Who were the female troubadours?
Female troubadours were noble women who had access to education due to their status. They were called slightly differently from their male counterparts: trobairitz. Like male troubadours, trobairitz wrote poetry and composed music at the courts of southern France. Unlike troubadours, who often idealized the lady, women wrote more personal poetry, usually about their own emotions, candid love, and heartbreak. Little of their work has been preserved, but some examples have survived the test of time, such as the poetry of Comtessa de Dia.
Comtessa de Dia, Estat ai en greu cossirier
Estat ai en greu cossirier
per un cavalier qu-ai agut,
e vuoil sia totz temps saubut
cum ieu l'ai amat a sobrier;
ara vei qu'ieu sui trahida
car ieu non li donei m'amor
don ai estat en gran error
en lieig e quand sui vestida.
Ben volria mon cavallier
tener un ser en mos bratz nut,
qu'el s'en tengra per ereubut
sol qu'a lui fezes cosseillier;
car plus m'en sui abellida
no fetz Floris de Blanchaflor:
ieu l'autrei mon cor e m'amor
mon sen, mos huoillis e ma vida.
Bels amics avinens e bos,
cora.us tenrai en mon poder?
e que jagues ab vos un ser
e qu'ie.us des un bais amoros;
sapchatz, gran talen n'auria
qu'ie.us tengues en luoc del marit,
ab so que m'aguessetz plevit
de far tot so qu qu'ieu volria.
Translation by Meg Bogin:
I've lately been in great distress
over a knight who once was mine,
and I want it known for all eternity
how I loved him to excess.
Now I see I've been betrayed
because I wouldn't sleep with him;
night and day my mind won't rest
to think of the mistake I made.
How I wish just once I could caress
that chevalier with my bare arms,
for he would be in ecstasy
if I'd just let him lean my hand against his breast.
I'm sure I'm happier with him
than Blancaflor with Floris.
My heart and love I offer him,
my mind, my eyes, my life.
Handsome friend, charming and kind,
when shall I have you in my power?
If only I could lie beside you for an hour
and embrace you lovingly -
know this, that I'd give almost anything
to have you in my husband's place,
but only under the condition
that you swear to do my bidding.
Sources:
Meg Bogin, The Women Troubadours, W.W. Norton, 1980
Leigh Melander, PhD, “The Trobairitz: How Access to Power Unfurls Creative Expression,” https://www.jcf.org/post/the-trobairitz-how-access-to-power-unfurls-creative-expression
Kate Travers, “A Name is Not Enough: the Trobairitz and the Problem of Medieval Women Poets,” https://blogs.surrey.ac.uk/medievalwomen/2018/01/09/a-name-is-not-enough-the-trobairitz-and-the-problem-of-medieval-women-poets/#:~:text=The%20term%20*trobairitz*%20comes%20from%20a%20medieval,associate%20with%20lovelorn%20knights%20and%20their%20ladies