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VIDA

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3.

Lord Aimeric de Peguilhan was from Toulouse, the son of a burgher who was a merchant and had cloth to sell. He learned songs and sirventes, but he sang very badly. And he fell in love with a burgher, his neighbor. And this love taught him how to invent poetry. And he composed many good songs about her. And the husband of the laady quarreled with him and dishonored him. And Lord Aimeric took revenge and struck him on the head with a sword. For this reason it was necessary for him to leave Toulouse and go into exile.
And he went to Catalonia. And Lord Guillem de Berguendan welcomed him, and he exalted him in his invention of poetry, in the first song he composed. And Guillem made him a minstrel and gave him his palfrey and his clothing. And he introduced him to King Anfos de Castilla who increased his equipment and his honor. And he was in those regions for a long time.
Later he went to Lombardy, where all the notable men granted him great honor. And he ended his days in Lombardy.
p.2

*nb* an alternate version of the story adds a vignette of Aimeric returning to Toulouse when he hears that his lady's husband is away. He claims that he's a pilgrim, in need of hospitality en route to his pilgrimage. Stricken with a pretended illness, he is _forced_ to stay at the lady's house.
" And the lady pretended to cover him with the cloth and kissed him. From here on, I do not know what happened, except that Lord Aimeric stayed there for ten days under the pretext of his illness. .."
p.3

  

 

14.

Bernart de Ventadorn was from Limousin, from the castle of Ventadour. 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 Ventadour, 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.
p.11-12

  
 

 

17.

Bertran de Born was a castellan from the bishopric of Perigord, and he was the lord of a castle called Hautefort. He was at war with his neighbors all the time, with the count of Perigord, and with the viscount of Limoges, and with his brother Constantine, and with Richard as long as he was Count of Poitiers. He was a good knight and a good warrior, and a good lover of ladies, and a good inventor of poetry, and he was wise and eloquent, and he knew well how to deal with good and with evil men. He influenced, whenever he wished, King Henry and his son; but he always wanted them to be at war with one another, one against the other. And he always wanted the King of France and the King of England to be at war with each other. And if they had peace or a truce, he would at once make an effort with his serventes to undo the peace, and to show how each one of them was being dishonored by that peace. Thus he reaped much gain and was lost.
p.17-8
....And Bertran de Born used to boast that he was of such worth that he did not think he would ever need all his wit. And afterwards the King took him prisoner, and after he had imprisoned him, he said to him, "Bertran, you will now need all of your wit." And Bertran answered that he had lost all his wit when the Young King died. So the king wept for the death of his son and pardoned him and gave him clothing and land and honor. And he lived for a long time in this world and later joined the order of Citeaux. And here you will find some of his sirventes.
p.19
 

 

30.

Elias Cairel was from Sarlat, a town in Perigord, and was a craftsman of gold and silver and a draughtsman of arms. And he became a minstrel and traveled for a long time around the world. He sang badly, and invented poetry badly, and played the fiddle badly, and spoke still more badly, but he wrote words and melodies very well. He was in Romania for a long time. And when he left there, he returned to Sarlat, and there he died.
p.31

  

 

39.

The monk Gausbert de Poicibot was a noble man from the bishopric of Limoges, son of a castellan of Poichibot. And he was put into holy orders when he was a child, in a monastery called Saint Lunart. And he was well versed in letters and knew how to sing and how to invent poetry well.
And desiring a woman, he left the monastery and went to the one to whom all those who wished honor and kindness in exchange for courtesy came, Lord Savaric de Mauleon. And he gave him a minstrel's equipment, clothing, and horses. So he then went around the courts and invented and wrote good songs.
And he fell in love with a noble and beautiful damsel and composed his songs about her. And she did not want to love him unless he became a knight and married her. And he told Lord Savaric how the lady refused him. So Lord Savaric knighted him and gave him land and rent, and he took the damsel for his wife and greatly honored her.
And then it happened that he went to Spain, and the damsel stayed. And a knight from England fell in love with her and did and said so much that he managed to take her away and had her for a long time as his mistress, and then he abandoned her in a wicked way.
And when Gausbert returned from Spain, he stayed for an evening in the city where she was. And when evening came, he went out desiring a woman and entered the dwelling of a poor woman, for he had been told that there was a beautiful damsel inside. And he came upon his own wife. And when he saw her, and she saw him, they both felt great pain and great shame. He stayed with her that night, and the following morning he left with her and took her to a convent, which he made her enter. And because of this pain, he stopped inventing poems and singing. And here are some of his songs.
p38-9

  
 

 

52.

Guillem de Cabestaing was a knight from the region of Roussillon, which borders on Catalonia and Narbonnais. He was a very charming man, distinguished in arms and in gallantry and in courtliness. And there was in his region a lady called Lady Soremonda, wife of Lord Raimon de Castel Rossillon, who was very rich and noble, and wicked and fierce and cruel and haughty. And Guillem de Cabestaing truly loved the lady and sang about her and composed his songs about her. And the lady, who was young and noble and beautiful and charming, loved him more than anything in the world.
And this was told to Lord Raimon de Castel Roussillon. And he, like an angry and jealous man, investigated the matter, and learned that it was true. And he ordered that his wife be carefully watched. And it so happened that one day Raimon de Castel Roussillon came upon Guillem passing by without great company, and he killed him. And he took the heart out of his body, and had it taken to a squire in his house, and had it cooked and peppered, and gave it to his wife to eat.
And when the lady had eaten the heart of Lord Guillem de Cabestaing, Lord Raimon told her what it was. And when she heard it, she lost her sense of sight and her hearing. And when she came to, she said,"Lord, you have given me such a good thing to eat, that I shall never eat again." And when he heard what she said, he ran with his sword intending to strike her on the head. But she ran to the balcony and threw herself down, and she was killed.
p.53

*nb* there is an alternate version of this as well, which gives even more detail...if you'd like to stomach that!

  
     
58. Guillem de la Tor was a minstrel, who was from Perigord, from a castle called La Tor. And he went to Lombardy. And he knew many songs, and created and sang well and graciously, and he also invented. But when he wanted to recite his songs, he made his discussion of the explanation longer than the song itself. And he took a wife in Milan, who was beautiful and young, the wife of a barber, whom he abducted and took away to Como. And he loved her more than anything in the world.
And it came to pass that she died. He was so afflicted by this that he became mad and believed that she was pretending to be dead in order to leave him. So he left her ten days and ten nights on the tomb. And every evening he would go to the tomb and carry her outside and look at her face, kissing and embracing her and asking her to speak to him and tell him whether she was dead or alive; and if she were alive, that she return to him, and if she were dead, that she tell him what afflictions she was suffering; that he would have so many masses given for her and he would give so many alms that he would free her from those afflictions.
This became known in the city by the notable men, so that the people of the place had him go away from there. And he looked everywhere for sorcerers and sorceresses to tell him if she could ever be brought back to life. And a trickster led him to believe that if he read the Psalter every day and recited 150 Pater Nosters and gave alms to seven poor persons before he ate, and if he did this for a whole year, without missing a day, she would come back to life, but would not eat or drink or talk. And he was very pleased when he heard this, and began at once to do what this trickster had directed him to do. And so he did this for an entire year without missing a single day. And when he saw that what he had been taught was of no avail, he despaired and allowed himslef to die.p. 59-60		  
     
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