Salh d'Escola

Salh, Sail, or Saill d'Escola (fl. 1195) was a troubadour from Bergerac in the Périgord, a former province of France. [Bergerac is spelled "Barjarac", "Bragairac", or "Brageirac" in Occitan.] The meaning of his name is disputed. It may be his actual name or a family name or a nickname. It could mean "defector from school" ("transfuge de l'école") or "escapee from the cloister" ("Saute-de-Cloître") or just pedant.

The details of Salh's life are provided by two main sources, one contemporaneous and one late. The first source is the 1195 poem "Pos Peire d'Alvernh' a chantat" of the Monge de Montaudon. He presents a gallery of troubadours and good-naturedly criticises each in turn, usually humorously. One of the poets criticised is Salh d'Escola. According to the Monge, he was a jongleur who went to Bergerac and became a merchant. The later source is Salh's "vida", which probably relied on the Monge to piece together its story. According to his biographer, Salh was the son of a merchant and became a jongleur. He then went to Narbonne and stayed for a long time at the court of Ainermada de Narbona. Upon her death (1197) he entered the cloister at Bergerac and abandoned his "inventing and singing".

Salh has left one "canso" behind: "Gran esfortz fai qui chanta ni.s deporta". It is an amorous confession to his lady for telling her to "die" in a moment of desperation or irritation.

Notes

Bibliography

*Egan, Margarita, ed. "The Vidas of the Troubadours". New York: Garland, 1984. ISBN 0 8240 9437 9.
*Riquer, Martín de. "Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos". 3 vol. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975.