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Famous Trobaritz of the past

There are not many works of medieval female troubadours or trobaritz, as they called them in Occitan, that survived to our days. Specialists attribute to them from twenty three to forty six works only. We have names of a dozen or more trobaritz but very few biographical details. Some of them were even considered fictitious in the past, like Alamanda de Castelnau. Only later after numerous researches, it was found that her name was mentioned by at least three famous troubadours, who pointed at her prominence in Occitan poetic circles. And only one of her songs reached us.

Two trouveres from Arras, in Picardy, France remain mysterious as well. They were called Dame Margot and Dame Maroie and they created music and wrote poetry somewhere in the 13th centuyry. But all that we have today is their only existing work, which represents a single debate song. And guess, what? This song survives in two manuscripts, and each version give separate and unrelated melodies.The same goes for Beatriz de Dia. She was born somewhere in the 12th century, and, probably, was the daughter of Count Isoard II of Dia. One song in Occitan with the music intact came to us through the ages, other songs exist too but without the melody. According to her short romanticized biography, Beatriz was married to Guillem, Count of Viennois but she was deeply in love with famous troubadour Raimbaut of Orange.

We know somewhat more about famous trobaritz Na Castelloza, who created music and poetry in the early thirteen century. She was a noblewoman from Auvergne and a wife of Turc de Mairona, Her husband's ancestors had participated in a Crusade, which was the origin of his name. She wrote several songs about Arman de Brion. She was in love with him, but he was of greater social rank than Castelloza. Romanticized biography describes her as vivacious, highly intelligent and beautiful lady. Her four songs still exist, but, unfortunately, all without music. This, however, makes her the share the tie for the title of the most prolific of trobairitz in terms of surviving works. Only Beatriz de Dia certainly has also four songs to her name. The subject of all Caselloza poems is courtly love.

He died so young

Have you ever heard French impressionist artist named Bazille? Me, neither. Yet, this guy really existed. Well, it turns out that Jean Frédéric Bazille was in fact a French Impressionist painter best known for his depiction of figures. He was born in Montpellier into a middle-class Protestant family. He became interested in painting after seeing some works of Eugène Delacroix. His family agreed to let him study painting, but only if he also studied medicine.

Bazille agreed and he moved to Paris in 1862 to continue his studies. There he met Pierre-Auguste Renoir, was drawn to Impressionist painting, and began taking classes in Charles Gleyre's studio. No wonder, that he failed his medicine exams and began painting full-time. His close friends included Claude Monet, Alfred Sisley, and Édouard Manet. Born to a wealthy family, Bazille even helped support some of these geniuses by giving them space in his studio and materials to use.

Bazille was just twenty-three years old when he painted several famous works, like famous The Pink Dress. But his best known painting is Family Reunion. We, probably, have not heard of him, because he died so young - at the age of 29 in 1870. He was killed in action during the Franco-Prussian War.

Life is more interesting than fiction

Years later, some anonymous writer, carried away by his imagination, wrote Rudel's fictionalized biography. This style was called vida and was quite popular in the medieval period. This vida became the basis for a legend. According to it Rudel fell in love with Countess Hodierna of Tripoli without even seeing her! He just heard about her beauty from pilgrims, who were returning from the Holy Land. Rudell was so smitten, that he took a long sea journey just to see Hodierna. Unfortunately, during the voyage, he fell sick and was brought ashore in Tripoli already a dying man. When Hodierna heard the news, she came down to the shore from her castle and Rudel died in her arms.

The whole legend was a fluke, and, naturally, it never happened. But it was romantic! When 19 century Romanticism authors discovered the legend, they just could not pass the opportunity and meet it the halfway. To mention a few, Robert Browning, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Ludwig Uhland, Heinrich Heine, Giosue Carducci created their poems based on this fiction story. In the next century more epic poems and even an opera were created as well.

Usually, they say that life is more interesting than fiction. This time it was the other way around.

Love of a troubadour to a beautiful princess

In 1895 citizens of Paris were flowing to see the La Princesse lointaine at the theater. Great Sarah Bernhardt played the leading female role on the stage. And French dramatist Edmond Rostand, who wrote this drama was lauded by the whole Europe. In the center of his creation there was a story about love of a troubadour to a beautiful princess who lived far away from him ... So, where did this story come from?

Well, once upon a time there was a famous troubadour Jaufre Rudel. He really existed and was quite famous composer and poet of his times. Rudel is even considered to be one of the inventors of the “love from afar” style in troubadours poetry. He was of noble origin, in fact, his title was Prince of Blaye. History did not leave us much about Rudel, the only thing that is known for the fact is that he died overseas during Second Crusade around 1147. Several his fellows-troubadours composed their songs about him, lamenting on his death. Seven of Rudel’s poems have survived to the present day, four of them with music. And here is where we could end this story, when something interesting happened.

Read on ...

Troubadour, poet and brave warrior

King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona Alfonso II was a noted poet and composer of his time and a close friend of King Richard the Lionheart. He also participated many times in poetical debates. Alfonso even had two nicknames - the Chaste and the Troubadour. I found from the archives of my web analytics company that he was born under different name. Yes, he was born in 1152 as Raymond Berengar, became a king of the united throne of Aragon and Barcelona in 1162 and changed his name to Alfonso. He stayed with the name Alfonso until his death in 1196. He was also Count of Provence from 1167 when he unchivalrously wrested it from the real heiress Douce to 1173 when he ceded it to his brother Berenguer. He was also involved in a couple of medieval love triangles and one big scandal.

Alfonso II was not just a troubadour and a poet, he was also a brave warrior and a vital part of Spanish Reconquista. He was a friend and an ally of Alfonso VIII of Castile. Together, they fought against Navarre and the Moorish kingdoms of the south. In 1174 in Saragossa Alfonso II married Sancha of Castile, sister of the Castilian king. This caused a scandal in the Christian world because his real fiancee was Eudokia Komnene, a niece of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos. Eudokia Komnene was sent to by Emperor in 1174 to be betrothed to King Alfonso II, but, on her arrival, she found that he had just married Sancha of Castile. One can imagine the surprise! Thus, Alfonso and his love affairs are mentioned in poems by many troubadours, including Peire Vidal, who commented on Alfonso's decision to marry Sancha of Castile rather than Eudokia Komnene that he had preferred a poor Castilian maid to the emperor Manuel's golden camel.

Other troubadours, like Guillem de Bergueda Pons de la Gardia, Giraut de Salignac reproached Alfonso II for his love affairs. In their poems they say, that Alfonso II of Aragon was in rivalry with a knight Arnaut de Mareuil for the love of Azalais of Toulouse. According to their medieval story, the king jealously persuaded Azalais to break off her friendship with Arnaut. Alfonso's own dealings with Azalais were fiercely criticized by troubadour Guillem de Bergueda, who wrote: "she gave you her love, and you took two cities and a hundred castles from her"

Emperor Theophilus and Kassia

She wrote many hymns for the Christian liturgy; the most famous being the Hymn of Kassiani. Tradition says that later Emperor Theophilus who was still in love with her wished to see her one more time before he died. So he rode to the monastery where she resided. Kassia was writing her Hymn when she heard the Emperor looking for her. She was still in love with him but now she was devoted to God and she hid away because she did not want to let her passion overcome her religious feelings, but she left her unfinished Hymn on the table.

Theophilus found her cell and entered it alone. He looked for her but she was not there; she was hiding in a closet, watching him. Theophilus felt very sad, cried, and regretted that for a moment of pride he rejected such a beautiful and intellectual woman; then he noticed the papers on the table and he read them. When he was done reading he sat on the chair and finished the Hymn which Kassia had started writing and then he left. Legend says that as he was leaving he noticed Kassia in the closet but he did not speak to her; he just left. Kassia emerged when Theophilus was gone and he read what he had written and she cried.

Story of Kassia from Byzantium

I am a history buff, especially, if it is related to the history of music, art and literature. While I was doing a research for local web analytics company, I discovered the story of Kassia from Byzantium. She was a Greek-Byzantine poet, composer, and hymnographer. She was born between 805 and 810 in Constantinople into an aristocratic family. Kassia was a participant in the "bride show", organized for Theophilus by his mother Euphrosyne. Smitten by Kassia's beauty the young emperor Theophilus approached her but he did not like her answers. So he chose another bride, Theodora.

Kassia founded a convent in 843 in the west of Constantinople near the walls of Constantine and became its first abbess. Although many scholars attribute this to bitterness at having failed to marry Theophilos, a letter from Theodore the Studite indicates that she had other motivations for wanting a monastic life. It had a close relationship with the nearby monastery of Stoudios, which has to play a central role in re-editing the Byzantine liturgical books in the 9th century and the 10th century, so were important in ensuring the survival of her work.

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The Abbess of Quedlinburg

Anna became the Abbess of Quedlinburg in 1755, although she chose to spend most of her time in Berlin, where she devoted herself to music, and became known as a musical patron and composer. In 1758, she began a serious study of musical theory and composition, engaging as her tutor Johann Philipp Kirnberger, a student of Johann Sebastian Bach. She composed chamber music, such as flute sonatas, and wrote music to Ramler's Passion cantata "The Death of Jesus". This was also her favorite piece. Only a few of her works have survived, and it is highly likely that she destroyed many of her compositions. After all, she did described herself as being very self-critical person. In addition to that, princess Anna was also a collector of old music, preserving over 600 volumes of works by notables such as Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, George Philipp Telemann, and others. This act in itself was a significant contribution to Western culture. Her library was split between East Germany and West Germany after World War II, and despite serious damage by fire in 2004, still survives today.

Very brave woman

It seems that princess was a very brave and passionate woman. When she was twenty years old, Anna met Friedrich von der Trenck, whose adventurous life inspired works by literary giants such as Victor Hugo and Voltaire. In 1743, Anna secretly married him. When her brother, who was already a king, discovered she had married secretly and was pregnant, he annulled her marriage and imprisoned her husband for ten years. Then Frederick exiled her in anger to Quedlinburg Abbey, a place where many aristocratic women were sent to give birth to children out of wedlock. However, Anna continued to correspond with Friedrich von der Trenck until her death.

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Gifted princess

In my blog entries, I describe mostly outstanding creative people who had God given talents in spite of the harsh times that they were living. Luckily, not everybody is born a genius. There were other composers. I would not call them minor talents or diminish their creativity in any way. They also deserve the utmost respect and gratitude of the following generations. One of these dedicated people was Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia. I found out about her when I was doing my regular research for my web analytics company.

Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia was one of eight children of Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia. She was a younger sister of the famous Frederick II, King of Prussia and she was born in 1723 in Berlin. Among her other famous close relatives were Wilhelmine, Margravine of Bayreuth, Louise Ulrika, Queen of Sweden and Augustus William, Prince of Prussia. Anna was eleven years younger than her brother Frederick, and would have been seven years old when he made his attempt to run away from home, after being humiliated by his father. Both children were musically inclined, but for Anna formal musical instruction was only possible after the death of her father, who hated music with all his heart. Music was her secret consolation against his cruelty to her - in his bursts of rage he would often drag her across a room by the hair. Fortunately, her mother encouraged Anna to learn how to play the harpsichord, flute, and violin. And she received her first lessons from her brother, future king.

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