The following is the original poem in Old Occitan, with a translation in English directly afterwards.

Pax in nomine Domini Fetz Marcabrus los motz e·l so. Aujatz que di: Cum nos a fait, per sa doussor, Lo Seingnorius celestiaus Probet de nos un lavador, C'anc, fors outramar, no·n fon taus, En de lai deves Josaphas: E d'aquest de sai vos conort.

Lavar de ser e de maiti Nos deuriam, segon razo, Ie·us o afi. Chascus a del lavar legor! Domentre qu'el es sas e saus, Deuri' anar al lavador, Que·ns es verais medicinaus! Que s'abans anam a la mort, D'aut en sus aurem alberc bas.

Mas Escarsedatz e No-fes Part Joven de son compaigno. Ai cals dols es, Que tuich volon lai li plusor, Don lo gazaings es enfernaus S'anz non correm al lavador C'ajam la boca ni·ls huoills claus, Non i a un d'orguoill tant gras C'al morir non trob contrafort.

Que·l Seigner que sap tot quant es E sap tot quant er e c'anc fo, Nos i promes Honor e nom d'emperador. E·il beutatz sera, --sabetz caus-- De cels qu'iran al lavador Plus que l'estela gauzignaus! Ab sol que vengem Dieu del tort Que·ill fan sai, e lai vas Domas.

Probet del lignatge Cai, Del primeiran home felho, A tans aissi C'us a Dieu non porta honor! Veirem qui·ll er amics coraus! C'ab la vertut del lavador Nos sera Jhezus comunaus! E tornem los garssos atras Qu'en agur crezon et en sort

E·il luxurios corna-vi, Coita-disnar, bufa-tizo, Crup-en-cami Remanran inz el felpidor! Dieus vol los arditz e·ls suaus Assajar a son lavador! E cil gaitaran los ostaus! E trobaran fort contrafort, So per qu'ieu a lor anta·ls chas.

En Espaigna, sai, lo Marques E cill del temple Salamo Sofron lo pes E·l fais de l'orguoill paganor, Per que Jovens cuoill avol laus. E·l critz per aquest lavador Versa sobre·ls plus rics captaus Fraitz, faillitz, de proeza las, Que non amon Joi ni Deport.

Desnaturat son li Frances, Si de l'afar Dieu dizon no, Qu'ie·us ai comes. Antiocha, Pretz e Valor Sai plora Guiana e Peitaus. Dieus, Seigner, al tieu lavador L'arma del comte met en paus: E sai gart Peitieus e Niort Lo Seigner qui ressors del vas!

Pax in nomine Domini! Marcabru wrote the lyrics and the tune. Listen to what he says: just as, out of his kindness, he made us, the heavenly lord provided us with a lavoir such as there never was another, except overseas, around Jehoshaphat: and it is from the one here that I urge you.

We should wash morning and evening, according to reason, I assure you, and everyone has leisure to wash! While he is alive and well, everyone should go to the lavoir, which is a real elixir of health, for if we die before [we do], instead of up high, we will have dwellings deep down.

But Ill Will and Faithlessness separate Youth from its companion. Alas! What a pain it is that most fly where the reward is an infernal one! If we don't run to the lavoir before our mouth and eyes are closed, there is no man so swollen with pride that he doesn't find his match in Death.

For our lord, who knows all that is and all that has been and was has promised us honour in the name of the emperor. And–You know what?–beauty will be upon those who go to the lavoir, more than upon the Morning Star, if we avenge the wrong made to god here and there, around Damascus.

Granted, of the race of Cain, of that first felonious man, here are many, none of which honours god. We'll see who is his good friend because by virtue of the lavoir, Jesus will be with us all. And let's chase away from us the dark scoundrels who believe in omens and spells.

And those lustful wine guzzlers, meal devourers, ember blowers, sitters upon the path will remain in the filth. God wants to test the daring and the kind in his lavoir: and those will watch their houses! And they will find a strong opponent because of which, to their shame, I drive them away.

In Spain, here, the Marquess and those of Solomon's Temple suffer the burden and the joke of the pagans' pride, so that Youth receives bad praise and the blame, because of this lavoir, falls upon the most powerful lords, broken, failing, empty of prowess, who like neither joy nor disport.

The French are degenerates if they refuse to support God, for I have exhorted them. Antioch and, on this side, Guiana and Poitou cry for Virtue and Valour. God, lord, in your lavoir, give peace to the soul of the count: and, here, may the lord who rose from the grave guard Poitiers and Niort!

The Albigensian Crusade was initiated in 1209 by Pope Innocent III and ended in 1229. The object of the crusade was the extinction of the Cathar people of Southern France, aka Languedoc, where the majority of Troubadour activity was located. The Cathars worked somewhat closely with the Troubadours, mainly by providing them locations to preform. Throughout the crusade, 200,000 to 1,000,000 Cathars were killed, and the event is often known as a genocide of the people. Since Cathars and Troubadours did sometime work together, along with a few aspects of Troubadour culture being possibly being partly based of of Cathar beliefs, the Albigensian Crusade triggered the beginning of a sort of downfall of Troubadour Culture.

Please let me know your thoughts, I would greatly appreciate it! Also, if anyone is curious on something and would like to ask a question or make a statement, or post something of their own that is relevant to the Troubadours or Old Occitan, please feel free to, that would be awesome to see! Thank you for being interested!

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Quite a few different groups, which spanned through the Middle Ages, were created (with some possible influence from the Troubadours). These included:

The Trouvères-essentially Northern French Troubadours and wrote songs somewhat similar to them, except instead of being based in Southern France, they were based more in Northern France. They also spoke and wrote in Old French instead of Old Occitan. Notable members: Adam de la Halle, Chrétien de Troyes

The Minnesängers-most prominent in Germany during the Middle High German period. Wrote in Middle High German. Notable members: Walter von der Vogelweide, Friedrich von Hausen, Wolfram von Eschenbach

Trovadorismo-Galician Portuguese lyric, written in Galacian-Portuguese. Notable members: King Alfonso X of Castile (possibly, as the Cantigas de Santa Maria are often attributed to him).

Widely regarded as one of the singers/performers among the Troubadours, Bernart de Ventadorn has a very interesting vida, supposedly written by Uc de Saint Circ, another troubadour. I was not able to find an online version of the original vida, but I did find an English translation. If I am ever able to find the original Old Occitan version online, I will put it here, otherwise it can be found in William D. Paden’s “An Introduction to Old Occitan”.

Bernart de Ventadorn was from Limousin, from the castle of Ventadorn. He was a man of humble origin, the son of a servant who was a baker, and who heated the oven to bake the bread of the castle. And he became a handsome and an able man, and he knew how to sing and how to invent poetry well, and he became courtly and learned. And the Viscount of Ventadorn, his lord, grew very fond of him and of his inventing and his singing, and greatly honored him. And the Viscount of Ventadour had a wife who was young, noble, and lively. And she also grew fond of Bernart and of his songs, and fell in love with him. And he fell in love with the lady, and composed his songs and his poems about her, about the love which he had for her, and about her merit. Their love lasted a long time before the viscount or other people became aware of it. And when the viscount perceived it, he banished Bernart from him and had his wife locked up and guarded. And the lady then gave Lord Bernart permission so that he would go away and leave that region. And he left and went to the Duchess of Normandy, who was young and of merit, and who understood merit and honor and beautiful words of praise. And the songs and the poems of Lord Bernart pleased her very much, and she received him and welcomed him very well. He was in her court for a long time, and he fell in love with her, and she with him. And he composed many good songs about her. And while he was with her, King Henry of England took her for his wife and also moved her away from Normandy and took her to England. Lord Bernart remained here, sad and grieving, and he came to the good Count Raimon of Toulouse and stayed with him until the count died. And Lord Bernart, on account of the sadness he felt, joined the order of Dalon, and there he died. And what I, Lord Uc de Saint Circ, have written about him was told to me by the viscount Lord Ebles de Ventadorn, who was the son of the viscountess whom Lord Bernart loved. And Bernart composed these songs which you will hear and which are written below.

The following is the vida (basically biography) of the early Troubadour Jaufre Rudel. First is the original version in Old Occitan, followed by the English translation.

Edit:Word of note, it is not believed that everything that is said to have happened in the vidas of Troubadours actually occurred, but some things have been debated and figured out, such as the fact that Rudel did most likely take part in the Second Crusade.

Jaufrés Rudèls de Blaia si fo mout gentils hom e fo prínces de Blaia. Et enamorèt de la comtéssa de Trípoli seṉs veser, per lo boṉ qu'el n'ausi dire als peleriṉs que vénguen d'Antiòcha. E fetz de lèis maints vèrs ab boṉs soṉs, amb paubre motz. E per volontat de lèis veser, el se crosèt e se mes en mar; e pres lo malautía en la nau e fo conduch a Trípoli en un albèrc per mòrt. E fo fach saber a la comtéssa et ela venc az el, al son lièit, e pres lo entre sos bratz. E saup qu'ela èra la comtéssa e mantenent recobrèt l'ausir e·l flairar, e lausèt Dièu que l'avia la vida sostenguda tro qu'el l'aguès vista; et enaiçí el morí entre soṉs bratz. Et ela lo fetz a grand honor sepelir en la maión del Temple; e pòis en aquel dia ela se rendèt morga per la dolor qu'ela n'ac de la mòrt de lui.

Jaufre Rudel of Blaya was a very noble man, and lord of Blaya. He fell in love with the countess of Tripoli, sight unseen, because of all the good things that he heard pilgrims tell of her on their way back from Antioch. He made many songs about her with good melodies but poor lyrics. Out of desire to see her, he took up the cross and went to sea, but was taken ill while on board and was brought, near to death, to an inn in Tripoli. This was made known to the countess, and she came to his bed to see him, and took him into her arms. And he, having realized that she was the countess, at once recovered the faculties of hearing and smell, and praised God who had sustained his life until he could see her; and so he died in her arms. And she had him buried with high honors in the house of the Templars, and became a nun that same day out of grief over his death.

This post will detail some of the many different genres the Troubadours wrote in, along with the 3 main Troubadour styles.

Styles: Trobar leu (light)-the most common and popular form, lighter/more simplistic style. Trobar ric (rich)-much more intricate then trobar leu, “verbal gymnastics”. Trobar clus (closed)- complex, but also obscure, developed and used most by Marcabru and Arnaut Daniel, said to have been truly appreciated by only few.

Genres:

Canso (also known as canço)-most common genre used, typical love song, formerly called “vers”. Alba-morning song, describes the song of a lover as dawn comes in. Comiat-song dedicated to renouncing a lover. Canso de Crozada-song about the Crusades. Most praise/encourage the Crusades, as the Troubadours were mainly in Europe. Dansa-song used for dance, usually lively/jolly. Estampida-dance like song. Pastorela-song about the request of love by a man (often a knight) to a shepherdess. Planh -song of sadness and lament, most commonly about the death of a large/important figure. Salut d’amor-love letter. Sirventes-poem of political nature and contents. Tenso-poem of political debate, usually written between two poets/troubadours.

For reading troubadour poems in the original Old Occitan(some with an English translation), Trobar.org

Old Occitan dictionary in English:Dictionary

Books: Paden’s “An Introduction to Old Occitan” is really the best book for the language, it touches on a lot of different aspects of the language-Intro to O.Oc

A Handbook of the Troubadours: another very nice book that explores more of the history of the troubadours, along with other interesting topics:HoT

I will update this page as I come across and remember more resources.

Hello! This is a newly created subreddit that is dedicated to the Troubadours, who were poet-musicians that sang of courtly love (along with other subjects) in Medieval Southern France. It is also a place to talk about the language they wrote in, Old Occitan. This is mainly just a little project to see what happens, but if people actually join and would like to expand and turn this into a lively place to discuss these topics, I would be more than happy to do that! I am new to creating and modding my own community, so please bear with me, I will do my best!