Guerau is today most famous for his ensenhamen, a long didactic poem written for his jongleur, Cabra. Cabra's name, which means goat and is related to the name of his master's viscounty (Cabrera), probably indicates that he was Guerau's herald, since heralds often took the names of the arms of their lords. Guerau's arms bore a goat.
The ensenhamen is divided into 216 lines. The rhyme scheme is of two four-syllable rhyming lines followed by an octosyllabic line ending in -on, repeated. The entire poem is basically a disorderly and wordy catalogue the things (names, songs, and stories) which Cabra ought to know in his capacity as public entertainer, but which in fact he does not know. The eruditeness of the work is impressive, giving evidence of Guerau's learning, the writings he would have had access to in twelfth-century Catalonia, and the typical repertoire of a contemporary jongleur.
The ensenhamen begins with twenty-four lines of criticism concerning what Cabra does not do. He is accused of mal saps viular / e pietz chantar: poor knowledge of how to play the viol and worse still of singing. He cannot finish with a proper "Bretoncadence" (tempradura de breton). Guerau goes on:
Non sabs balar
ni trasgitar
a guiza de juglar guascon.
You don't know how to dance
nor how to gesture
in the manner of the Gascon jongleurs.
Finally, Guerau lists the various genres and types of song which Cabra does not have in his repertoire: sirventesc, balaresc, estribot, retroencha, and contenson. It is clear that by Guerau's time, Occitan lyric poetry had already witnessed a proliferation of genres. To the historian of culture, these twenty-four lines are an important source for the qualifications of a good jongleur.
Referencesedit
Wikisource has original text related to this article:
Guerau de Cabrera
Riquer, Martí de (1964). Història de la Literatura Catalana, vol. 1. Barcelona: Edicions Ariel.
February 11, 2024
guerau, cabrera, died, 1160, also, called, guiraut, giraut, cabreira, catalan, nobleman, occitan, troubadour, viscount, Àger, cabrera, from, 1145, ponç, cabrera, sancha, guerau, today, most, famous, ensenhamen, long, didactic, poem, written, jongleur, cabra, c. Guerau III de Cabrera died 1160 61 also called Guiraut or Giraut de Cabreira was a Catalan nobleman and Occitan troubadour He was the viscount of Ager and Cabrera from 1145 He was the son of Ponc II de Cabrera and Sancha Guerau is today most famous for his ensenhamen a long didactic poem written for his jongleur Cabra Cabra s name which means goat and is related to the name of his master s viscounty Cabrera probably indicates that he was Guerau s herald since heralds often took the names of the arms of their lords Guerau s arms bore a goat The ensenhamen is divided into 216 lines The rhyme scheme is of two four syllable rhyming lines followed by an octosyllabic line ending in on repeated The entire poem is basically a disorderly and wordy catalogue the things names songs and stories which Cabra ought to know in his capacity as public entertainer but which in fact he does not know The eruditeness of the work is impressive giving evidence of Guerau s learning the writings he would have had access to in twelfth century Catalonia and the typical repertoire of a contemporary jongleur The ensenhamen begins with twenty four lines of criticism concerning what Cabra does not do He is accused of mal saps viular e pietz chantar poor knowledge of how to play the viol and worse still of singing He cannot finish with a proper Breton cadence tempradura de breton Guerau goes on Non sabs balar ni trasgitar a guiza de juglar guascon You don t know how to dance nor how to gesture in the manner of the Gascon jongleurs Finally Guerau lists the various genres and types of song which Cabra does not have in his repertoire sirventesc balaresc estribot retroencha and contenson It is clear that by Guerau s time Occitan lyric poetry had already witnessed a proliferation of genres To the historian of culture these twenty four lines are an important source for the qualifications of a good jongleur References edit nbsp Wikisource has original text related to this article Guerau de Cabrera Riquer Marti de 1964 Historia de la Literatura Catalana vol 1 Barcelona Edicions Ariel Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Guerau III de Cabrera amp oldid 1078620372, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
