The fifth target of Peire d’Alvernhe in the satira Chantarai d’aquestz trobadors

Abstract

The basic premise of this article is that the satirical poem of Peire d’Alvernhe Chantarai d’aquestz trobadors was conceived and developed after the celebration of the marriage of Alfonso VIII of Castile to Eleanor of England in September 1170. Many of the troubadours, court jesters, and performers (of varied origins and even more various levels of talent) who had gathered for the special event were still lingering in Iberia, lured by the generous invitation of the young king, Alfonso II (himself quite the fan of light entertainment) and by the gracious hospitality afforded them by the overlords of the land. Among these we would single out the Count of Urgel, Ermengaldus VII, and his wife Dulcia, daughter of the Count of Foix and cousin to Alfonso II, who together frequently sponsored «joyful courts» at Agramunt. Some two kilometers distant stood the castle of Puigvert, the site—so Peire d’Alvernhe informs us—of the first performance of his recital. Based on documentary evidence, we show that living and working in this same feudal territory was the nobleman Gullem de Ribas, object of the mocking jibes in the sixth strophe of Peire’s satirical composition.