Pr Mohammed Abbassa / د. محمد عباسة

The troubadours and Andalusian strophic poetry:

William IX (died 1127), Count of Poitiers and seventh Duke of Aquitaine, is considered the first poet from southern France to have introduced rhyme schemes of all kinds into European poetry.

William IX was the first to employ the standardized rhyme scheme popularized by Arabic poetry, using it in three poems from his complete works.

Provençal poets also used quatrains, quintets, and other forms found in muwashshahat, zajals, and other Arabic poetic forms.

These poetic forms, which originated with the troubadours, were absent from earlier European poetry. They were instead influenced by Arabic poetry, considered the first to employ rhyme.

Occitan poets excelled in the art of rhyme, not only by adopting Andalusian techniques but also by enriching their poetry with other forms and modifying numerous elements.

In Occitan poetry, poets begin their poems with an introductory verse, similar to the Andalusian muwashshahat and zajal.

A stanza of the poem is called a verse by the troubadour, and this is the same term we find in the muwashshahat and the zajal.

Occitan poetry employs various metrical structures, notably quatrains followed by a one-line refrain, a form used by the Andalusians in their zajal.

Marcabrun composed many poems in the style of the muwashshahat, including his famous poem "Estornel," whose form is identical to that of the muwashshah of Abu Bakr al-Abyad.

William IX was the first European poet to use the refrain, although he introduced a slight modification that deviated somewhat from the Andalusian models. Among the troubadour poets, the refrain was called a "vuelta".

Occitan poems may lack introductory verses and consist solely of refrains, like Andalusian muwashshahat and zajal.

In Provençal poetry, the kharja is called finida. It first appeared in muwashshahat, then in zajal. European poetry was unfamiliar with the kharja before the troubadours, contemporaries of the most celebrated Andalusian poets of muwashshah and zajal.

In Andalusian poetry, the kharja is the final verse of the muwashshah or zajal, while in Occitan poetry, some kharjas can be the final verse of the poem, and others follow directly after the final verse with the same rhyme.

Occitan poems addressed the same themes as Andalusian poems, and their form was also identical.

One of the themes explored by the troubadour poets was courtly love, a chivalric love imbued with noble values. This concept is characterized by the glorification of the woman and submission to her, even if she does not reciprocate the lover's feelings.

This theme also appears in Arabic poetry and is particularly associated with the 'Udhri poets, who were not destined to marry their beloveds. Nevertheless, these Arab poets continued to express their love for them until their dying breath.

However, the love that the 'Udhri poets felt for their companions began before their marriage. But among the Occitans, this love was directed toward women who were already married or widowed, a misinterpretation based on the belief that the 'Udhri poets only courted married women. William IX, Count of Poitiers, is considered the first poet to have composed courtly lyric poetry. As for Bernard de Ventadorn (died in 1195), he was among the first Provençal poets to explore the theme of chaste love and to revitalize love poetry. The chaste love expressed by Bernard de Ventadorn is not unlike the platonic love found among the Arabs.

Guilhem de Montanhagol (died 1268) was the first troubadour to address the theme of chastity in Occitan poetry. Historians of Occitan poetry generally agree that Guilhem de Montanhagol was the first to explore the theme of chaste love.

The chaste love that appeared in Occitan poetry was transmitted to the troubadour poets by minstrels from Andalusia, and the Occitan poets used it as a weapon against the Church and to ridicule clerics who despised women.

Among the poems in which the troubadours were influenced by Arab-Andalusian poetry is "L'Amour de la dame jamais vue" (The Love of the Lady Never Seen), also known as "Amour impossible" (Impossible Love) or "Amour lointain" (Distant Love), which first appears in the work of the troubadour Guillaume IX. In this poem, the knight expresses his anguish and his ardent desire to see his beloved again, whom he has never met.

The theme of "The Unknown Lady" is associated with the poet Jaufré Rudel, Prince of Blaye (died 1147), considered one of the most celebrated troubadours of the genre. Deeply in love with the Countess of Tripoli, whom he never saw, he composed numerous poems for her entitled "Distant Love."

As for Rimbaud d'Aurenja (died 1173), he was deeply in love with a young Lombard woman, the Countess of Urgell. He never saw her, but loved her based on the praise he had heard about her. He composed several poems about her, but never had the opportunity to meet her and died without ever having seen her.

Descriptive love poetry is a genre that emerged in Andalusia before the time of William IX, Jaufré Rudel, and Rimbaud d'Orange. It appears in various Andalusian poems, including odes, fragments, zajals, and muwashshahat. Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi also dedicated a chapter to it in his work "The Dove's Necklace."

Sa'id ibn Judi al-Andalusi, Emir of Elvira, is considered one of the most illustrious poet-knights to have distinguished himself on this theme. One day, he entered Cordoba and approached the Emir's palace. He heard a slave girl singing, renowned in her time for her beauty and charm. Captivated by her, without ever having seen her, he composed numerous poems about her, of which only a fragment has survived. The troubadour poets shared this same interest in the emir of Elvira, but Sa'id ibn Judi, who died in 284 AH (897 AD), preceded them by far, as they appeared in Provence at the beginning of the 12th century.

The poem "Alba" (The Dawn) is a love poem in which the poet recounts the meeting of a knight and his lady on a dark night, not far from the palace of a feudal lord. Finding the night too short, they complain about the early dawn. Often, a third person accompanies them: usually a friend watching over them, sometimes a guardian who might surprise them.

This poem, in which the young woman attacks the dawn, was used by troubadour poets to mock the feudal lords who barricaded themselves in their castles for fear of the slightest danger, especially at night.

The theme of the "shortening of the night" appears in Arabic poetry even before the emergence of the troubadours. It is also explored by the poets of the muwashshah and zajal in Andalusia, and taken up by later malhun poets in the Maghreb and the Mashreq.

The pastoral poem "pastorella" tells the story of a young country girl, often alone with her sheep. This type of poetry takes the form of a dialogue between the shepherdess and a knight who tries to seduce her with sweet promises. However, the girl, with her characteristic originality and gentleness, thwarts all the seducer's advances. In the final verse, the poet praises the girl, highlighting her virtues and nobility.

This theme appears in Arabic poetry, where the poet sings the praises of the young Bedouin woman of the Levant and the rural girl of the Maghreb. However, the Arabs do not employ the theme of seduction as the Occitan poets do at the beginning of their poems. Nevertheless, the Occitan poems are more harmonious, as if these troubadours were weaving according to precise patterns.