Gautier d'Espinal [Epinal]

(b before 1220; d before July 1272).French trouvère. He is generally assumed to have been a member of the family of the seigneurs of Epinal; identification has been based on this and on the dedication of Quant voi iver to the Count of Bar. A Gautier d'Espinal is mentioned in documents of 1232 to 1272. Some scholars feel, on the other hand, that the style of Gautier's works points to an author active earlier in the 13th century.

A few of the chansons attributable to Gautier survive in more than six sources, but several are in no more than three. The opening strophes of Aïmans fins and Desconfortés et de joie parti were quoted by Girart d'Amiens in his roman Méliacin. While the imagery of the poems remains wholly within the stock vocabulary of the chanson courtoise, Gautier handled his material with considerable skill. Most strophes contain the same number of syllables per line – generally ten, though sometimes seven or eight. Partis de doulour, Tout esforciés and Comencement de douce saison, however, are of elaborate construction. Gautier did not depend as heavily as most on the standard abab rhyme pattern for the opening of the strophe; this in turn is reflected in the formal freedom of a number of melodies.

While bar form still constitutes the norm, Puis qu'en moi a recouvré and Par son dous comandement are non-repetitive, and Tout autresi concludes an otherwise through-composed setting with a variant of the third phrase. Aïmans fins presents an irregular pattern of repetition using variation. The structure of Ne puet laissier fins is unusual: the rhyme scheme suggests a strophic division into groups of four lines plus three, while the syntactical grouping of the first strophe is three plus two plus two: the melody, on the other hand, may be described as ABCA'B'C'D. With regard to melodic construction, Gautier favoured the G modes; a trait characteristic of many of his melodies is the use of one or more tonal centres that exert a force equal to that of the final. In Tout esforciés the repeated use of the opening leap of a 5th, d–a, forms a strong counterbalance to the final, g, while a similar function is filled by the contrast of the chain of 3rds, a–c'–e', against the g final in Aïmans fins. Strong centres on the fourth degree and on the subfinal are found in Amours et bone volenté and …Quant voi iver. None of the melodies survives in mensural notation and there are apparently no regular patterns of rhythmic construction. In general, there is an increase in rhythmic activity as the phrases progress towards the cadences. The validity of modal rhythm in his works seems dubious.

WORKS

Edition: Trouvère Lyrics with Melodies: Complete and Comparative Edition, ed. H. Tischler, CMM, cvii (1997)

possibly by Gautier

doubtful works

BIBLIOGRAPHY

U. Lindelöf and A.Wallensköld: ‘Les chansons de Gautier d'Epinal’, Mémoires de la Société néophilologique de Helsinki, iii (1902), 205–319

F. Gennrich: Grundriss einer Formenlehre des mittelalterlichen Liedes als Grundlage einer musikalische Formenlehre des Liedes (Halle, 1932/R)

H. Petersen Dyggve: ‘Personnages historiques figurant dans la poésie lyrique française des XIIe et XIIle siècles, ii: Gautier d'Epinal’, Neuphilologische Mitteilungen, xxxvi (1935), 19–29

T. Gérold: Histoire de la musique des origines à la fin du XIVe siècle (Paris, 1936/R)

R. Dragonetti: La technique poétique des trouvères dans la chanson courtoise: contribution à l'étude de la rhétorique mediévale (Bruges, 1960/R)

For further bibliography see Troubadours, trouvères.

THEODORE KARP