Berenguer d'Anoia

Berenguer d'Anoia or de Noya (fl. c. 1300) was a Catalan troubadour from Majorca. He wrote the "Mirall de trobar", an Occitan poetic, grammatical, and rhetorical treatise in the tradition of the "Razos de trobar" of Raimon Vidal and the "Regles de trobar" of Jofre de Foixà, a genre always popular in Catalan country.

Berenguer's parents were Catalans of noble origins from Sant Sadurní d'Anoia who settled at Inca in Majorca following its conquest by James the Conqueror. This information concerning his family and origins is found hidden in his own writings in the form of an acrostic which gives:The "Mirall" commences with a prologue explaining its division into four chapters that study rhetorical forms and major poetic errors. It begins thus: "Comença la miraylls de trobar o de versificar o de rimar. Car si hom mira o regarda sas fausas en un mirall. . ." Everything is illustrated with examples drawn from the compositions of previous troubadours, but not alway in the correct form. Berenguer himself does not have any work to his own name, though some otherwise unattributable fragments from his treatise are assumed to be his work. The following short section is taken from his illustration of the religious "alba"::"Gaita, be gardatz:"que no us sia amblatz:"lo castell que tan beyl:"vos a Deus comanatz,:"car si es noveyl:"non es aycell:"qui mantz n'a enganatz.:"No us fisetz en l'enemich:"qui per plazer vos destrich,:"ans fayts gens queix vostra gaitaThe Institut Berenguer d’Anoia, founded in Inca in 1970, was named after the troubadour.

ources

* [http://www.xtec.es/~malons22/trobadors/trobadors.htm#anoia Els trobadors. Trobadors catalans. Berenguer d'Anoia (cap a 1300).]
* [http://www.rialc.unina.it/inc-anoia.htm Incipitario di Berenguer d’Anoia.]
* [http://www.iesberenguer.net/ Institut Berenguer d’Anoia.]