Raimon Gaucelm de Bezers

Raimon Gaucelm de Bezers (fl. 1262–1275) was a Languedocian troubadour with nine surviving works. Many of his works appear with dates in the rubrics in manuscript "C", a 14th-century work now "BN f.f. 856" in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, allowing his career to be dated with ease.

Raimon was from Béziers, where he was a contemporary resident with Joan Esteve and Bernart d'Auriac. The poets of Béziers in that day were Gallicised heavily and supported the French over and against the native Occitan aristocracy. In this vein he wrote, in 1268, "Qui vol aver complida amistansa", a "canso" about Louis IX of France and his preparations for the Eighth Crusade. In 1270 he wrote "Ab grans trebalhs et ab grans marrimens", another "canso" and this time also a "planh" for Louis IX after his failed Crusade and death.

Raimon was a middle-class, urban poet, and certainly no courtesan. He was also a non-noble opponent of the artificial courtliness which surrounded aristocratic life in his day. He wrote "A penas vauc en loc qu'om nom deman" to encourage generosity to the poor. It is an indicator of his status in society that he penned "Quascus planh le sieu damnatge", a "planh" (1262) for a local bourgeois named Guiraut de Linhan and the only such poem surviving for a middle-class figure.

Raimon was fairly popular in his own lifetime, as evidenced by the first stanza of "Un sirventes, si pogues, volgra far", a "sirventes". In it Raimon says that he wishes to go somewhere where the people don't ask him "avetz fag res novel?" ("have you made anything knew?"). This poem was dedicated to Raimon Gaucelm de Sabran, lord of Uzès, whom Raimon calls "fraire" (brother) because they share a first name. Another poem, "Belh Senher Dieus, quora veirai mo fraire", was dedicated, according to its rubric, to the "senhor d’Uzest que avia nom aissi quon elh Raimon Gaucelm": "lord of Uzès who has the same name as Raimon Gaucelm."

Raimon composed one humorous "partimen" (a "tenso" with a proposed dilemma) with Joan Miralhas in which Raimon poses the following question:Raimon also wrote religious songs, including "A Dieu done m'arma de bon'amor" and "Dieus m'a dada febre tersana dobla". This last was, according to the rubric, "so son coblas que fes R. Gaucelm quan fo malautes": "the stanzas R. Gaucelm made when he was ill." It was composed on the model of "A Dieu done m'arma" as a prayer to God for delivery from illness and from sin, possibly on the poet's deathbed (c. 1285).

Works

* [http://www.rialto.unina.it/autori/RmGauc.htm Complete works] at Rialto

ources

*Riquer, Martín de. "Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos". 3 vol. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975.