Gontier de Soignies

(fl before 1220). French trouvère. He was presumably born in Soignies, north of Mons in the province of Hainaut. His poetic style suggests that he probably belonged to the first generation of trouvères. Two strophes of his Lors que florist la bruiere (R.1322a) were quoted by Jean Renart in the Roman de la rose ou de Guillaume de Dole (vv.5215ff), written in the 1220s; several of the interpolations in this roman appear to date from around the turn of the century. Je n’en puis mon cuer blasmer quant il soupire (R.1505a) requests the patronage of a count of Burgundy, possibly Othon I (1190–1200). Lonc tens ai esté, attributed also to Aubin de Sezane, quotes from a work by Gace Brulé.

Gontier was perhaps the most important creator not only of the rotrouenge (the term occurs within five of his poems), but also of the so-called Reihenstrophe, comprising three or more pairs of lines ending in ab rhymes with optional close. Both forms constitute part of the earliest stratum of northern French lyric poetry. Nevertheless, Gontier remained outside the mainstream of the tradition. Many of his works survive in a single manuscript (the Chansonnier de Noailles, F-Pn fr.12615, is the main source), 14 occur without music, and only three survive in six or more manuscripts. Only one, of contested authorship, provided the model for a later imitation.

His poetic style is simple, in some respects archaic, and not free of obscurity, but he nevertheless remains one of the most original of the trouvères. Some scholars have found similarities between his treatment of courtly love and that of Petrarch. His verse shows a decided preference for shorter lines, primarily heptasyllables and octosyllables, although verses of between three and six syllables are not rare. On the other hand, two poems without music are among the small handful within the trouvère repertory that are composed either primarily or entirely of endecasyllables. There are only one or two rhymes in the main body of the strophe except for Quant j'oi el breuil which has five (and a sixth for the refrain). Refrains occur in all but four of the poems.

Similar poetic forms may give rise to a variety of musical forms. One extreme is represented by Douce amours qui m'atalente which consists of eight pairs of heptasyllabic lines, rhymed ab, and a two-line refrain. This is set to a melody with two main elements, each stated eight times in alternation, in original or varied form; phrases six and 17 provide the only relief within a form akin to that which presumably governed the chanson de geste. On the other hand, Renvoisiés sui quant voi verdir, which has four pairs of octosyllabic lines and a four-line refrain, is organized into three musical sections, which in the reading of the Chansonnier Cangé (F-Pn fr.846) follow the pattern ABCD, AB'CD, EFC'D'. Quant li tens, which consists of four pairs of heptasyllabic lines and a two-line refrain, is non-repetitive (although the tenth phrase of the reading in the Chansonnier de l'Arsenal, F-Pa 5198, may be classed as a variant of the eighth). However, with the exception of this work and A la douçor, Chanter m'estuet and L'an que li dous chans retentist, which employ immediate repetition of the first phrase, all melodies exhibit some sort of bar form.

In general, the melodies are simple and attractive – they are primarily syllabic except for the more florid Chanter m'estuet – and convey a strong sense of tonal centre. Authentic modes predominate, and nearly half of the melodies employ g as the final. None of the melodies survives in mensural notation. Occasionally the disposition of ligatures might perhaps suggest the suitability of the 2nd mode; the clearest examples are in Quant li tens and Lonc tens ai esté.

WORKS

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

works of uncertain authorship

BIBLIOGRAPHY

MGG1 (F. Gennrich)

A. Scheler: Trouvères belges: nouvelle série (Leuven, 1879/R 1977 as Trouvères belges du XIIe au XIVe siècle: première série et nouvelle série)

F. Gennrich: Die altfranzösische Rotrouenge (Halle, 1925)

H. Spanke: Eine altfranzösische Liedersammlung (Halle, 1925)

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

L. Formisano, ed.: Gontier de Soignies: Il canzoniere (Milan, 1980)

For further bibliography see Troubadours, trouvères.

THEODORE KARP