Trobairitz

Welcome back to our blog, a space where members of Idrîsî share reflections and visions related to our work.

Although Corsican and troubadour music are geographically close, they exist in vastly different institutional spheres. I have yet to find a publication that explores these repertoires in tandem. However, one cannot help but notice the Corsican chjam’ è rispondi (call and response) and its resonance with the dialogic nature of troubadour partimen. The parallels between planh and voceru (laments), or the sacro-secular aesthetics of troubadour songs and the equally liminal position of the paghjella, also deserve attention. As a queer Corsican-Occitan musician, I wanted to create a concert that honoured the voices of female troubadours. Equally important was highlighting the shared history of Corsica and Occitania, sibling regions within the French colonial continuum. Here are the concert notes I prepared for this programme:

The art of the troubadours developed between the 12th and 13th centuries in the Midi region, or Occitania, with contemporary influence extending to north-eastern Spain and northern Italy. The troubadours were a varied collective of individuals, stemming from all levels of society including the elite, religious figures, warriors, the middle class, and those without land or title. Operating under a system akin to feudalism yet lacking centralised control until the latter part of the 13th century, these poet-musicians witnessed a period of relative stability and prosperity, before succumbing to French conquest. The gruesome Albigensian Crusade marks the end of the troubadour era, and the beginning of a more centralised culture. Fortunately, their oral traditions survived long enough to be notated, thereby constituting the earliest collection of secular vernacular music in Western Europe.

Although approximately 250 troubadour songs composed by men have survived with their music, only a handful of melodies can be attributed to female composers. These women occupied a unique position in the troubadour tradition, both aligning with and standing apart from it: their original discourse sharply contrasts with the silent, idealised lady often portrayed in the works of their male counterparts. Through their frequent use of direct address, criticism of social norms, and bold exploration of grief, politics, and sensuality, the trobairitz cultivated a form of subversion by imitation.

Despite extensive research on the subject, the voice of the trobairitz remains a source of controversy. Theories abound on the origins of courtly love alone: whether it be considered Hispano-Arabic, Chivalric-Matriarchal, Crypto-Cathar, Neoplatonic, Bernardine-Marianist, Feudal-Sociological, spring folk ritual, or even dismissed as a nineteenth-century construct. It remains that the distinctness of their language, spiritual inclinations, moral values and cultural affiliations placed them in a unique position, one threatening enough to require eradication. During a time when the distinctions between orthodoxy and heresy were particularly blurred, Occitan culture was a late manifestation of the varied traditions that shaped the early Christian era. The Cathars were heterogenous groups whose religious practices were heavily influenced by Gnostic and post-Manichean theologies. Renowned for their non-violent and ascetic lifestyles, they stood in opposition to the perceived excesses of contemporary Roman Catholicism. Remarkably, women constituted nearly 70 percent of the Occitan Cathar community.

Catharism was not a monolithic movement and eludes any definitive genealogy. Echoes of its dualist theology are found throughout history and across cultures, from pre-Christian beliefs to medieval debates about the nature of evil. Roman Marcionism, Eastern dualistic traditions like Manicheism, Paulicianism and Bogomilism, and Western movements including the Waldensians, all interweave in this narrative. Amid this complex landscape, Catharism evolved as a diverse and intricate movement, amalgamating distinct aspects of Christian dualism. Armenian Paulicianism, transplanted to Europe in the 10th century, might have been an important influence over other spiritual movements, rippling through Greece, Bulgaria, Croatia, Italy, and France. Our programme explores this journey starting with 10th century Armenian poet Grigor Narekatsi, in a medieval melody transcribed by Robert At’ayan. Rare liturgical chants, female-perspective motets, and traditional polyphonies offer further glimpses into the context and influence of female troubadours. The concert ends with oral tradition polyphonies from Corsica. After enduring 20 years of relentless persecution and inquisition, Occitan survivors found refuge in the mountains of Corsica. This final and often overlooked episode of Cathar history ends in tragedy, with continental forces ultimately tracking down and annihilating the refugees. Through our music, I hope to acknowledge the trobairitz not as French subjects, but as distinct artists profoundly rooted in the wider Mediterranean. Exiled in the mountains of Corsica, the trobairitz sung a Mediterranean “blues”. Their orientation within a male dominated art, their trauma and spiritual sensibilities merge to reflect upon the northern gaze, and the power struggles of other geographical, cultural and sexual identities.

Thomas Fournil