- Johan Basset
Ffra Johan Basset (modernised as "Fra Joan Basset") was a Catalan author of twenty verses and a prose "Letovari". His work is preserved in the
Cançoner Vega-Aguiló (1420–30). He was probably active in the early years (1416–21) of the reign of Alfonso V. His religious title, "fra" ("brother"), has led to speculation that he was aknight of theOrder of Saint John of Jerusalem (based on an unsourced assertion of Jordi Rubió). Johan preached atCervera duringLent in 1424. It is recorded that he was a member of the "Order of Santa Anna". This is probably a reference to the convent of Santa Anna atBarcelona , which was originally a house of theOrder of the Holy Sepulchre under the guidance of thePatriarch of Jerusalem . Cohabitating at Santa Anna was a group ofBrothers of Penitence and someAugustinian canons ofSanta Eulàlia del Camp (sine 1293). In 1420 the friars and canons passed into the Casa del Sant Sepulcre de Santa Anna. [R. Miró i Baldrich (1995), "Predicar la Quaresma a Cervera als Segles XV i XVI", "Estudis de llengua i literatura catalanes, XXX: Miscel·lània Germà Colón, 3" (Montserrat: Publicacions de l'Abadia de Montserrat), 94–95.]Johan was a competent and original poet; his poetry diverse in form and style, his themes both religious and amorous. Besides his religious and amorous poetry, Basset wrote three unique pieces: a "
planh ", a piece entitled "Vers lauda", and another called "Vers clus". Basset's "Letovari" (electuarium ) is a manual for curing the love-sick, dedicated toGuerau de Massanet . It has much in common with the "Consolació" ofLuys Ycart and the "Medicina" ofBernat Metge . [*Martín de Riquer (1964), "Història de la Literatura Catalana", vol. 1 (Barcelona: Edicions Ariel), 635–41, provides a poem-by-poem overview of Basset's literary achievement.]Johan's religious verse consists in four poems about the
Virgin Mary . His "Dansa de Nostra Dona" was his first published work: it was edited byManuel Milà i Fontanals and published in his "Obras completas" (1886–93). Itsincipit is "Ab letres d'aur per mesura" and it was addressed to an anonymous lady "de Sant Climent" (fromSant Climent de Taüll ). A similarly-titled piece, the "Dansa e laors de Nostra Dona", has the form of a typical love song ("cançó"); only its title betrays its religious purpose. It incipit is "Lausan vostra saviesa".Johan's "Dir me cové si be.m tench l'engeny fflach" and "Mayres de Dieu, valerosa princesa" are also addressed to Mary. In the latter, each stanza begins with a line introducing the "Mayres de Dieu" followed by six lines beginning "e cert molt val" ("is certainly more worthy") and ending with the refrain "e res no val tant com la vostra cort" ("and nothing is worth as much as your court"). The structure of this piece and its contents suggest it is a religious "
plazer ", a genre introduced to Catalonia byCerverí de Girona over a century earlier and Catalanised byPere March within Johan's lifetime.Johan's love poetry fits within the tradition of
courtly love and of thetroubadour s. This is obvious when he refers to himself as a "prisoner" of his lady and in his use offeudal andmilitary terminology to describe their relationship.List of poems
*"Ab fin voler vos am, senyora bella" (or "belha")
*"Ab letres d'aur per mesura
*"Amor servir honran, presan e tembre
*"Amors, de suspirs
*"Aspres dolors, penetrant, me destenta
*"Astres no us fuig pus tan sabers se planta
*"Be·ls" (or "Belha") "mil(s) sospirs vos fau tot jorn de renda
*"Creure podets, senyora valarosa
*"Dir me cove, se be·m tench l’engeny flach
*"Dompna valen de lial valor, tembre" (or "Dompna valén de tal valor tembre")
*"En miey del cor porti VII colps mortals
*"Garaus amichs
*"Lausan vostra saviesa
*"Mayres de Dieu, valerosa princessa
*"No desir tant del mon la senyoria
*"Per gran rayso, cruel dona malvada
*"Princessa proz, valens, d'auta semença
*"Pus avets bondat despesa
*"Senyora valen
*"Terribles crits, agres, provocatoris
*"Una canço novelha vulh xantar
*"Us arbres sechs, verts, say, fulhats e fulhes
*"Us drachs fiblans va pel mon trop correns
*"Yeu vos requir, Na ladria malvadaNotes
External links
* [http://www.rialc.unina.it/inc-basset.htm Incipitario di Fra Joan Basset] , with links to edited original-language texts of his twenty pieces
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.