Raimon de Miraval

Raimon de Miraval(h) (c. 1135/1160 – c. 1220) was a troubadour (fl. 1180–1220) and, according to his "vida", "a poor knight from Carcassonne who owned less than a quarter of the castle of Miraval [Mireval] ."Graham-Leigh, 28.] Favoured by Raymond VI of Toulouse, he was also later associated with Peter II of Aragon and Alfonso VIII of Castile. His "nom de plume" was Audiart.

Raimon has been identified with a person of the same name who undersigned a charter of 1151, which led some to place his birth date as early as c. 1135, [Topsfield, "Les Poésies du troubadour Raimon de Miraval", 19.] while others reject the identification with the Raimon de Miraval of the charter and estimate his birth date at 1160 based on the height of his career c. 1200. That Raimon owned only a quarter of his family's ancestral castle is an indication either of partible inheritance or clan structure. Miraval was captured by Simon de Montfort during the Albigensian Crusade. After the Battle of Muret in 1213 Raimon probably fled to Spain, after swearing never to sing again until he had regained his castle. At some point he separated from his wife, Gaudairença (or Caudairenga), herself the author of the (now lost) song "Coblas e dansas", for uncourtly behaviour. [Topsfield, "Raimon de Miraval and the Art of Courtly Love", 40.]

Of Raimon's works 45 remain, of which 22 have melodies: one of the highest survival rates among troubadours.Topsfield, "Raimon de Miraval and the Art of Courtly Love", 33.] Most of these works are of the "trobar leu" style. Raimon addressed many works to one named "Pastoret", but the identification of this person has been problematic, though he is usually identified as Raymond Roger Trencavel. [Topsfield, ""Les Poésies du troubadour Raimon de Miraval", 26.] Raimon was admired by contemporaries and by most poets of later generations and he is famous for his handling of the subject of courtly love. Raimon represents a move away from the traditional "cansos" celebrating the "jois d'amor" ("joys of love") or "amor de lonh" ("love from afar"), but rather emphasising courtliness, honour, and reputation.Topsfield, "Raimon de Miraval and the Art of Courtly Love", 35–36.] The highest virtue is faithfulness, but this hinges on courtliness ("pretz e valor").

References

*Graham-Leigh, Elaine. "The Southern French Nobility and the Albigensian Crusade". Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005. ISBN 1 84383 129 5
*Topsfield, L. T. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0026-7937%28195601%2951%3A1%3C33%3ARDMATA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-J "Raimon de Miraval and the Art of Courtly Love."] "The Modern Language Review", Vol. 51, No. 1. (Jan., 1956), pp 33–41.
*Topsfield, L. T. (ed). "Les Poésies du troubadour Raimon de Miraval". Paris: Les Classiques d'Oc IV, 1971.

Notes

External links

* [http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/Raimon_de_Miraval Cunnan wiki source (GFDL)]
* [http://www.trobar.org/troubadours/raimon_de_miravalh/ Raimon de Miravalh: Complete Works] (in English and Provençal)