8 Sept 2012
5 Sept 2012
The Love Generation of the Sixties - That is the 1160s Actually
Celebrating Beatriz de Dia and the Trobairitz who were the Pussy Riot of the high Medieaval period of the European Middle Ages. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Middle_Ages
Beatritz or Beatriz de Dia (born c. 1140 - flourished circa 1175 in Provence) was the most famous of a small group of trobairitz, or female troubadours who wrote courtly songs of love during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Typical subject matter used by Comtessa de Dia in her lyrics includes her sense of optimism, her self appreciation as a woman and as a lover, as well as the theme of betrayal.
In one chantar, Comtessa plays the part of a betrayed lover, who retaliates in praise of herself.
In Fin Joi (see second video) however, Comtessa makes fun of the lausengier, a person known for gossiping, comparing those who gossip to a "cloud that obscures the sun."
The Countess of Dia composed songs in the Occitan language of the Languedoc region in southeast France that were passionate and incisive commentaries on contemporary society in the Middle Ages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languedoc
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occitan_language
The
songs of courtly love that the troubadours composed and performed
changed the status of wealthy women from mere possessions to the very
meaning of life and love itself, so who were the Troubadours and what
became of them?
Wikipedia says:-A troubadour originally
[tɾuβaˈðoɾ]) was a composer and performer of Occitan lyric poetry during
the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troubadour
The troubadour school or tradition began in the eleventh century in Occitania, but it subsequently spread into Italy, Spain and even Greece. Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe: the Minnesang in Germany, trovadorismo in Galicia and Portugal and that of the trouvères in northern France.
Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia defined the troubadour lyric as fictio rethorica musicaque poita: rhetorical, musical, and poetical fiction.
Here we seem to have the rock 'n' roll stars of the Middle Ages whose 'good vibrations' caught on all across western Europe as the genre spread.
Whilst the courtly love they serenaded is not exactly equivalent to the Free Love of the 1960s, it nevertheless was a liberation that was not only for men.
There were also the Trobairitz...the female troubadours in the 12th century who responded to this changed perception of women with a form of proto feminism.
As gender historian of the Middle Ages William D. Paden has noted, "Our most direct access
to the experience of medieval women lies in their own writing " and the trobairitz offer some of this insight.
The trobairitz epitomize these sorts of women, and the fact that we have any written work from them at all, shows that they must have had some kind of freedom and status to be able to offer up their voices and reveal their artistic creativity.
The trobairitz wrote their works in a variety of forms, but they all tend to have one central theme, much like their male counter parts.
Almost all of the poetry derived from the
trobairitz centre around the theme of "fin'amor" or the idea of a pure
or perfect love.
Their poems, like many in the middle ages, celebrate a form of ideal romance, or what has come to be known as "courtly love."
The term "courtly love" was first popularized by Gaston Paris in 1883, and has since come under a wide variety of definitions and uses, even being dismissed as nineteenth-century romantic fiction. Its interpretation, origins and influences continue to be a matter of critical debate.
Courtly love was both erotic and spiritual, illicit and morally elevating at the same time, some even have accused the Troubadours of devising a guide book to adultery with their adoring canon of courtly love.
The idolisation of women expressed in the songs of the Troubadours is largely influenced by cults worshipping the Virgin Mary but these are said to pre-date Christianity and seem to be linked to pagan Goddess rituals.
There is an unresolved debate about the true origins of the Troubadours one can distinguish at least eleven competing theories according to Wikipedia. Some experts argue it had Arab roots originating in Spain, others say Celtic or Pictic origins and yet others see it's embryo in Classical Latin or feudal folk lore.
Wherever it came from it had an impact on the powerful social classes of the day and apparently altered their morality and relations with the opposite sex.
The parallels between youth cultures that began in the 1960s and the medieval troubadour movement illustrate the power of music and art to shape attitudes and influence cultures.
The female expression of that cultural revolution the Trobairitz illustrates the freedom of thought that would eventually give rise to protestantism and serves to confound some of our stereotypes of gender relations in the Middle Ages.
As historian Liz Hale concludes:-
The trobairitz compose of a very interesting subset of women in the Middle Ages.
They wrote incredibly beautiful and explicit prose with, what can be thought of, as a somewhat progressive style.
These
women exemplify some of the few women of status and power of the age,
and much of their prose combat the stereotypical notion of the
submissive and obedient woman of the day.
Their writing suggests a class of women who were not afraid to tell of their own opinions and emotions, and who formed their own mini-movement by throwing their voices out into the oppressive society of the day.
So what happened to this courtly love and the roaming troubadours that gave Christendom it's first wave of hit love songs and the idealised trobiaritz feminist poet songsters?
How did patriarchy regain the upper hand after the troubadours message came to an abrupt end in the mid fourteenth century?
The reason is simple....The Black Death that had peaked in Europe between 1347 and 1351.
Figures for the death toll vary widely by area and from source to source as new research and discoveries come to light.
It killed an estimated 75–200 million people in the 14th century. In Britain almost half the population was wiped out.
This event really changed everything and ushered in the birth of modernity.
The troubadours, the trobairitz have have left their mark on modern society, but that path of progress was curtailed by the plague, which cut through human history like a great chasm that separates the Middle Ages from modern times.
Beatritz or Beatriz de Dia (born c. 1140 - flourished circa 1175, Provence) was the most famous of a small group of trobairitz, or female troubadours who wrote courtly songs of love during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trobairitz
Typical subject matter used by Comtessa de Dia in her lyrics includes optimism, self appreciation, as well as betrayal.
In a chantar, Comtessa plays the part of a betrayed lover, who retaliates in praise of herself. In Fin Joi however, Comtessa makes fun of the lausengier, a person known for gossipping, comparing those who gossip to a "cloud that obscures the sun."
Countess of Dia composed songs in the langue d'oc language that were passionate and incisive.
The songs of courtly love that the troubadours composed and performed changed the status of wealthy women from mere possessions to the very meaning of life and love itself, but who were the Troubadours and what became of them?
Wikipedia says:-A troubadour originally [tɾuβaˈðoɾ]) was a composer and performer of Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350).
The troubadour school or tradition began in the eleventh century in Occitania, but it subsequently spread into Italy, Spain and even Greece. Under the influence of the troubadours, related movements sprang up throughout Europe: the Minnesang in Germany, trovadorismo in Galicia and Portugal and that of the trouvères in northern France.
Dante Alighieri in his De vulgari eloquentia defined the troubadour lyric as "fictio rethorica musicaque poita": i.e. rhetorical, musical, and poetical fiction.
Here we have the rock 'n' roll stars of the Middle Ages whose 'good vibrations' caught on all across western Europe as the genre spread.
Whilst the courtly love they serenaded is not exactly equivalent to the Free Love of the 1960s, it nevertheless was a liberation that was not only for men.
There were also the Trobairitz...the female troubadours in the 12th century who responded to this changed perception of women with a form of proto feminism.
Liz Halt has written about the trobairitz.
"They lived during the heart of the Middle Ages, and in a sense they contradict the often-depicted image of the meek and sub-status women of the times....."
The female expression of that cultural revolution the Trobairitz illustrates the freedom of thought that would eventually give rise to protestantism and serves to confound some of our stereotypes of gender relations in the Middle Ages.
Here is what a trobairitz probably
sounded like according to a contemporary interpretation recorded in
Languedoc, France.... the home of the fabled troubadour tradition and
the proto-feminist movement that emerged out of it.
The language is Occitan, the original language of Languedoc and one that is making a comeback today in that region of modern France.
Song translation:
"End joi" makes me happy,
and that is why I sing cheerfully.
And slanderers say that does not hurt me,
instead I'm 2 times happy.
They are like clouds that obscure the sun ..."
The fiddle is built according to the archaeo-musicological sources known at the time of the troubadours, to find these old sounds and reproduce them.
3 Sept 2012
Begging For A Dayrider by Cosmo Jarvis
Having recently discovered the work of Cosmo Jarvis after being impressed recently by his made for television first full length feature film The Naughty Room. I was reminded of the highpoints of British television drama and it brought back memories of classic series like The Wednesday Play, Armchair Theatre and other drama slots on the BBC and the early comercial stations from the late 1950s and into the 70s.
This era saw the coming and going of kitchen sink drama which helped to 'democratise' what had been hitherto, a medium strictly reserved for received pronounciation
It is not possible to post The Naughty Room here, but this short film about a homeless man who loves to ride on the bus is a taste of Mr Jarvis's work.
Written, Directed, Shot,
Edited and scored by Cosmo Jarvis, Starring Mr. Black and J.J.
Filmed entirely in Plymouth southwest England. No Thanks says Cosmo to CityBus. The film was published on YouTube on 25 May 2012 by CosmoJarvis.
The story is a morality tale. One I can identify with as it happens. If anyone is unsure what a Dayrider is you will have no doubt deduced that it is a ticket that allows the lucky holder to travel on buses all day long to their hearts content.
In my teens and again in my 20s I had several periods of homelessness.
In 1972 I survived for 6 months without any income at all, much of that time sleeping in the incinerater room in a block of flats in Birmingham, writing my unpublished and now lost book on the The Midlands During English Civil Wars 1642-1651 - at night by streetlight and during the day in the library.
I sometimes hitchhiked to the seaside where the holidaymaking ambiance added to the contributions bestowed upon beggers like me by the feelgood factor and unparalleled economic growth of the 'Affluent Society' letting its hair down.
I survived on begging and being fed by friends and kindly people, occasionally doing odd jobs for cash. The thing that really struck me at the time though was how very little things gain much greater significance in those circumstances, a sandwich for example becomes an object of joy.
That is what I think this film is about as well as the message that sympathy and empathy overcomes violence and injustice.....it is a hopeful, sad, happy and I think a moving llittle film that says more about Austerity Britain in less than eleven minutes than some films do in two hours. I hope you like it.
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