(fl 1120–47). Troubadour. His reputation as the poet of ‘distant love’ (‘l'amor de loing’) is largely based on his most famous poem, Lanquan li jorn (PC 262.2). Attempts to uncover who Jaufre was addressing in this poem have been unsuccessful, and the vida's account of his falling in love with the Countess of Tripoli is probably fictitious (for illustration see Troubadours, trouvères, fig.1). Jaufre is called the ‘prince de Blaia’ and was probably one of the lords of Blaye. The earliest reference to him is found in a charter from Tenaille Abbey dated 1120 (see Rosenstein). His presence in the Second Crusade (1147) is suggested by a reference in a poem by Marcabru. From his own poems we learn that Jaufre had contact with other lords: the ‘Count of Toulouse’ and ‘Bertrans’ (PC 262.3; probably Alphonse Jourdain and his bastard son), and ‘Lord Hugh the Swarthy’ (PC 262.5; Hugh VII, Count of Lusigan), all of whom participated in the crusade.
The vida claims that Jaufre ‘made many poems … with good melodies and poor words’. Of the six poems ascribed to him, four have survived with music. His clear and simple poetic style is reflected in the melodic form. All four melodies are in chanson form (ABABX), matching the rhyme scheme (ababx), an exception in the troubadour repertory. The painful aspect of distant love is expressed in the unstable cadences on the repeated phrase ‘de loing’ in Lanquan li jorn (see Treitler, pp.7–9). The popularity of this melody is demonstrated by several later works which bear a strong resemblance to it, including Walther von der Vogelweide's Allerêrst lebe ich mir werde.
Editions:Les chansons de Jaufré Rudel, ed. A. Jeanroy, Les classiques français du Moyen Age, xv (Paris, 1915, 2/1924) [complete edn]Der musikalische Nachlass der Troubadours, ed. F. Gennrich, SMM, iii, iv, xv (1958–65) [complete edn]The Songs of Jaufré Rudel, ed. R. Pickens (Toronto, 1978) [complete edn]Las cançons dels trobadors, ed. I. Fernandez de la Cuesta and R. Lafont (Toulouse, 1979) [complete edn]The Poetry of Cercamon and Jaufre Rudel, ed. G. Wolf and R. Rosenstein (New York, 1983) [with discussion of music by van der Werf] [complete edn]The Extant Troubadour Melodies, ed. H. van der Werf and G. Bond (Rochester, NY, 1984) [complete edn]Il canzoniere di Jaufre Rudel, ed. G. Chiarini (L'Aquila, 1985) [complete edn]
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Lanquan li jorn son lonc en may, PC 262.2 [contrafactum: Walther von der Vogelweide, ‘Allerêrst lebe ich mir werde’], ed. in van der Werf, 1972, p.85 |
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No sap chantar qui so non di, PC 262.3 |
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Quan li rius de la fontana, PC 262.5 |
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Quan lo rossinhols el folhos, PC 262.6 |
E. Aubrey: ‘Forme et formule dans les mélodies des troubadours’, Congrès international de l'Association internationale d'études occitanes I [Southampton 1984], ed. P.T. Ricketts (London, 1987), 69–83
R. Rosenstein: ‘Retour aux origines du troubadour Jaufre Rudel: “L'escola n'Eblo”’, Studia in honorem prof. M. de Riquer, ii (Barcelona, 1987), 603–611
M. Switten: ‘Singing the Second Crusade’, The Second Crusade and the Cistercians, ed. M. Gervers (New York, 1992), 67–76
L. Treitler: ‘Medieval Lyric’, Models of Musical Analysis: Music before 1600, ed. M. Everist (Oxford, 1992), 1–19
For further bibliography see Troubadours, trouvères.
ROBERT FALCK/JOHN D. HAINES