Folquet de Marselha - Troubadour

Troubadour

Initially famed as a troubadour, he began composing songs in the 1170s and was known to Raymond Geoffrey II of Marseille, Richard Coeur de Lion, Raymond V of Toulouse, Raimond-Roger of Foix, Alfonso II of Aragon and William VIII of Montpellier. He is known primarily for his love songs, which were lauded by Dante; there are 14 surviving cansos, one tenson, one lament, one invective, three crusading songs and possibly one religious song (although its authorship is disputed). Like many other troubadours, he was later credited by the Biographies des Troubadours to have conducted love affairs with the various noblewomen about whom he sang (allegedly causing William VIII to divorce his wife, Eudocia Comnena), but all evidence suggests that Folquet's early life was considerably more prosaic and in keeping with his status as a wealthy citizen. A contemporary, John of Garlande, later described him as "renowned on account of his spouse, his progeny, and his home," all marks of bourgeois respectability.