Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: PEIRE OF VALERIA Born about 1120, composed till beyond 1150. LIKE Cercamon and Marcabrun, Peire of Valeria was a Gascon, v' and like them too was one of the earliest of troubadours. The two poems he has left us are of no literary merit. OF PEIRE OF VALERIA Peire OF Valeria was of Gascony, of the country of Sir Arnaut Guillem of Marsan, and he was a jongleur at the same time and season as Marcabrun; and he made 'vers' of little worth, of flowers, of leaves, and of the songs of birds, even as men were wont to make at that time. His singing was of no great worth nor was he. GUIRAUDON THE RED -" 1120-1147. s"' The refinement and delicacy of Guiraudon's canzones, seven of which are extant, are a considerable advance upon the archaic poems of Cercamon and Peire of Valeria. His lady, the daughter of the Count of Toulouse, went with her father to the Crusade of 1147. She was taken prisoner by the famous Monreddin, Prince of Aleppo, whom she afterwards married, and at his death ruled over Aleppo during her sons' minority. See Mahn, Ixxxii. OF GUIRAUDON THE RED Now Guiraudon the Red was of Toulouse, the son of a poor knight. And he came to the court of his lord, Count Alphonso, for to serve him. And he was courteous and well skilled in singing, and he became enamoured of the Countess, the daughter of his lord, and the love he had for her taught him to make poetry, and he made many canzones. ' BERNART OF VENTADORN 1148-1195. Little is known of Bernart beyond that which his biographer gives us. He is undoubtedly the first great Provengal poet, and indeed one of the greatest mediaeval love-poets in all Europe. In him are found the best characteristics of Provengal lyric poetry, complete self-abandonment and humility, alternations of rapture and despair, perfec...