William IX of Aquitaine

William IX of Aquitaine (October 22 1071 – February 10 1126, also Guillaume or Guilhem d'Aquitaine), nicknamed the Troubador was Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitiers as William VII of Poitiers between 1086 and 1126. He was also one of the leaders of the crusade of 1101 and one of the first vernacular poets and troubadours.

Poetry

William's greatest legacy to history was not as a warrior but as a poet. He was he was the first known troubadour, or lyric poet employing the Romance vernacular called Provencal, or Occitan. Eleven of his songs have survived into the 21st century (Merwin, 2002). His artistic name was lo cons de Peitieus, and he was one of the most important troubadours of the Middle Age's Provençal literature. The topics varied, treating sex, love, women, his own sexual prowess, and feudal politics. His brashness, wit, and temper caused scandal and won admiration at the same time. He stands as the first surviving troubadour, and one of the first Romance vernacular poets of theMiddle Ages, a cultural phenomenon that would culminate in Dante, Boccaccio, and Villon.

Related Topics:
Middle Ages - Dante - Boccaccio - Villon

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William was a man that loved scandal and no doubt enjoyed shocking his audiences. Upon returning from crusade, he abandoned his wife in favour of a married woman, known as Dangereuse (Dangerosa in Occitan) from his poems, and risked excommunication for the deed. He also composed a song about founding a convent in his lands, where the nuns would be picked from among the most beautiful women in the region, or from the best whores, depending on the translation. While this confirms William's lusty persona, it also makes a joke about the penitentiary convents for prostituted founded by the charismatic preacher Robert of Arbrissel. (Bond, xlix) In fact, William granted large donations to the church, perhaps to regain the pope's favour. He also constructed the palace of Poitou, later added to by his granddaughter Eleanor of Aquitaine. It survives to this day in the city of Poitiers.

Related Topics:
Excommunication - Convent - Nun - Robert of Arbrissel - Pope - Eleanor of Aquitaine - Poitiers

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One of William's poems is a musing on mortality; it begins: Since now I have a mind to sing/I'll make a song of that which saddens me, and goes on to say: For I have known delight and dalliance/Both far and near, yea and in my own dwelling/But this day, joy and dalliance, farewell. He died on February 10th, 1126, age 55.

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