Guilhem de Montanhagol

Guilhem or Guillem (de) Montanhagol or Montaignagol (fl. 1233–1268) was a Provençal troubadour, most likely active in Toulouse, but known in the courts of Provence, Toulouse, Castile and Aragon. Guilhem left behind seven cansos and six sirventes. He also left behind one tenso (specifically, a partimen) with Sordello (perhaps suggesting a breif sojourn in Lombardy) and his total surviving output comes to fourteen pieces.

The meaning of Guilhem's name has been debated. "Montanhagol" means "from Montanhac", but it is not known which Montanhac that could be. For a long time it was thought that the correct form of the troubadour's name was simply "Guilhem Montanhagol", since the "de" (of) would be redundant. Contemporary documents, however, clearly use "de".

He was of humble birth. According to his vida he was from Provence, though some modern scholars suspect he was a Toulousain. His vida records that he was "a good inventor (trobaire) of poetry, and a great lover." His lover was a lady named Jauserand from Lunel, the lord of which castle, Raymond Gaucelm V, Guilhem probably knew.

His cansos are awkward, and he emulated the earlier troubadours, praising mezura (moderation) among all the virtues. He stated that "from love proceeds chastity" (d'amor mou castitatz), which may mean no more than that love is necessary for fidelity. He has been viewed as a precursor of the Dolce Stil Novo and as an important link between Occitan and Italian literature through his work with Sordello. He was been credited with an innovative picture of courtly love blended with Christian morality.

Guilhem's political sirventes concern Toulousain and Spanish politics. Writing in the aftermath of the Albigensian Crusade which devastated Languedoc, Guilhem was an opponent of the Papal Inquisition, though not of the Church itself. He encouraged the gentle correction of the Cathars, but not their violent suppression by means of war.

Guilhem was grieved in a planh written by his brother-in-law Pons Santolh.

Works

• A Lunel lutz una luna luzens
• Ar ab lo coinde pascor
• Del tot vey remaner valor
• Bel m'es quan d'armatz aug refrim
• Ges, per malvastat qu'er veya
• Leu chansoneta m'er a far
• No sap per que va son joy pus tarzan
• Non an tan dig li primier trobador
• Non estarai, per ome qe-m casti
• Nulhs hom no val ni deu esser prezatz
• On mais a hom de valensa
• Per lo mon fan li un dels autres rancura
• Qui vol esser agradans e plazens
• Senh'En Sordel, mandamen

Sources

• Egan, Margarita, ed. The Vidas of the Troubadours. New York: Garland, 1984. ISBN 0 8240 9437 9.
• Gaunt, Simon, and Kay, Sarah. "Appendix I: Major Troubadours" (pp. 279–291). The Troubadours: An Introduction. Simon Gaunt and Sarah Kay, edd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. ISBN 0 521 574730.
• Paden, William D. "Guilhem de Montanhagol" (p. 425). Medieval France: An Encyclopedia, ed. William W. Kibler. New Jersey: Routledge University Press, 1995. ISBN 0 82404 444 4.
• Riquer, Martín de. Los trovadores: historia, literaria, y textos. 3 vol. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975.
• Topsfield, L. T. "The Theme of Courtly Love in the Poems of Guilhem de Montanhagol." French Studies, 11 (1957), 127–34.

External links

• Complete works at Trobar.org