, sonin-law of Hermann, for a gift to the poet. These poems are variously dated 1205-1207, and Walther is in the service of both Hermann and Philip (Hermann was currently supporting Philip). The emphasis on food in both 17,25 and 17,11 may indicate something about Walther's condition. He uses the image of a roast to structure 17,11, and opens the poem with a typical pose, giving counsel: "wir suln den kochen raten". "Den kochen" seems to be a derogatory reference to Philip's low-born officials.105 Since they now are in such high places, Walther advises them not to neglect to cut the roast - read the rewards - for "der fursten" greater than they have before. Notice that the poet is not now speaking for himself, but is a spokesman for the princes, notably among them Hermann and Dietrich. He opens the Abgesang with a comparative example meant as a warning to Philip: "in Greece pieces were cut by a stingy hand. Would that it had never been done, the roast was too thin." This culinary allusion refers to Philip's father- and brother-in-law who, having regained their possessions in Byzantium, had a short-lived reign. They, supposedly notable for being close-fisted, were overthrown by a popular revolution, and the city of Constantinople was plunged into chaos. The poet's intent, obviously, is to threaten Philip with a similar event if he does not come across with the "brate". In the final lines Walther's tone becomes more menacing: "then must the lord go out the door, and the princes will make another choice. Now, whoever suffers the loss of the kingdom in this way, it would be better for him had he never won a piece." The poet, speaking for the princes, is letting Philip know where the power lies. It is a very practical, if bitter, lesson: the lack of proper rewards to the right people may lose him the crown. The implicit threat of the withdrawal of the support of the princes comes near to outright insubordination. A line such as "die fursten sazen ander kur" seems to present a startling change from "Philippe setze en weisen uf und heiz si treten hinder sich", of the io5 Walther may be playing with the fact that the special office of Master of the Royal Kitchen was instituted in 1202.

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Reichston of 1198. There is a difference: the poet's attitude has changed. Conditioned by the practical realities of food and shelter, and the chaos of civil war, Walther is less enthusiastic about Philip. But his purpose remains the same, to exhort Philip to be a strong leader. Originally he commanded him to take the symbol of authority and make the princes follow after him; now he warns him not to lose control of his supporters by failing to fulfill what is expected of the ruler, ideally and practically. This poem, 17,11, brings up the question of the audience for Walther's political poetry. He was a well-known poet, and his Minnelieder and didactic and moral Spruche were sung at many of the German courts. As Philip's partisan, he produced the Reichston, 1198-1201, which had a large audience at Philip's residences and those of his supporters. Because this Ton has reference to all of the German kingdom, it would have interest for a wide potential audience beyond that of partisans in a small locale. Perhaps it may even have been used to drum up support for Philip and the imperial cause from the princes who were undecided or capable of being persuaded to join the Hohenstaufen side. The occasion poems, 18,29 and 19,5, were written for, and sung at, the coronation and the Christmas festival at Magdeburg, 1198 and 1199 respectively. Most likely they were commissioned by Philip to celebrate the events. The nonpolitical bittspruch were sent or delivered directly to Philip; they were unsolicited. Walther may have sung them at the courts of Hermann or Dietrich to indicate his displeasure with Philip as a patron, and perhaps to let them serve as warning exempla to other patrons. In all likelihood, 17,11 was sung at the Thuringian court, for their pleasure, and at Philip's court, for his edification. If it were not sung for Philip, the purpose of the poem, to reprimand and to warn, would be lost. It may be wondered how Walther dared to deliver such an uncomplimentary, unsolicited poem to Philip. Here we can only conjecture that traditional poetic and prophetic immunity was operative, and remember that outspoken as his message is, the poet clothes it in images which make the poem seem more clever than menacing. The threatening warning to Philip in 17,11 does not mean that

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Walther had switched his political allegiance. There are no poems for Otto, or any alternative candidate; on the basis of this lack, we can suppose that Walther still supported the Hohenstaufen. But there are no poems in Philip's favor, so it seems evident that Walther no longer considered him his patron. After 1203, Walther was not among Philip's retinue, but spent the following years traveling and sojourning at the Thüringer Hof or in Vienna with Duke Leopold. From 1205 to 1212, Walther's political voice is silent. Before discussing the second phase of Walther's political poetry in the years 1212-1213, we must go back and examine the last poem in the Reichston, 9,16. Its theme, the poet's opposition to Innocent Ill's role in secular affairs, will become increasingly predominant in Walther's later political poetry. Like the other two (8,4; 8,28), this poem is concerned with "ordenunge", but here the order is reflected in the proper relation of Church and State, which Innocent, by his intervention in the selection of the Emperor, has destroyed. Probably sung at Philip's Bamberg Assembly on September 8, 1201, the poem comes after the promulgation of Innocent's Deliberatio super facto imperii de tribus electis, which examines the claims of Philip, young Frederick, and Otto to the crown and decides in favor of Otto. All who do not comply with this decision are threatened with excommunication. Innocent wrote to Otto in March of 1201, informing him of his support; and in July of that same year at Cologne, ones of Otto's strongholds, the papal legate, Guido de Praeneste, openly declared Innocent's position. Walther accuses Innocent "ze Rome horte ich liegen/und zwene künege triegen". The two kings whom Innocent has deceived are Philip and his nephew Frederick, the disqualified candidates. The threat of excommunication used irresponsibly as a political lever is condemned: "si bienen die si wolten,/ und niht den si solten". Because of what the Pope has done, "meiste strit", the enemy of order, has arisen between "pfaffen und leien". The poem is filled with words of conflict and destruction, and the result of this strife is "lip unde sele lac da tot". The primary Christian unity of body and soul is split within each individual body and

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within the body politic. Without the right ordered relationship between Church and State, the individual and the kingdom are doomed. Such strife not only destroys the body politic, but also "do storte man diu goteshus". To restore the order, the poet turns not to the king, for unlike the problem of the first two songs, this one is out of his control, nor to the Pope who has already overextended his jurisdiction, but to the final and sole arbiter, God. Not with his own voice does Walther speak, but his lament is voiced by a symbolic figure - the "klosenaere". Just as the "weise" represents leadership and authority, so the hermit represents pure Christianity unshackled by the administrative hierarchy of Rome. The hermit laments what Walther would lament: "the Pope is too young". Innocent was the youngest member of the College of Cardinals when he was elected Pope. Thus the significance of the hermit's lament is not merely that the Cardinals have sent us a boy to do a man's job, but it expresses the feeling that Innocent should not, out of all the possible other candidates in the College, have been selected. This is the purport of the poem, and like the other two songs in the Reichston, the final line contains the poem's intent. In the second half of the line, the "klosenaere" cries out: "hilf, herre, diner kristenheit". By extension, the poet universalizes the crisis his poem presents; not only is Germany threatened by the Pope's action, but all of Christianity may be permeated by the strife and come to destruction. Although 9,16 is part of the Reichston, Walther makes less use of imagery, personification, and metaphor in it than in the other two. With the exception of the symbolic figure of the hermit, the poem consists of direct statements, not analogies, and two political references. What characterizes this poem is the poet's use of parallels and balanced opposites: "mann unde wibe"; "gehorte und gesach/ swaz ieman tet, swaz ieman sprach"; "pfaffen und leien"; "lip unde sele"; "die si wolten... den si solten". Significantly, when Walther turns to deal with the conflict between Church and State, his style, too, reflects a dualism.106 iw The use of the term dualism does not in any way refer to Manichean dualism, nor is it to be construed in that way.

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This dualism permeates the Ottenton, Walther's next group of political songs, written 1212-1213. The ideological and actual opposition between imperium and sacerdotium is mirrored in its structure and syntax, as we shall see. In concentrating on this struggle, Walther gives his attention to the major political problem in Germany throughout Innocent's papacy, and thus, in a narrow sense, Walther's political poetry of this period can be, as Wilmanns terms it, "den Spiegel seiner Zeit anzusehen". 107 To read the Ottenton with its rightful significance, it is necessary to present the background out of which it took shape. After Philip's assassination in 1208, it was imperative that a successor be found quickly to prevent chaos in the realm. Otto was, at that time, in England, and since as a prospective leader his positition seemed the strongest, and since he had the papal blessing, he was recalled to Germany. He was crowned in 1209. To insure order, the Hohenstaufen party agreed to support him. Their support was superficial and tenuous, for as soon as opportunity presented itself, the princes began intriguing for the young Hohenstaufen, Frederick, ruler of Sicily. Because Otto promised concessions to Innocent in order to secure his support, the Pope thought he had a pawn in Otto. He soon discovered he had made an error in judgment, for Otto was as bent on imperialism as had been the Hohenstaufens before him. He invaded Italy and occupied Church lands in August of 1210. In November, Otto invaded Sicily, and Innocent excommunicated him and his allies, another example of his use of the power of excommunication to serve his own political interests. Never passionate partisans of Otto, the princes, former Hohenstaufen allies and several defectors from Otto's side, saw their chance and began early in 1211 to prepare opposition to Otto. This time Innocent was on their side. At a series of meetings at Bamberg and later at Numberg, they proposed to follow the direction of the Pope in removing Otto as Emperor and to choose Frederick to take his place. Hermann of Thuringia was very much a part of these proceedings as, allegedly, was his son-in-law, Dietrich of Meissen. Otto returned from Sicily to deal with this conspiracy Op. cit., p. 234.

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and, at the Emperor's court day at Frankfurt in March 1212, a poem of greeting was sung for him composed by Walther. This (11,30) may be Walther's first political poem since 1205; as we shall see, there is some scholarly disagreement as to the arrangement of the so-called "imperial" strophes: 11,30; 12,6; 12,18, of the Ottenton. During the interim covering Otto's coronation and subsequent events, Walther had spent much time traveling and in Vienna, removed from the political scene. Given his strong desire for order and central authority, we can assume that Walther theoretically supported Otto as a better alternative for Germany than civil war as did many pro-Hohenstaufens. If after Walther's return from Vienna and Otto's from Sicily their paths should meet, as they in fact did, it seemed likely that this free-lance imperialist would seek the Emperor's patronage, and proffer his services through a song. All of the "imperial" strophes begin with an address to the kaiser. The poem 11,30 greets Otto on his return: "Her keiser, sit ir willekomen." The poet praises him, concentrating on his supreme leadership, "des schinet iuwer krone ab alien kronen", and his power, "ir wellet ubel oder vol/ so mac si beidiu rechen unde lonen". This last line brings Walther to his point "dar zuo sag ich iu maere" which he develops in the Abgesang: die fiirsten sint iu undertan, si habent mit zuhten iuwer kunft erbeitet und ie der Missenaere derst iemer iuwer ane wan: von gote wurde ein engel e verleitet. Walther's statement has caused no end of conjecture as to his political position. Walther's patron Hermann, and perhaps Dietrich, had been intriguing against Otto. Because of this patronage relation was Walther in 1212 really in league with the princes against Otto? Did he, in reassuring the Emperor of the support of the "fiirsten" seek to delude him? Why does Walther mention especially "ie der Missenaere"? Is the final reference to God and the angel to be read as a barbed comment, a hint as to the existence of the opposition party, as Hatto indicates it may be?108 ins

"Walther von der Vogelweide's Ottonian Poems", Speculum,

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It seems unnecessary to read into Walther's poem what is not there. Walther was in the service of Hermann and Dietrich, but, as was emphasized before, it is incorrect to equate patronage with political intrigues. It must be remembered Walther was an imperialist and a free agent; his poems, at this date, reveal no indication that he yet supported Frederick. The poem is for Otto; it may signal a new Ton and an attempt by Walther to secure his patronage. Being in the service of Dietrich, who may not have been part of the conspiracy, for there is no proof that he was, Walther probably sought to kill two birds with one poem. Walther emphasizes that Otto has the power to revenge himself on his enemies and to reward his supporters; he then firmly places Dietrich among Otto's supporters. Obviously, therefore, the poem has two purposes: to praise Otto and to intercede or put in a good word for Dietrich. They are not incompatible. There are other poems in which Walther takes the role of intercessor between one patron and another. In 19,5, the poem on Philip's Christmas Festival at Magdeburg, 1199, Walther mentions specifically: the Thuringians and the Saxons also serve there, underlining the loyalty of his patron Hermann, and bringing his name before Philip.109 And in 1212, when Otto was besieging Hermann at the fortress at Weissensee, Walther interceded on Hermann's behalf. Hermann had abjured loyalty to Otto and was openly plotting strategy on Frederick's behalf. Walther's poem (105,13) directly asks the kaiser to excuse the landgrave who has committed misdeeds, giving as reason enough for exoneration the fact that Hermann showed his enmity openly ("sin vient offenbare") and did not attempt to deceive, lie, and slander as Rome does, a reference to the papal campaign against Otto. Common sense leads us to assume that one would not intercede for someone to one's enemy. Had Walther at this time in 1212 not sup(1949), 547 ff. This conjecture, if pursued to its logical outcome, reveals Hatto's misreading of the poem. If it is in support of Dietrich, as Hatto believes it is, then the mention of the rebellious angels would make Dietrich analogous to Lucifer and his followers: hardly a favorable comparison. 108 I am indebted to Professor Jackson for pointing out to me this instance of Walther serving two patrons with one poem. In 19,5 Walther was writing for both patrons, suiting his support to the circumstances of each.

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ported Otto nor been on cordial terms with him, he could not have written a p o e m of intercession to him for someone else because his appeal would have n o weight; he would be wasting his breath. There is considerable debate as to the dating of the other "imperial" strophes: 12,18 and 12,6. The two positions can be stated briefly. The first holds that 11,30; 12,18; 12,6 were all written for the Emperor's court day, March 1212, or the latter two were written shortly thereafter; all are pro-Otto. The second contends that 1 1 , 3 0 was written in March 1212, and shows that Walther was, if not completely opposed to Otto, conspiring with the princes against him. Therefore, 12,18 and 12,6, evincing as they d o the poet's enthusiasm for Otto, were written in 1 2 0 9 - 1 2 1 0 , after the coronation when Walther was much devoted to Otto's cause. 1 1 0 110

Wilmanns, op. cit., advocates the first position and Maurer, op. cit., follows his lead. Winkelmann and Naegele take the second. Neither Hatto, op. cit., nor Crick, op. cit., commit themselves definitely, but both suggest rather heavily that Walther must have been intriguing with the princes against Otto; see Crick, p. 70, "There is much to suggest that Walther, while praising Otto and allaying his suspicions, was definitely hand in hand with the opposition. At least, he was dependent upon the leading members of it." This statement is irresponsible and vague, at best. What is meant by "hand in hand" - conspiracy? treachery? And to say Walther was dependent upon the opposition leaders, without qualifying in what way, is to mislead readers and make half-truths by implication. Finally, Crick forgets or chooses to overlook the fact that the only prince Walther mentions by name is Dietrich. Dietrich's alliance with Otto's opposition is a highly debatable point, and no conclusive evidence has ever been brought that he was intriguing against Otto. To substantiate his theory of Walther's allegiance to Otto's opposition, Hatto has worked out a metrical proof. "It will be seen that Walther constructed his Sprüche (political, diplomatic, and didactic songs) almost altogether of lines of four, six, or eight bars, so that the magnitude of the strophes declines perceptibly from those written for emperor through those written to court a duke, to a landgrave's, two margraves' and a mere count's", p. 551. On the basis of this theory, Hatto asserts that the O'.tenton does not have eight bars and is not a Ton for an emperor, but for a lesser personage. Therefore, this proves it was not written for Otto but for the princes. This seems to me to be a case where metrics and content are unequivocally opposed, were Hatto's theory true. Rotraut Ruck, Walther von der Vogelweide: Der künstlerische Gedankenaufbau (Basel, 1954), follows the first position above. She finds a scheme in 11,30; 12,18; 12,6 which justifies putting them all together for Otto. The poem 11,30 shows the kaiser in relation to the princes; 12,18 shows the kaiser in relation to the world; 12,6 shows the kaiser in relation to God. On this basis she traces a progression in the time element: 11,30 is

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But all of this is conjecture, and a discussion of these points a preamble to a study of the three strophes themselves. What such scholarly debate as to Walther's loyalties and the various datings of the poems tends to do is to obscure the important point of the poems: 11,30; 12,18; 12,6 are totally committed to the imperial ideal, and as such form a unity. All three stress the position, the power, and the responsibility of the Emperor. At this point in the discussion of Walther it is appropriate to dispense with the notion, current in the 1930's and expounded before that, that Walther was a great supporter of the Reich. His political position all of his life was that of an imperialist, but his poems do not concentrate on the idea of the kingdom, "riche", but on the ideal of leadership, the Emperor and his role. He was a medieval, not a post-Hegelian. Order was exemplified in the ruler, who, fulfilling his position, established the proper ordo throughout the Christian world, not in the State. In the "imperial" strophes, Otto is not mentioned by name, but the "keiser" is the focus of these poems and emphasizing his role is the purpose of the poet. H. Naumann says of the "imperial" strophes: "Der Name Ottos ist bei dieser Idee vom grenzenlosen Cäsaertum fast belanglos geworden. Waither feiert überhaupt nur noch die Idee, nicht mehr die Person." 111 On first reading, this statement seems to present a clear explanation of the "imperial" strophes and obviate the problem of Walther's loyalties. But the implication that Walther formerly celebrated the person of the leader and now celebrates only the idea misinterprets Walther's fundamental political message. Walther always emphasizes the idea of the strong leader who brings order to the world and embodies it. In the Reichston, the poet, faced with a country in chaos, showed the establishment of government and law led by the king as the way to ideal order. To begin to achieve this ideal, he commanded Philip to put on the symbol of authority, the "weise". Having assumed the symbol, the person the past; 12,18 the present; 12,6 the future. Her thesis about past, present, future seems a bit too diagrammatic to be true, but Ruck's approach is at least more faithful to the content of Walther's poems than Hatto's. 111 Das Bild Walthers von der Vogelweide (Berlin, 1930), p. 9.

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is invested with the power. In the poems which celebrate specific events, the Christmas Festival and Philip's coronation, Walther presents the ideal power and position of the ruler through symbol and analogy. In the Magdeburg festival poem, he makes the ideal position of "der kunec" more impressive by a conscious parallel with the Trinity. It would be audacious for the poet to compare Philip the person with the Trinity; but the idea of the king, and Emperor-to-be, as leader of an ordered world community is comparable, on a different plane, to that of the Trinity in an ordered Christian cosmos. Also "der kunec" carries "des riches zepter und die krone", the symbols of the office. In the coronation poem, as discussed above, Walther unites the person with the idea and absorbs the person of Philip into the symbol of the leader: "der steine ist aller fursten leitesterne". In all of these instances, Walther's major emphasis is on the idea of the ruler, just as it is in the Ottenton. The closest he ever comes to celebrating the person is, suitably, in the poem for Philip's coronation when he compliments him as "jungen suezen man". It is true that no such compliments for Otto the person occur in the Ottenton. On the basis of this comparative statement, it may be deduced that Walther was more favorably disposed to Philip when he was leader, than Otto when he was. However, the difference in occasion and purpose of 18,29 and the "imperial" strophes may make analogy impossible and any conclusions drawn from said analogy invalid. The poem 18,29 is written for a coronation, an occasion of joyous and solemn celebration, and it is natural at such a time that Walther would praise the person of the new king. But the person is always secondary to the idea in Walther's political poems which deal with the ruler; never is it of equal importance, and never does the person of the leader surpass the ideal of leadership. The poem 12,18 develops the idea of the Emperor's power which was stressed in 11,30. Walther reminds Otto that when he held the "tiuschen fride" by means of the threat of the rope, all nations praised him. The poet turns from the image of power expressed by a practical reality to an emblematic embodiment of the power. On the shield of the Emperor are "zwene hergesellen": "des

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aren tugent, des lewen kraft". Thus equipped, Otto should turn his attention outward and unite all Christianity. This statement is the focus of the poem, and it is ostensibly to emphasize this point that the next poem is written. The union of all Christianity expressed in 12,18 and in 12,6 takes the form of a crusade. But the crusade is treated in such a way as to transform it into an imperial conquest. It is presented as a political event sanctified by the command of God. The power and position of the Emperor make it imperative for him to lead such a venture. And its success assures an ordered universal Christian community led by the Emperor which parallels that in heaven. The conscious parallelism is brought out through imagery. Walther comes to the Emperor as a "fronebote" bringing a message from God: "ir habt die erde, er hat daz himelriche". This statement, parallel in syntax, equates the respective positions of God and Emperor: God . . Emperor. It can be read simply as Heaven ' Earth a compliment to Otto, or a clever poetic fiction to set up the personae of the drama: God, poet-messenger, Emperor. But it is one of the most pro-imperial and politically charged statements Walther ever makes. In the controversy between sacerdotium and imperium, the papal side held that the Pope was supreme on earth and the Emperor took his power from God through the intermediary of the Pope. Walther here eliminates the office of the Papacy from the picture. God and the Emperor are the two supreme powers, their relation is direct: "ir [the Emperor] sit sin [God's] voget [regent on earth]". Walther than links these statements as to the Emperor's position with a call to the crusade. God's message, delivered by the poet, is that the Emperor must set things to rights in His "sunes lande", overrun by heathens. "Rihten" is stressed as the duty and role of the Emperor, and the poem implies that the Emperor looks after God's secular interests. If Otto does this, God who now "klaget" will be indebted to the Emperor and will "rihtet in da er voget ist", if ever the Emperor "klagt" fearing the pains of hell. The double use of "voget" for Otto as world ruler and God as ruler in heaven magnifies the position of the Emperor in the Christian cosmic

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hierarchy. A feudal contractual relationship between God and Emperor is more than implied by the use of "verschulden" and "pflihten", and by the presentation of a crusade in terms of service and reward. As a political poem 12,6 is unique and masterly; it is a case of poetry absorbing political theory and put to the service of propaganda without losing its artistic quality. Cleverly worked out, the images establish a dramatic situation: God calling to the Emperor through Walther, who establishes a fiction and assumes the role of messenger. Like a prophet, Walther has received God's message directly and his presentation of it is urgent and immediate. Superficially, the message, a call to the crusade,112 would seem to be the purpose of the poem, and as such it has been read by Walther scholars.113 The balance in the imagery, however, makes it much more than a simple Aufruf. In making the Emperor's position on earth analogous to God's in heaven, the poet expresses through imagery the imperial ideology with its many theoretical and partisan ramifications in regard to the relation of Church and State. As much as a detailed legal treatise for the imperial cause, this poem is a piece of propaganda. Unlike a treatise, the theory is turned into art. It is no accident that the three remaining poems of the Ottenton are against Innocent III and the first opens "Her babest". This conscious syntactical parallel reflects the dualism which has been present behind all the "imperial" strophes: the antagonism between the imperial and the papal sides. The poems 11,30; 12,18; 12,6 are all written to bring out the importance of the role of the 118

Walther's treatment of the call to the crusade is most unconventional: in terms of heraldic symbols in 12,18, their might will move against heathendom, and the fiction of the "fronebote" in 12,6. With both, however, it is not the crusade which is of major importance, but the presentation of the power and role of the Emperor as leader of world Christianity. 113 Crick, op. cit., claims that Walther's calling for Otto to lead a crusade shows that Walther was unfavorably disposed to Otto's cause because it was not politically advantageous for Otto to leave Germany at that time. This statement can be attacked on two points. First, Walther, who deeply believed in the crusades, as we shall see in his later poems, would never use it as a political manoeuvre to dispose of an enemy. Secondly, the Aufruf is not primary in these poems; the propaganda for the imperial cause is.

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Emperor in his position in the Christian universal hierarchy. The "papal" strophes follow the same Ton, already dedicated to imperial propaganda. They are no less propaganda for the imperial side and are written for the same audience, despite the address to "Her babest".» 4 The poem 11,18 is made out of the Biblical parable of the tribute money. Although not political in its direct statement, it is a parable with political application. Much used by the imperialist writers and proponents, the tribute money parable was advanced as Scriptural support for their position. When Walther criticizes Innocent in the Ottenton, he avoids the traditional anticlerical themes. Instead the poet attacks the Pope for interference in realms in which he has no jurisdiction and for doubledealing in secular affairs, referring to his original support for Otto followed by the excommunication on political grounds. In 11,6 Walther feigns great deference for Innocent: "I will be obedient to you." He then caustically reminds the Pope of how he commanded "der kristenheit" what duty they owe to the Emperor to call him lord and kneel before him, on the day he gave him "gotes segen". The poet thus condemns Innocent out of his own mouth. The change in the Pope's position toward Otto is also the subject of 12,30. Walther presents himself as a bewildered layman perplexed by the teaching of the clergy: si lernten uns bi kurzen tagen: daz wellents uns nu widersagen. He becomes vehement: "now by God and their own honor, let them tell us the truth. By which saying have we been betrayed... the old or the new? It seems to us one must be a lie." He ends with a proverbial admonishment, "two tongues stay unevenly in one mouth". The "papal" strophes make no theoretical statements except for 114

These poems may have been written at the same time as the "imperial" strophes or later in 1212-1213. For Walther's political message, their exact date is not of importance. Paramount is that they are imperialistic propaganda and critical of the Pope's treatment of Otto. They, therefore, do not show that Walther was in favor of Frederick, for at the time they were written, Frederick had Innocent's support.

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the first line of 12,30: "Got git ze kiinege swen er wil." This strikes at the heart of the papal position in relation to secular affairs. In adjudicating the imperial candidacies, Innocent claimed that the final selection and investiture of the Emperor lay with him.115 He could, by withdrawing his support and excommunicating the person of the Emperor, deprive him of the authority and power of his office. As with the line "ir habt die erde, er hat daz himelriche", Walther obviates the role of the Pope in the secular world. This bald statement presents the imperial authority as coming from God, who, as supreme, unquestioned arbiter, can choose whom he wishes. This fact does not puzzle the poet, for in his vision of universal hierarchy, this is the proper order. What does "puzzle" Walther, as he presents himself in this poem, is the attempt by the sacerdotium to intervene in this natural chain of authority. As a work of art 12,30 is less successful than 12,6, although their purpose and essential message are the same. The poem 12,6 is an example of the conscious use of poetics, whereas 12,30 is a more straightforward, colloquial statement, unembellished by the poet's visual artistry. This tendency away from imagery and unifying metaphor is typical of the Ottenton as a whole. The emphasis on imagery as a means of structuring a poem found in Walther's early political poems gradually gives way to a rhetorical dualism which unifies each poem. This dualism consists of the use of balanced parallels and antitheses. These techniques are not unknown in Walther's early poetry; we need only hearken back to 9,16 with its contrast between priests/laity, body/soul, man/woman, hear/see, to prove that Walther used this technique in political poetry as early as 1201. Even before that, in 1198 and 1199, 18,29 parallels and unites Philip and the crown; 19,5 implies the parallel between Philip and the Trinity. On the other hand, 12,6, written in 1212, is an outstanding example of the use of imagery and analogy; 12,18 makes use of emblematic symbols of authority as 115

Since the Pope did crown the Emperor, Innocent could validly interpret this symbolic action to mean that the Pope presented the Emperor with the symbols of his authority. By extension, it could be, and was, argued by the proponents of the papal cause, that the Pope was the source of imperial power and had the final say as to who would receive it.

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does 8,28 of the Reichston. The point is not that Walther switched dramatically from one technique to the other, but that he gradually relied more and more on dualities to structure his poems and to express his thoughts. Walther always made use of metaphor, the thought process of which involves duality and analogy: the comparison of likenesses or opposites. In the poems of his middle political period, Walther makes less use of metaphor as part of imagery; instead he makes the dualism inherent in metaphorical thought explicit through rhetorical pairs of words and phrases. The Ottenton exemplifies the functional significance of dualism for style, structure, and meaning. Basically there are six poems: three concerned with the Emperor, three with the Pope. This opposition underlies all six poems; for the imperialist propaganda throughout the "imperial" strophes is directed against Innocent, and the attacks on Innocent in the "papal" strophes are made on behalf of the imperial cause. The format of the poems themselves, therefore, expresses the dualistic opposition. Beyond the general ideological dualism, there exists a stylistic dualism. The pairing of two words or phrases, equatable or opposed, occurs in every strophe of the Ottenton. But the uses to which Walther puts this rhetorical balance differ. In 11,30, "krefte und guotes", "ubel oder wol", "rechen und lonen" emphasize the power which is Otto's and his power of choice: to revenge or reward. By implication, and in actuality, there are those whom Otto ought to punish and those to reward. In his mention of Dietrich's loyalty, Walther makes it clear that he is not an enemy of Otto, but one whose faithfulness merits remuneration. The balanced pairs quoted above occur in the second Stollen (the first is praise to Otto, again a syntactical balance "iuwer krone ob alien kronen"). The dualism of the second Stollen, revenge or reward, leads to and is the subject of the Abgesang, with emphasis on Dietrich. The implication is that Otto should choose "wol" and "lonen" in Dietrich's case. Thus the structure and meaning of 11,30 depend on the pairing of opposite choices. In 12,18 the balance is an opposition between "kristenheit" and "heidenschaft", and then a linking of dual emblematic symbols of

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imperial power: "des aren tugent, des lewen kraft". The Abgesang develops the idea of the two symbols and ends with another pair, "ir manheit und ir milte". Balance of pairs serves in the first instance to convey ideological opposition: Christian versus infidel in the crusades, and in the second to praise the role of the Emperor and, as a device, to unify the structure of the Abgesang. The proficiency of the imagery in 12,6 depends on the very carefully worked out, stylistically balanced equation of God and Emperor which structures the poem: "ir habt die erde, er hat daz himelriche"; "ir sit sin voget"/ "da er voget ist"; "er hiez iu klagen"/ "klagt ir"; "ir muget im gerne rihten"/ "er rihtet"; "erz vershulden welle"/ "iu pflihten". The parallels are theoretically, as was discussed above, and structurally functional. It is impossible to break this poem into separate fragments, for theme, vocabulary, syntax, and metaphor form a unity which is "the poem itself". Applicable here is Yeats' question, "Who can tell the dancer from the dance?" Underlying 11,6 and 12,30 is the fundamental dualism between what you said and what you say, Walther's main critique of Innocent at this date. Here the poet uses dualism for irony. In addition, the syntax is balanced: the Pope's blessing of Otto is expressed in parallel phrases, "swer dich segene, si gesegent: swer dir fluoche, si verfluochet mit fluoche volmezzen"; the two positions of the Pope are "die alten ode die niuwen". As with "klagen" in 12,6, Walther plays with one verb, "wundert", to refer to two different situations and make a parallel between them; in this case, to bring out the difference in the poet's response to each. In the Ottenton the style reflects the thought. This harmony of form and content in Walther's poems of this Ton is similar to Bertran's achievement in certain of his political poems. By making use of epic techniques - lists of names, places, weapons, static descriptions, and by frequent references to Carolingian heroes Bertran stylistically reinforces his political ethic derived from a unique combination of epic hero and feudal seigneur. Not only does the Ottenton evince stylistic dualism, but also nearly all of Walther's nonpolitical poems of this period and later share this characteristic. In the Ottenton the dualism is functional

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both ideologically and technically; in the nonpolitical poetry it is solely technical.116 Walther carries the use of dualism far beyond that of any other political poet. Peire Cardenal is the only other poet who makes extensive use of this technique, but he limits it to juxtaposition of opposites which produces an ironic commentary on the subject treated. In every era, a man picks up, often by cultural osmosis, the thought patterns inherited by his civilization. A geographical product of the Western world, Walther is no less a product of Western philosophy which is inherently dualistic. Conditioned indirectly by the dualism of Platonic idealism (for the Middle Ages via Augustine), the dualism of the Christian cosmos, and of a society split into sacerdotium and imperium, Walther's form of poetic expression is a logical outgrowth of his culture. In the antipapal strophes of the Unmutston, the next group of political poems after the Ottenton, written late 1212-early 1213, Walther uses stylistic dualism for structural purposes. The ideological function, however, is gone. These poems can be read outside the context of the sacerdotium-imperium conflict, for this conflict is not made explicit; the figure of the Emperor and his role in the Christian cosmic order is never brought into these strophes. The audience for these poems of the Unmutston remains the same as that for the Ottenton, but popular sentiment, and therefore the context, has shifted. The Reichston and the Ottenton both show Walther writing as a proponent of the imperial cause, a partisan for Empire. However, in neither of these Töne is his partisanship his dominant purpose or their dominant feature. The Reichston is a vision of world order and a plea for a strong leader to realize it. The Ottenton, less a vision of order, unites theory and poetics and puts both to the service of the imperial ideology centering on the authority and power of the Emperor. The antipapal strophes of the Unmutston, The supporting evidence for this in Walther's nonpolitical poems is legion. Seventy-six poems make use of rhetorical dualism. Wilmanns, op. cit., notes Walther's use of dualism as a feature of his poetry, but he does not pursue its ideological and stylistic functions. Walther also makes use of triads, as do many English writers, but the number of triples is far less than the parallels, balanced opposites, and rhetorical doubles. 118

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devoid of ideology, are solely a partisan attack on Innocent and his clerics.117 These strophes were written by an imperialist who now emphasizes not the positive side of his partisanship - for the Emperor - but the negative - against the Pope. Evidence of positive partisanship for Otto is absent, although Walther's political loyalties remain with the imperial party. Embroiled in his hatred of Innocent, Walther strikes out with the standard device of attack found in the poems of so many angry partisans, invective. Walther here employs familiar anticlerical themes, unlike the unique criticisms of the Ottenton, directing them against the Pope: he is covetous, lying, deceitful; he betrays the people; he sells indulgences; his hirelings as God's treasurers steal from God, as God's peacemakers, rob and murder; he augments unbelievers. Walther even drags in the commonplaces of the discrepancy between what the priests say and what they do, which provides a poor example for the laity, and of the shepherd who acts as a wolf to the sheep of his flock. But not all of the accusations are anticlerical conventions. Walther claims Innocent is instructed by the devil from his "swarzez buoch", an implication of necromancy. He warns the bishops and noble priests, referring to the members of the German clergy who supported the papal party, that they are led astray by him. He equates Innocent with Judas, balancing "der Junge" with "dem altern". In 33,21 the poet reaches the height of his fervor.118 Reaching back to the legend of the necromancer Pope, Silvester II (999-1003), Walther uses him as the prototype for the current Pope. That one "selbe gap ze valle", and this one will give not only himself but all Christianity "ze valle". Most of the attacks on the Pope are general and without political significance. Two strophes, however, from this group have especial reference to the situation in Germany: 34,4 and 34,14. 117 We must remember that Walther's attacks on Innocent and the secularized Church do not imply that Walther was any less a Christian. H e always maintained the poetic ideal of pure Christianity through the figure of the "klosenaere", who appears at intervals in 1201, 1213, and 1227, and to the end of his life, as his "elegie" shows, Walther remained a devout believer. 118 "This is an attack on the Pope unparalleled in its century for ferocity and recklessness." Crick, op. cit., p. 150.

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Known as the "collection box" poems because both refer to the boxes Innocent commanded to be installed in the German churches as of Easter 1213, these two strophes are the most poetically inventive of this group. The poem 34,4 takes the form of a dramatic monologue, Innocent boasting to "sinen Wahlen" what he has done to Germany: " 'ich han zwen Allaman undr eine krone braht, daz diz riche sulen stoeren unde wasten'". 11 » Walther thus lays the blame for German dissension and civil war at the Pope's feet. The Pope brags of his "stoc", a reference to the collection boxes: " 'ir tiuschez silber vert in minen welschen schrin'". Walther plays upon his German audience's reaction to the opposition of "tiuschez . . . welschen" to rile them further against Innocent. As a final fillip, he has Innocent command his priests to eat hens and drink wine and let the "tiutschen leien" grow thin and waste. The second collection box poem, 34,14, is calculated to arouse an audience of the German laity to fury. Addressed to "her Stoc", the poem deals with the avarice of the Pope who sends "her Stoc" to Germany to rob and impoverish "uns Tiutschen". Walther's final sally to his personification is geared for audience effect: her Stoc, ir sit uf schaden her gesant, daz ir uz tiutschen liuten suochet toerinne unde narren. It is with the audience of "uns Tiutschen" that Walther now identifies; he is their spokesman, not a voice for the imperial party. He attacks the Pope less on behalf of the Emperor and more on behalf of the German laity. His strident tone is that of an angry, bitter partisan, but there is sorrow as well. "Wir klagen alle"; all tongues shall "schrien wafen" to God. The symbolic figure of the "klosenaere", resuscitated for the first time since 1201, is used to make the final comment on Innocent and his policies: he "klage und sere weine". This group of antipapal strophes is successful as partisan poetry. But if we judge them qualitatively in terms of Walther's previous political poems, they do not measure up to his Reichston or his 119 The "zwen Allaman" probably refer to Otto and Frederick and the present struggle in 1213 between them. Frederick at this time had Innocent's support. This poem, so opposed to Innocent, certainly shows that at this date, Walther was not yet in the service of Frederick.

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Ottenton. They are not as unusual, compared with others in this genre, nor are they as artistically written. The positive purpose of the Reichston and the Ottenton: to set a standard for order embodied in the Emperor before the German people, has changed to a vicious negative partisan attack. Walther no longer exhorts his audience to the establishment of order, but arouses them to partisan hatred. In evaluating these strophes of the Unmutston, we must say that Walther's best political poetry was written before them and does not include them. Yet these were written shortly after, or even concomitantly with, the "papal" strophes of the Ottenton. What, then, is the reason for the change? And, in the broader picture from 1201 to 1213, what transformed Walther's theoretical vision into partisan invective? An answer may be conjectured from the general political situation in Germany over these years, from Walther's relations with his patrons, and from Walther's audience. The ideal order expressed in the Reichston found no reflection in Germany. The years 1201-1213 show more chaos than calm. Walther's hopes were high in 1198-1201 when Philip first came to power, and an ordered kingdom seemed less a vision and more a possible reality. The actuality of the years following made a vision of order ludicrous. Treachery, intrigue, and continuous battle characterized the politics of this time. Walther had placed his hopes in a strong leader. Philip did not fulfill the ideal, nor did Otto. By 1213, Otto's power had weakened; substantial numbers of his supporters had defected to young Frederick, who came north from Sicily to take over the German kingdom. Obviously Otto was not the ideal imperial leader either. Walther never backed a loser, and his confidence in Otto and in his continued potential leadership of the imperium was considerably weakened. Also Otto, like Philip, proved a poor patron. During 1212-1213, Walther's patronage poems to Otto become increasingly demanding. In 31,23 the poet indicates that things were going badly for Otto; he uses the image of "checkmate" which Frederick, now in Germany, was in a position to do to Otto. If Otto will requite Walther for his services, God will prevent Frederick from 'checkmating" Otto. Neither happened:

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Walther went unrewarded and Frederick eventually triumphed. While Walther's imperial partisanship for Otto weakened, his partisanship against Innocent grew to disproportionate bounds. In this, Walther probably reflected the general sentiment of his audience. Outraged by Innocent's interference in German affairs and his final insult of the collection boxes, the German imperial party wanted to hear him maligned and attacked; the antipapal strophes of the Unmutston capitalize on their hatred and anticlericism. Split into two factions, one for Frederick, one for Otto, as the imperialists were (with most of Walther's patrons among the former), they, as a group, were hardly interested in hearing propaganda for Otto. Since Otto did not pay him, and others did, Walther would write what his audience and his paying patrons wished to listen to. Audience preference, therefore, was probably a strong factor in the change in emphasis between Ottenton and the political strophes of the Unmutston. We cannot accuse Walther of being a political opportunist, for he remained first and last a staunch imperialist. But he was an opportunist as far as his own livelihood was concerned. Landless, without social position, he had to be; he supported the patron who supported him. Otto failed him and, sometime in 1213, the exact date is unknown, Walther began to write for Frederick.120 A poem in which he plays with the size of Otto, very tall, and Frederick, quite short, and compares their size and their generosity, in which the length is reversed, indicates his change in patrons. Curiously enough, Walther wrote no imperial propaganda for Frederick. In fact, none of his poems for Frederick before 1227 are political, and even those in 1227 are political only in that they refer to the crusade. And yet, Frederick is the only patron who gave Walther the reward he needed to be independent, to be his own man: a fief. Sometime between 1215 and 1220 Walther exults, "Ich han min lehen." After his output of poems in 1212-1213, however, Walther seems to have left the political arena; no poems till the Engelbrecht strophes in 1225 show that he was involved. He gives up 120

The Unmutston, used originally by Walther for Otto, was retained by the poet and the melody put to other purposes: didactic and personal poems.

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as a political poet, perhaps in disgust with politics, and devotes himself to love songs, didactic, moral, and patronage poems. Undoubtedly external circumstances much influenced this. Innocent died in 1216, thus the object of partisan hatred was removed. His successor did not interfere overmuch in secular affairs, and so the ideological conflict to which Walther had addressed himself lost its urgency. After the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, Otto's strength presented no threat to Frederick. Once Frederick triumphed, despite Otto's sporadic attempts till his death in 1218 to regain his position, relative harmony existed in the imperial party. There were no longer great issues with which Walther could involve himself. After he received his "lehen", he perhaps felt he no longer needed to court patronage, nor wished to be part of the political scene. In addition to all these external circumstances, Walther was getting old, querulous, highly moralistic, and occasionally nostalgic. The idealism of his youth and the partisan fervor of his middle years were dissipated. Only two events roused Walther to poetic comment: the murder of Engelbrecht in 1225, and the excommunication of Frederick in 1227. Frederick departed for Sicily, leaving his young son Henry as king of Germany and the Archbishop Engelbrecht of Cologne as regent. The archbishop's government was such that it inspired Walther to write a poem in praise of him (85,1), and, after his enemies murdered him, the poet expressed his sense of loss and rage in a diatribe against the murderer and a call for blood vengeance (85,9). Frederick had delayed so long in going on the crusade which he had promised to undertake in 1215, that Pope Gregory finally excommunicated him. Written shortly before September 1227, the date of the ban, or shortly thereafter, are a group of poems lamenting the renewal of strife with the Church and exhorting Frederick "so var er balde und kome uns schiere" (10,17). None of these last poems for Frederick show any partisan enthusiasm or involvement; they are hardly political, but, rather, sad commentaries on the state of the world. Although Walther uses the fiction of a "bot" to the "keiser", 10,17 has none of the originality of the "fronebote" poem (12,6) to Otto. No ideological conflict

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lies behind Walther's words; this is the standard exhortation of the poets to the rulers: go on the crusade. During his life, Walther wrote Kreuzlieder which have a decidedly religious orientation, and toward the end of his career, the crusade came to have special personal meaning for him. The Reichston presented the problem of how to live in this world and answered it with an ideal plan for an ordered Christian community. This ideal was never realized and, as Walther grew older, the answer seemed to lie less with government and more with the crusade which resolved the dualism between G o d and the world. In a poem of deep sadness and regret, the "elegie", Walther expresses a resolution for himself through the crusade. It is considered his last poem and his last comment on life in this world: dar an gedenkent, ritter: ir tragent die liehten helme dar zuo die vesten schilte wolte got, wan waere ich so wolte ich notic armman joch meine ich niht die huoben ich wolte saelden krone die mohte ein soldenaere mohte ich die lieben reise so wolte ich denne singen wol, niemer mer ouwe.

ez ist iuwer dine, und manegen herten rinc. und diu gewihten swert. der sigenünfte wert! verdienen riehen solt. noch der herren golt: eweclichen tragen: mit sime sper bejagen. gevaren über se, und niemer mer ouwe,

The unique contributions Waither made to political poetry rest with certain strophes of the Reichston and the Ottenton, the poems of his early and middle years, respectively. None of the rest of his political poetry is in any way unusual in terms of the genre, but consists of occasion poems, advice to the ruler, partisan invective to Innocent, and exhortation to Frederick to crusade. The Reichston is the poetic expression of Walther's vision of order in man and in the kingdom which is universalized to an order in all Christianity. The embodiment of order is found in the strong ruler under whose guidance government, with emphasis on law and justice, takes shape. In a genre very much bound to the specific and the concrete, these are the first poems which develop through abstracts an abstract idea, and the hope that the ideal vision may be translated into a political reality.

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It is incorrect to define Walther as a great political idealist, for the Reichston is his only idealistic political poem. It was written while he was young, and the poet had not yet found how far removed from the ideal the actuality of politics was. His second major group of political poems, the Ottenton, contains no abstract visions. They are products of the ideological conflict between imperium and sacerdotium and are written in support of the imperial cause. In his treatment of the role of the Emperor, the poet incorporates political theory into poetry. Again this is a unique instance in the genre as a whole. Rather than partisan denunciation of the enemy, a standard technique, Walther uses a theoretical approach to support the cause of the imperial side. Walther's lifelong political position was that of an imperialist, and his message is consistent with his position. The ultimate purpose of both the Reichston and the Ottenton is propaganda for the imperial cause; one an ideal vision, the other the practical application of theory. But throughout both, the imperium is not the focal point. Not the Empire itself, but the role of the Emperor is central. Walther's message is that the leader must set the world in order, fulfill the Christian hierarchy, and realize the truth of his statement: "ir habt die erde, er hat daz himmelriche". After 1213 the message no longer finds poetic expression. The poems 8,4; 8,28; 12,6 represent the high-water mark of Walther's political poetry and of the political lyric as a genre. No one before, nor after, expressed so well in the lyric theoretical awareness, nor incapsulated the major political problem of his time. That Walther did so without sacrificing poetics is to his credit as an artist. Most political poets relied more on message than poetic techniques and ignored, or were not capable of developing, a poetic style beyond the most rudimentary manipulations of rhyme and meter. These three poems are remembered for their technical and artistic perfection, as well as for their message. Effective propaganda they may be; more than that, they are masterly literary products. Walther's fame as a political poet, as the one who made the most unique use of the genre, can rest on these three poems. He needs no others.

CONCLUSION

Although the number of political lyrics is not large, they exist in such great variety as nearly to defy final generalizations. Stylistically the genre encompasses the proserlike statements of Guilhem Figueira, the trobar clus of Bertran, the functional metaphors of Walther. Yet Bertran can also give us clear statements, like Figueira's, about the Saint Martial oath, while Peire Vidal writes a political strophe so obscure as to be unintelligible. Partisanship motivates Peire Cardenal's attacks on Esteve de Belmon as it does Tomier and Palaizi's exhortations to the forces of Toulouse. Further, both of these partisan poems are written because of events during the Albigensian Crusade, yet they are not similar in theme or purpose. One is a weapon, the other a plea and a warning. Both poems are written with a specific, different audience in mind: Peire's for a small, local group of Esteve's enemies; Tomier and Palaizi's for the fighting forces of the Midi. Like these poems, all the political poems are written for a particular audience, and these audiences are as varied as the poems composed for them. Amoros de Luc writes for the king of England, Peire de la Cavarana for the Lombards, Guilhem de Berguedan for the opponents of Alfonso in Aragon, Bertran for his neighbors surrounding Hautefort, Walther for the imperial court in Germany. Those persons written about range from local prelates and princes to Pope and Emperor; the events, from the sacking of a monastery in Southern France to the excommunication of Frederick II. In every case, who or what is the subject of the poem depends on the particular poet's response to persons and events; it is each poet's individual selection which determines

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CONCLUSION

the contents of the political lyric, and, consequently, diversity is the result. There is also diversity in the poets' messages. From his political awareness, Bertran fashions an ethic for the feudal seigneurs, combining his sense of the Carolingian heroes with a practical guide to power within the feudal system. The locale of his poetry is narrow, and his political message is correspondingly limited. Walther widens his message to include the Christian world; his particular kind of political awareness leads him to an abstract vision of individual and world order; he transmutes imperial ideology into poetic song. Yet one similarity unites all of these poets, besides the obvious fact that all of them are writing political poems. Although they are primarily critical, none advocates any change in the prevailing political system. Each works within this order, always implicitly aware of it, but, unless he is a Walther, never mentioning it. The poet focuses his attention on the one who is in power, be he local magnate or the Emperor, and seeks to show him the right action to take, the proper conduct of a ruler, the way to augment his power. Even those poets who write partisan battle exhortations, no matter how desperate their circumstances, do not curse fighting or condemn wars. They accept their way of life. Further, except for Walther, none of these poets identifies himself with a political ideology, and consequently, he does not fight for or criticize one. In propagandizing for the imperial party, Walther shows himself to be a different breed of political poet than his medieval contemporaries. His political circumstances, however, were different from theirs, and he is, as much as they are, a product of his milieu. We can see how much these poets represent the concerns and attitudes of the medieval era when we compare them with a political poet of today, Yevgeny Yevtushenko in Russia. His poems, like "Babi Yar", a denunciation of anti-Semitism, and "Stalin's Heirs", a critique of the stultifying effect of the Stalinist era on the ideals of what this poet believes to be true Communism, contain subjects which would be inconceivable in medieval political poems, for neither Fascist anti-Semitism nor the corruption

CONCLUSION

of an ideology were then political change have brought new subjects concepts of the role of the political himself needs no further exposition contrast: 1

193

issues. Centuries of political for political poetry and new poet. How Yevtushenko sees on my part to bring out the

I should very much like to be a Till Eulenspiegel of the atomic age; in his heart, like the ashes of the class society, would rustle the ashes of all who have perished innocently throughout human history - a Till Eulenspiegel who wanders about the earth with his forceful unsophisticated songs, calling on men to fight for justice.

There are not a large number of political poems during the Middle Ages written after 1230, and none represents a striking departure from the earlier poems. Peire Cardenal, of course, wrote well into the thirteenth century, and although his attention was primarily devoted to moral and anticlerical satires, he wrote an occasional political lyric. Among the other poets who wrote political songs in Provençal are Bertoleme Zorzi, Bertran d'Alamano, Bonifaci Calvo, Guillem de Montanhagol, Peire del Vilar, and Raimon de Tors, de Marseilla. They concerned themselves with events in Southern France and Northern Italy. In Germany we should mention the political criticisms in Freidank's Bescheidenheit. Later, at the end of the thirteenth and into the mid-fourteenth century in England, there is a small group of political songs. Eustache Deschamps, writing in the second half of the fourteenth century in France, and himself involved with government as the Bailiff of Senlis, left a considerable number of political songs similar in theme to the earlier partisan poetry. None of these writers, however, has the same stature as a political poet as do Bertran and Walther. If we are to look for a later poet with an acute political awareness, we must single out Dante, who expressed his imperial ideology not in lyrics, but in the De monorchia and wove it into the cosmic vision of the Commedia.

1

A Precocious Autobiography, trans. Andrew R. MacAndrew (New York, 1963), p. 19.

APPENDIX: POLITICAL POEMS, FRANCE AND GERMANY, 1180-1230

Anonymous Gatiers ke de France veneis Mors est li siecles briement Nuns ne poroit de mavaise raison L. Le Roux de Lincy, Recueil de chants historiques (Paris, 1841), pp. 176-178, 149-150, 118-121.

français

Vai Hugonet

M. Milá y Fontanals, Obras completas. Vol. II. De los trovadores en España (Barcelona, 1889), pp. 141-142.

Ademar Jordan Si tot m'ai estât louiamenz

C. Appel, Revue des langues romanes, XXXIV (1898), 5-7.

Aimeric de Pegulhan Ara parra quai seran enveyos En aquelh temps que-1 reys mon N-Anfos Era par ben que valors se desfai Ja no cujey que-m pogues oblidar N'Aimeric, que-us par d'aquest novel marques? S'ieu hanc chantiei alegres ni jauzens W. P. Shepard and F. M. Chambers, The Poems of Aimeric de Pegulhan (Evanston, 1950).

Amoros de Luc En chantarel sirventes ab mos planz

A. Jeanroy, Mélanges d'histoire du moyen âge offerts à M. F. Lot (Paris, 1925), pp. 275-283.

Bernard de la Barda Foilla ni flors ni chautz temps ni freidura

F. J. M. Raynouard, Choix des poésies (Paris, 1819), IV, 194195.

APPENDIX

195

Bernart Arnaut de Montcuc Ar quan li rozier Raynouard, Choix, II, 216-221.

Bernart Sicart de Marvejols Ab greu cossire J. Audiau and R. Lavaud, Nouvelle anthologie des troubadours (Paris, 1928), pp. 169-172.

Bertran de Born Al douz nou termini blanc Ane nos poc far major anta Ar ve la coindeta sazos Ara sai eu de pretz quais l'a plus gran Bem platz quar trega ni fis Cortz e guerras e joi d'amor D'un sirventes nom chai far lonhor ganda Eu chant, quel reis m'en a pregat Folheta, vos mi prejatz que eu chan Gen part nostre reis liuranda Ges de far sirventes nom tartz Ges no me desconort Greu m'es descendre charcol Lo coms m'a mandat e mogut Mei sirventes volh far dels reis amdos Mon chan fenisc ab dol et ab maltraire No pose mudar un chantar non esparja Nostre Senher somonis el mezeis Pois als baros enoja e lor pesa Pois lo gens terminis floritz Pois Ventadorns, e Comborns ab Segur Quan la novela flors par el verjan Quan vei pels vergiers desplejar Rassa, mes si son premier S'eu fos aissi senher ni poderos Si tuit li dol elh plor elh marrimen Un sirventes cui motz no falh

A. Thomas, Poésies complètes (Toulouse, 1888).

Bertran de Born lo fils Quan vei lo temps renovelar

196

APPENDIX Audiau, Nouvelle

anthologie,

pp. 151-154.

Bertran Folcon Ja non creirai d'en Gui de Cavaillon Raynouard, Choix, IV, 209-210.

Dalfi d'Auvergne Reis, pus vos de mi chantatz Vergoigna aura breument nostre evesque cantaire Raynouard, Choix, IV, 256-259.

Elias Cairel Pus chai la fuelha del jaric

V. D e Bartholomaeis, Annales

du Midi, X V I (1904), 468-494.

Que saubes dar tant bon conseil denan K. Lewent, Das altprovenzalische pp. 115-117.

Kreuzlied

(Diss., Berlin, 1905),

Folquet de Marseille Chantars mi torn ad afan Huemais no-y conosc razo Si cum eel q'es tan greujatz S. Stronski, Le Troubadour

Folquet de Marseille (Cracow, 1910).

Gaucelm Faidit Fortz chauza es que tot lo maior dan

R. T. Hill and T. G. Bergin, Anthology of the Provençal badours (New Haven, 1941), pp. 144-146.

Trou-

Gavaudan A la pus longa nuech de l'an Senhor, per los nostres peccatz A. Jeanroy, Romania,

Gormonda Greu m'es a durar

X X X I V (1905), 497-539.

E. Levy, Guilhem Figueira (Diss., Berlin, 1880), pp. 74-78.

Gui de Cavaillo Doas coblas farai en aqest son Seigneurs e cavals armatz Raynouard, Choix, IV, 207-209.

Guillem Augier Novella Cascus planh e plor son damnatge J. Müller, Die Gedichte

(Halle, 1898).

Guillem del Baus En Gui, a tort me menassatz C. A. F. Mahn, Die Werke der Troubadours

ni, 315.

(Berlin, 1846-1853),

197

APPENDIX

Guillem de Berguedan Ben fo ver q'en Berguedan Chanson ai comensada Mal o fe lo bisbe d'Urgel Un sirventes vuoili nou far en rim' M. de Riquier, "Las poesias de Guilhem de Berguedan contra el obispo de Urgel", Studi medievali, n.s., XVIII (1952), 272-291.

Ara voill un sirventes far Be-m volria q'om saupes dir Bernarz diz de Baseil Reis, s'anc nuls temps fos francs ni lares Sirventes ab raso bona Un sirventes ai en cor a bastir M. de Riquier, "El trovador Guilhem de Berguedan y las luchas feudales de su tiempo", Boletin de la sociedad de Castellonense de cultura, X X I X (1953), 218-271.

Guillem Figueira D'un sirventes far Ja de far nou sirventes Levy, Guilhem Figueira, pp. 33-44.

Guillem Rainol d'At Laissatz m'era de chantar Appel, Revue des langues romanes, X X X I V (1898), 34-35.

Guillem de Saint Gregori Ben grans avoleza intra Bertoni, Studj romanzi,

XIII (1917), 31-39.

Guillem de la Tor De saint Marti me clam a Saint Andreu Cavedoni, "I Trovatori provenzali alla corte dei marchesi d'Esté nel seculo XIII", Memori della R. Accademia di scienze, lettere ed arti di Modena, II (1858), 296-297.

Un sirventes farai d'una trista persona

A. Restori, "Per un serventese di Guilhem de la Tor", R. Istituto lombardo di scienze e lettere: Rendiconti, X X V , serie II (1892), 305-319.

Guiraut de Bornelh Piane e sospir A. Kolsen, Sämtliche Lieder (Halle, 1910-1935).

Guiraut de Calanson Belh senher Dieus, quo pot esser suffritz A. leanroy, Jongleurs et troubadours siècles (Paris, 1923), pp. 64-66.

gascons des XUe et

Xllle

198

APPENDIX

Guiraut de Luc Ges sitôt m'ai ma voluntat fellona Si per malvatz seignoril M. de Riquier, "El trovador Giraut de Luc y sus poesias contra Alfonso II de Aragon", Boletin R. Academia buenas letras Barcelona, XXIII (1950), 209-248.

Henry I, count of Bar De nos barons que vos est-il avis Le Roux de Lincy, Recueil, pp. 47-49.

Hugh de la Ferté En talent ai que je die Je chantaisse volontiers liément Or somes à ce venue Maugré tous sains et maugré Dieu aussi Le Roux de Lincy, Recueil, pp. 165-175, 116-117.

Monk of Montaudon Seigner, si aguessetz régnât O. Klein, Die Dichtungen

(Marburg, 1885).

Montan Sartre Coms de Tolsan, ja non er quieus o pliva Chabaneau, Revue des langues romanes, XXVII (1885), 157-161.

Pedro de Bergerac Bel m'es cant aug lo resso M ila, Obras, II, 139-140.

Peire Cardenal L'afar del comte Guio L'arcivesques de Narbona Aquesta gens, cant son en lur gaieza Atressi com per fargar Ben volgra si Dieus o volgues D'Estève de Belmon m'enueia Per fols tene polhes e lombartz Un sirventes ai en cor que comens Un sirventes trametrai per messatge R. Lavaud, Poésies complètes, (Toulouse, 1957).

Bibliothèque méridionale, X X X I V

Peire de la Cavarana D'un sirventes far U . A. Canello, "Peire de la Cavarana e il suo sirventese", Giornale di Filologia Romanza, III (1880), 1-11.

199

APPENDIX

Peire Vidal A per pauc de chanter no-m lais Ben viu a gran dolor Bon'aventura don Dieus als Pisans Pos Ubert ai mon rie tezaur J. Anglade, Les Poésies (Paris, 1913).

Peirol Plus flum Jordan ai vist e-1 monimen

S. C. Aston, Peirol (Cambridge, 1953).

Raimbaut de Vaqueiras Ara pot hom conoisser e proar Conseil don a l'emperador Leus sonetz Joseph Linskill, The Poems of the Troubadour Vaqueiras (The Hague, 1964).

Raimbaut

de

Richard I of England Dalfin, jeus voill deresnier Ja nus hon pris ne dirat sa raison Le Roux de Lincy, Recueil, pp. 65-67, 56-59.

Tomier and Palaizi A tornar m'er enquer al primer us De chantar farai Si co-1 flacs molins torneia

I. Frank, "Tomier et Palaizi, troubadours tarasconnais (11991226)", Romania,

LXXVIII (1957), 46-85.

Walther von der Vogelweide 8,4 8,28 9,16 18.29 19.5 17,11 11.6 11,18

11.30 12,6 12,18 12,30 105,13

200

APPENDIX

33,1 33,11 33,21 33,31 34,4 34.14 34.24 28,11

85,1 85,9 10,17 10.25 10,33 29.15 Lachmann, Die Gedichte, 12th ed., C. Von Kraus (Berlin, 1959).

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INDEX

Aimeric de Pegulhan, 41, 71, 89, 91 n., 107 Alfonso II of Aragón, 18, 20, 60, 63, 66, 68, 72, 98 ff„ 131, 136 n., 141, 142 n., 144 f., 191 Allusions: obscurantism of, 52; use of for audience, 53; 72-77, 82, 99 n., 117 Amoros de Luc, 63, 103, 123, 191 Arnaut Daniel, 41, 99 Arthur of Brittany, 17 f. Battle of Bouvines, 18, 21, 23, 25, 121, 188 Bernard de la Barda, 59, 71 Bernart Sicart de Marvejols, 46, 69 f. Bertrán de Born, 9-11, 31, 35, 37 n„ 48, 56, 61-3, 66, 70, 72, 85, 90 n„ 98, 100f„ 104 n., 110, 116, 118, 122, 126 f., 182, 191 f.; use of trobar clus, 52, 74 f.; descriptions in battle poems of, 57 f., Natureingang in poems of, 59 f.; names in poems of, 68; misconceptions about, 127-29, 149; attitudes toward territorial possessions, 132 ff.; use of phrases and formulae, 137 f.; his audience, 138 ff.; his feudal ethic, 145 ff.; attitude toward war, 146 ff. Bertrán de Born le fils, 61, 103 Boniface of Montferrat, 26 Bos reis, 64-66, 88, 101, 106, 147 n. Canso, 12, 31, 34-37, 41, 43, 55, 61 f., 68, 70, 74, 78, 123 ff., Natureingang in, 59 Catharism, 19, 19 n., 20, 114 n. Cobrar, 66-68, 71, 107; in relation to Jerusalem in Third Crusade, 109 f., 160; in relation to Bertrán de Bora's Hautefort, 135 Conventions: set by partisanship, 45, 45 n., 55; of battle poems, 56 f.; of "reason for writing", 61 f. Criticism: of public personalities, 46; in political lyrics 92 ff.; nature of, 106 Crusade poems, 47 n., "recovery" theme in, 67; political emphasis in, 107 ff.; as genre, 107 n.; salvamen in, 116; of Bertrán de Born, 131, 146 n.; of Walther von der Vogelweide, 189 Crusades, 16 n.; poets' response to, 106 ff. Albigensian, 10, 20, 20 n., 26, 29, 47, 92, 96, 97 n„ 105, 122, 191;

210

INDEX nationalism and patriotism in, 48; partisan lyrics about, 114; attitudes toward, 27 Third, 10, 16 f., 22, 26, 29, 42, 109 F o u r t h , 10, 26 f „ 29, 97, 166

Dalfi d'Auvergne, 131 Dante, 126 n., 127, 193 Dietrich of Meissen, 166-68, 171-73, 174 n., 181 Dreit, 106, 116 f.; as used by Bertran de Born, 135, 135 n., 136 Eleanor of Aquitaine, 13, 15 n., 16, 18 Elias Cairel, 48, 61, 102 f „ 108 f „ 126 Emperor (Holy Roman): disputed election of, 22-25; conflict with Pope, 49, 51 f., 97, 177, 180, 180 n.; significance in Walther's poetry, 17578, 183 Engelbrecht, Archbishop of Cologne, 187 f. Folquet de Marseille, 91 n., 99, 109 Frederick Barbarossa, 13 f., 16, 21, 33 Frederick II, 14, 21 n., 22, 24, 24 n., 25, 28, 29, 41, 45, 71, 89, 105, 108, 115, 120, 169, 171, 173, 179 n., 185 n „ 186-89, 191 Gaucelm Faidit, 90 f. Gavaudan, 110-12 G e o f f r e y Plantagenet, 15, 17, 127 G o r m o n d a , 98 Gregory IX, 29 Gui d e Cavaillo, 119 n. Guillem Ademar, 43 Guillem Augier Novella, 90, 92 Guillem de Berguedan, 72, 85, 95-100, 123, 191 Guillem Figueira, 54, 62, 77 f., 96-98, 105 f., 115, 191 Guillem de Saint Gregori, 88 Guiraut de Borneill, 42, 91 n., 99 Guiraut de Calanson, 90 Guiraut de Luc, 68, 98-100, 126, 144 n. Henry II, of England, 13-16, 34, 98, 127, 129, 131 Henry III, of England, 63, 103, 123 Henry V I (Emperor), 17, 22, 24, 61, 101, 109, 113, 154 Henry, the "Young King", 15, 98, 127, 129-31, 133 f „ 138, 140-42 H e r m a n n of Thuringia, 24, 164-68, 171-73 Honorius III, 28 Hugh de la Ferte, 85, 112 n. Innocent III, 10, 14, 20, 23, 23 n., 24, 25, 25 n., 26, 97, 107, 169-71, 17882, 184 f., 187 f. Investiture Controversy, 10, 14, 49

INDEX

211

John Lackland, 14-18, 25 f„ 97, 104, 127 John of Salisbury: medieval political theory in the Policraticus, 49, 49 n., 50 f„ 66, 157 Law, 50 ff. Leys d'Amors, 34, 35 n. Louis VII, 13 Louis VIII, 28, 96 n„ 117 Louis IX, 29 Manichees, 19 Marcabru, 33 Minnesang, 12, 31 Montan Sartre, 116 Natureingang, 42, 58-60, 70, 151 Ordo, 156 f„ 156 n., 175 Otto IV, of Brunswick, 22, 23 n., 24-26, 105, 154, 159 n., 160, 166, 169, 171-76, 179, 181 f„ 184, 185 n„ 186-88 Panegyric: in Latin tradition, 32 f.; Aimeric's for Frederick II, 41, 71; in political lyrics, 46, 64, 86-92 Patronage, 43 f., 88 n., 122 Patrons: partial listing of, 43 n., 44 n. Pedro II, of Aragon, 20, 115 f., 121 Pedro de Bergerac, 58, 112 Peire d'Alvernhe, 33 Peire Cardenal, 40, 64, 66 f„ 70-72, 86, 88, 90, 103 n„ 105 f., 158 n., 161 f„ 191, 193; defense of allusions, 53; concern with order, 49, 51; use of poem as weapon, 92-94, 96 f. Peire de la Cavarana, 35, 61, 69, 113, 113 n„ 119n„ 126, 191 Peire Vidal, 38, 56, 88, 99, 113, 123, 191; use of obscurantism, 75-78; poet as critic, 100 f. Peter of Castelnou, 20 Philip II (Augustus), 6, 13, 14 n., 15-17, 24 f., 28, 45, 60, 100 f., 104, 109, 129, 131, 135 n„ 136, 143 f., 148 Philip of Swabia, 22, 23 n„ 24, 27, 154, 160, 163-9, 171, 173, 176, 186 Planh, 46, 64, 90-92 Pope: in conflict with Emperor, 51 f., 97, 177, 180, 180 n. Pretz'. to recover (cobrar), 42 n.; quality of bos reis, 64 f., 88; lack of in rulers, 101, 104, 106; in crusading, 107 f., as uesed in Bertran's feudal ethic, 146, 146 n„ 147, 147 n„ 148; 154 Pros: quality of bos reis, 64 f., 88; as used in Bertran's feudal ethic, 147, 147 n. Raimon V, of Toulouse, 18, 20, 34 Raimon VI, of Toulouse, 25, 117 Raimon VII, of Toulouse, 29, 40, 59, 64, 88, 90, 96, 117

212

INDEX

Richard I (the Lionheart), of England, 14-17, 45, 60, 91, 104, 109, 127, 129-31, 133-36, 138, 140-44, 149 Saladin, 27 Simon de Montfort, 20-28, 117 Sirventes: definition of, 34-37; 42, 53, 57; with far, 62; 69, 77, 85, 98, 118 f„ 126 Spruch, 36 Tomier and Palaizi, 35, 41, 48, 61-63, 71 f„ 78; structure of typical political lyric, 79 ff.; 110; poems of resistance in Albigensian Crusade, 116120; 122 f„ 126, 191 Tornado', political reference in, 41; panegyrical use of, 43, 46, 87 n., 89, 89 n., 90; trobar clus in, 52; 99 f., 102 Trobar clus, 52, 73 f., 76 Val mais, 63 f., 71 Vol mais, 63 Walther von der Vogelweide, 9-11, 31 f., 32 n., 33, 36 n., 38; the Tegernseespruch, 39, 39 n; 47, 49-52; Natureingang in, 59; 85, 101, 126, 126 n., 127; concept of order in Reichston, 152-163, 169 f., 189; political and stylistic dualism in Ottenton, 171, 178, 180-83; importance of Emperor, 175-78, 178 n., 190; relation to Philip, 164-69; audience, 168; opposition to Innocent III, 169 f., 178, 184 f., 187; relation to Otto, 173 f„ 174 n., 175, 184, 186 f.; crusade call, 177 f., 189; 191 f. William of Montferrat, 102, 108