Troubadourism and the world dominated by theocentrism and feudalism
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.
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 long
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 into decline in the
fourteenth century. The year 1189 (or 1198) is considered the beginning of
Portuguese Literature and the Troubadour 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 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.
In the next post, we will talk about the characteristics of Troubadourism and also about the most important authors.
