Aristocratic Although the poetry of this period was largely it naturally, during its more than 250 years of existence, reached out into other fields. Religious, epic, narrative, didactic and dramatic poets there were in the Provencal countries; but even in these the lyrical influence is strongly in evi dence, for the habit of public singing and recitation had fixed upon the poetry of the age certain easily recognizable marks which it con tinued to bear so long as it remained under the influence of feudalism and the artificial rules it had set up for the government of literature, not formally, of course, but unconsciously, yet none the less inexorably. Lyrical poetry being the fountain head of Provençal literature is, natu rally, its most characteristic expression. It was symbolical of the life of the court and of the chivalric spirit of the age to such an extent that the French word "courtoise" was often used in the sense of "lyrical"; that is to say, that form of poetical expression which belonged particularly to the court, which had under the influence of chivalry developed complicated and highly artificial court manners generally re ferred to as courtesy. Gentle courtesy was the court manners of the gentle born. Of this the lyrical Provencal poetry was the expression in a very particular sense, not only in France but also throughout the other countries in which the Provençal tongue was dominant. It was this lyrical poetry, too, which appealed to the poets of Europe and set the style for poetry for years and later on for romances in prose. Love and the faithfulness, purity and devo tion of the knight to the lady of his choice was the principal theme of Provençal lyrical poetry. This was carried to such an extreme that it became almost a cult; and as such it has left its impress upon the Latin and Saxon countries to-day in such a manner as distinctly to differ entiate them from the other peoples of the world in their treatment of woman who was for the Provencal poet the centre and soul of all things courtly and chivalric. How much of this feminine sentiment was due, as French critics contend, to the powerful influence of clever women during .the most active period of Provencal literature it is, at this late date, hard to determine. It is certain, however, that Eleanor of Poitiers, at whose court the best of the Provencal poets were welcomed, in spired these singers to sound her praise and that of courtly women in general. This un doubtedly had a very strong influence on the general trend of lyrical poetry at this time. Eleanor, who was the wife of Louis VII of France and later on of Henry II of England, was a woman of excellent literary taste and sound judgment. As the consort successively of two of the most powerful sovereigns of her drivt fir i pg•c.e--f-1 fa. the tongue of Provence and the sympathies of her people, she exercised a influence upon the life of her day in France; and the glamor of her name, her gifts and her courtesy spread to other countries, especially to Catalonia and northern Italy, from whence came noted vernacular poets to her court. Eleanor of Poitiers was to the most brilliant Provençal period what Queen Eliza beth of England was to her own time. Thus it was quite natural that, in an age of chiv alry, a powerful, clever, ambitious and popu lar woman like Eleanor should set the ideal of the perfect woman before the eyes of the court poets in such a way that they never after ward lost the vision so long as the system upon which Provencal poetry depended continued vigorous and dominant.
One of the most noted of the Provencal lyrical poets was Bernart de Ventadour, one of the singers at the court of Eleanor of Poitiers. Some 50 or more of his songs have sur vived are distinguished by their sincerity and passion; and their elegance of form and expres sion justify the judgment of his age which ranked him as vac of the mob( invired poets of his own day. Another poet who lived about the same time and who seems to have had great popularity and to have exercised strong in fluence on Provencal lyrical poetry was Cer camon, a Gascon who wrote "pastorals" in the popular tongue in an original style and with considerable originality of thought and forms of expression. At the court of Richard Coeur de Lion, himself a great lover of music and song, there were noted Provencal poets, Arnaut Daniel, Peire Vidal, Folquet of Marseilles and Gaucelm Faidit, some or all of whom un doubtedly entertained the Crusaders on their long and venturesome journey. Bernart de Ventadour, already mentioned, appears to have been also at the courts of Ermengarde of Nar bonne and Raimon V, Count of Toulouse. The other Provençal poets seem also to have gone from one Provençal court to another and even some of them were invited to the courts of France and Castile, Among the patrons of the Provencal period, in addition to those already mentioned, were in France, Raimon VI, Count of Toulouse; Alphonse II, Count of Provence; Raimon Berenger IV, also Count of Provence; Banal Marseilles; William VIII of Montpel lier; Robert of Auvergne; William du Baits, Prince of Orange; Savario de Manlion; Henry I and Henry II, counts of Roder; Nunyo Sanchez, Count of Roussillon and Bernard IV, Count of Astarac. In Spain the courts of
Alphonse II, Pedro II, Jamie I, Pedro III, kings of Aragon; Alfonso IX of Leon and Alfonso X of Castile extended the strongest sympathy and aid to the Provencal poets; and some of these sovereigns, like Jamie I, entered actively into the lists for literary honors. Hence all the great names in the first period of Provencal literature are inseparably connected with one or several of these courts, or literary centres.
Arnaut Daniel, considered by his contempo raries as the most gifted poet at the court of Richard Coeur de Lion, wasgreatly admired by both Petrarch and Dante. He was the origi nator of the "sestina* and, incidentally, a lover of complicated and intricate versification, both of which he succeeded in making popular. Arnault of Mareuil, noted for his delicacy of style, symplicity and felicity of expression, had many of the qualities of a good poet, and his surviving work commends itself to the modern reader. Bertran de Born, a noted poet who lived at the court of Henry Curtmantle, son of Henry II of England, was a famous soldier, as well, who is said to have been known to all the courts of Europe of his day where Provencal poetry was known. He gained additional notoriety by the prominent part he took in the quarrel between Henry and his unruly sons. Peire Vidal of Toulouse, who was well and favorably known at all the Provençal courts, was looked upon as one of the greatest singers of his day, and in addition to being one of the favorite troubadours of Richard Coeur de Lion, was on especially good terms with Raimon V of Toulouse and Barral of Marseilles, where his striking poetical gifts and his knowledge of the ways of the court and his natural tact made him a general favorite and incidentally enabled him to become one of the richest of troubadours. Girault de Borneil, who has been termed the master poet of the troubadours, was dis tinguished for simplicity of style and other attractive poetical gifts. He was a great master of the trobar clus (dose verse) which he made popular. Gaucelm Faidit, one of the favorite troubadours of Richard C.oeur de Lion, has left, among other short poems of merit, a touching lament on the death of the great Crusader whose exploits caught the fancy of the Europe of his day and held it for several generations. Among the numerous troubadours of good family was the famous Folguet of Marseilles who later be came bishop of Toulouse, and in that capacity savagely persecuted the Albigenses, all forget ful of the passionate love songs he had sung in his youth, and the gentle ways of the court for which he had distinguished himself. Al though many troubadours arose among people of lower rank yet, especially after the profes sion became famous and kings like Jamie I of Aragon had lent it dignity by composing troubadour songs themselves, many men of noble birth entered the ranks of the poets; and of these not a few became professional trou badours. Among these were Raimon de Mira val who became one of the most popular trou badours of the court of Pedro II of Aragon, and, of that of Raimon VI, Count of Toulouse; Guillem Azemar and Raimbaut de Vacqueiras, a favorite at the court of Guillaume du Baus, Prince of Orange, in the latter half of the 12th and the beginning of the 13th centuries. But the patrons of the troubadours were no respectors of rank when it became a question of the recognition of the gifts of poetry and song. Bernart of Ventadour won the love of the lady of Ventadour through his wondrous lyrical gifts, and when he had to flee from the court, he found like favor in the eyes of the more famous. Eleanor of Guienne. Yet he was the son of a house servant. Several troubadours were sons of trades-people, bourgeois, scrive ners, clerks and persons in a position to give them at least the rudiments of education. Others began their poetical work as students as a means of paying expenses and continued at it because it appealed to them; while another very considerable class of troubadours con sisted of needy younger sons of noble families who found the wandering life of the troubadour a very pleasant means of making a living. On account of the high connection of this of singers their existence at all the courts was agreeable, since it brought them constantly into public prominence without the restrictions of rank imposed upon gifted poets of more humble birth.