(fl c1170–1200). Provençal troubadour. He was apparently born at Mareuil-sur-Belle in the diocese of Périgord. According to his romanticized biography, he was by profession a scribe and notary, but abandoned his poorly paid duties in favour of a more enjoyable existence as troubadour; in the latter capacity he was first at the court of Roger II, Viscount of Béziers, and his wife Adelaide, and afterwards at the court of William VIII, Count of Montpellier. Of the 26 chansons attributed to him, six survive with music; 13 more works are ascribed to him in various sources, but are not likely to be his. In addition, he wrote both saluts d'amours (poetic love-letters), five of which survive, and an ensenhamen, a didactic, moralizing poem commenting on contemporary customs. He was among the first to cultivate these genres. His poetry was much appreciated by Petrarch. He preferred evolving tonalities and structures to centralized ones: only La grans beutatz is cast in bar form, the second pes recurring in varied form in the cauda and set off by new material, and only in this melody is the final predictable from the opening phrase. Although characteristic motifs may recur in other melodies in either symmetrical or irregular fashion, entire phrases are not repeated. For the most part the melodies progress in neumatic style, interspersed occasionally with largely syllabic phrases. Ranges between a 7th and a 9th are normal, although the unusual Si·m destrenhetz apparently has a range of an 11th. There is no strong evidence for regularity of rhythmic organization.
See also Troubadours, trouvères.
Editions: Der musikalische Nachlass der Troubadours, ed. F. Gennrich, iii–iv, xv (SMM, 1958–65) [G]Las cançons dels trobadors, ed. I. Fernandez de La Cuesta (Toulouse, 1979) [FC]The Extant Troubadour Melodies, ed. H. van der Werf (Rochester, NY, 1984) [W]
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Aissi com cel qu'ama, e non es amatz, PC 30.3, G iii, 57, FC 236, W 15 |
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La franca captenensa, PC 30.15, G iii, 58, and iv, 143, FC 238, W 16 |
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La grans beutatz e·ls fis ensenhamens, PC 30.16, G iii, 58, and iv, 143, FC 240, W 17 |
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L'ensenhamens e·l pretz e la valor, PC 30.17, G iii, 59, and iv, 144, FC 242, W 18 |
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Molt era·m dolz mei conssir, PC 30.19, G iii, 60, FC 244, W 19 |
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Si·m destrenhetz, dona, vos et amors, PC 30.23, G iii, 61, and iv, 144, FC 246, W 20 |
H.J. Chaytor: The Troubadours (Cambridge, 1912/R)
R.C. Johnston, ed.: Les poésies lyriques du troubadour Arnaut de Mareuil (Paris, 1935/R)
P. Bec, ed.: Les saluts d'amour du troubadour Arnaud de Mareuil (Toulouse, 1961)
C. Page: Voices and Instruments of the Middle Ages (Berkeley, 1986)
E. Aubrey: The Music of the Troubadours (Bloomington, IN, 1996)
For further bibliography see Troubadours, trouvères.
THEODORE KARP