Trobairitz and Troubadours and the Shadow Religion
Trobairitz and Troubadours and the Shadow Religion
This chapter examines the original cultural context of the songs of the trobairitz and troubadours, who first popularized the courtly love ideal. It shows that “courtly love,” as developed by William IX and his imitators, was the only tradition that justified love by its sublime, heroic contrast with desire-as-appetite. The kind of love that William IX wrote about and the genre of song he employed in praising the beloved—usually referred to as a canso—enjoyed a growing popularity, first in southern France, spreading from there to Iberia, Italy, and most of western and central Europe. Twelfth-century Occitan society and the canso as aristocratic speech are discussed.
Keywords: courtly love, trobairitz, troubadours, William IX, canso, Occitan society, aristocratic speech, twelfth century
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