Viadeyra

The "viadeyra", "viadera", or "viandela" was a lyric genre of Catalan and Occitan literature invented by the troubadours. It was a dance song devised to lighten the burden of a long voyage or to enliven the trip. It was a popular as opposed to "high" form and only infrequently used by cultivated poets. According to the Catalan Cançoneret de Ripoll, it was "la pus jusana spècies qui és en los cantàs" (the most humble genre of song there is) and elsewhere it is called "la més baixa espècie de cançons" (the most base genre of song).

One of the more famous "viadeyras" was composed by Cerverí de Girona. It begins "No.l prenatz lo fals marit" ("Don't take that false husband") and is preserved in the Cançoner Gil. The theme of the song is that of a warning to a girl, either "Jana delgada" (delicate Joanna) or "Na Delgada", a "senhal" (pet name) meaning "delicate lady". The line "jana delgada" (read either as "Jana delgada" or "ja, Na Delgada") is repeated after every two lines as a "respos". The song has much in common with Galician-Portuguese "cantigas de amigo".

References

*Riquer, Martí de (1964). "Història de la Literatura Catalana", vol. 1. Barcelona: Edicions Ariel.