campusaraujo
- Nov 22, 2023
- 4 min read

Troubadourism (1189 to 1418) - Part 1

In the previous post, we talked about literary genres and literary schools. Let us now begin the study of troubadourism in Europe.

Troubadours, poetry, and music

Troubadourism was a literary movement characterized by the production of lyrical (feelings and emotions) and satirical songs (direct or indirect criticism), written by the troubadours, hence the name of the movement.

It only took place in Europe and had as its main characteristic the approximation of poetry and music. It was one of the most popular literary genres of the Middle Ages, alongside chivalry novels, prose accounts of knights errant.

Considered the first European literary movement, it gathered written records from the first period of medieval literature between the 11th and 14th centuries. The poems were made to be sung to the sound of musical instruments such as flute, viola, and lute. That is why they were called songs.

Historical context

The Middle Ages was a historical period that lasted from 476 to 1453. Medieval society was divided between clergy, nobility, and people. The Catholic Church held political and economic power in the West. At that time, theocentrism prevailed, the idea that God is the center of everything.

Man occupied a secondary place and was at the mercy of Christian values. The medieval Catholic Church was the most important social institution and the greatest representative of the Christian faith. It was she who dictated the values that directly influenced man's behavior and thinking.

Europe was immersed in a holy war, the Crusades, between Christians and Muslims (Moors). The Court of the Holy Office tortured and condemned to the stake those who opposed what was imposed by the Church.

Most of the population was illiterate, writing and reading were restricted to the clergy and some nobles. Books were very expensive as the works were handwritten and drawn by copyists. Most of the art produced in this period was of a religious nature.

Development of troubadourism

Troubadourism developed during the medieval period, mainly from the twelfth century onwards. At the time, national states did not yet exist, and feudalism was the prevailing economic, political, and social system. Europe was divided into fiefs, large estates controlled by their owners. The society was rural and self-sufficient, but the peasant lived in misery.

There was a relationship of suzerainty and vassalage. The suzerain, lord of the manor, forerunner of the European nobility, offered protection to his vassals who, in return, farmed, spun, and forged weapons.

Troubadours and songbooks

The troubadour was the author of the songs, the jester recited them and the minstrel, in addition to reciting played the instruments. The minstrel was considered superior to the jester for having more education and artistic ability, as he knew how to play and sing. The troubadours traveled singing their songs.

All manuscripts of troubadour songs found are gathered in songbooks, collections of medieval texts preserved in Portugal. Although troubadourism emerged in the region of Provence (southern France), it spread to other countries in Europe, as the Provençal troubadours were considered the best of the time.

Emergence of new languages

With the decline of the Roman Empire, from the 4th and 5th centuries, vulgar Latin, the official language of Rome, began to undergo changes among the dominated peoples. It was in this prolonged period of the Middle Ages that Neo-Latin languages began to emerge, such as Portuguese, Spanish, French, Italian, Romanian, and Catalan. However, it was only in the 14th century that Portuguese emerged as an official language; the songs of the troubadours were written in the Provencal dialect.

Dom Dinis I, established the Galician-Portuguese language as the official language of the kingdom, at the end of the 13th century. In addition, he himself was a troubadour-king. The poet monarch's wish was for Portugal to establish itself as a de facto nation, encouraging cultural identity and troubadourism. The movement was extremely important in the development of the Portuguese language and culture.

Troubadourism in Portugal (1189 or 1198 – 1418)

Portugal became an independent country when it separated from the kingdom of León and Castile in 1140. Galician-Portuguese was the spoken language. With the new state, Portuguese literature also emerged.

Portuguese troubadourism had its apogee in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, entering decline in the fourteenth century. The year 1189 (or 1198) is considered the beginning of Portuguese literature and the troubadourism movement.

This is the probable date of the first known literary composition, the Cantiga da Ribeirinha or Cantiga de Guarvaia, written by the troubadour Paio Soares da Taveirós, in 1189 or 1198, and dedicated to Maria Pais Ribeiro, the favorite of King Sancho I, who lived between the years 1154 and 1211. Written in Galician-Portuguese, it is the oldest record of literary production in Portuguese lands.

The Iberian Peninsula was the radiating center of troubadourism, in the region that comprises northern Portugal and Galicia, a region located in northern Spain. The Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, center of religious pilgrimage, attracted crowds since the 11th century. There, troubadour songs were sung in Galician-Portuguese, the language spoken in the region.

The 12th century Portuguese literature did not yet have a fully established notion of national identity. The territory was part of the Condado Portucalense and the County of Galicia, lands given as a wedding gift to crusader soldiers who married two noble girls. D. Afonso Henriques transformed the two counties into a kingdom, but he himself was only recognized as a monarch when he reconquered these lands protected by the power and strength of Christianity.

The identity of the troubadours, therefore, was not Portuguese, but Iberian and Hispanic. The origin of these composers was Leon, Galicia, the Portuguese kingdom, Castile, etc. Troubadourism had its decline in the 14th century, when another movement of the second Portuguese medieval period began: Humanism.