Colin Muset
Encyclopedia
Colin Muset was an Old French
trouvère
and a native of Lorraine
. He made his living in the Champagne by travelling from castle to castle singing songs of his own composition and playing the vielle
. These are not confined to the praise of courtly love
that formed the usual topic of the trouvères, but contain many details of a jongleur's life. His complete works are eighteen: nine attributed in chansonnier
s, three self-referencing, and six whose attributions are based on modern scholarship (one of which is held to be mis-attributed in the manuscripts). Twenty one poems credited to him were edited and published by Joseph Bédier
in 1912 (Paris) and later, with the reduction of his authentic corpus
to sixteen poems, by Massimiliano Chiamenti
in 2005 (Rome). Nine of his poems have surviving music. Seven are chansons jongleuresques, that is, songs describing the life of a jongleur. His three serventois condemn the avarice of the nobility, but his moralising is balanced by self-deprecating humour. He also wrote two descort
s, one lai
, and one cynical tenson with Jacques d'Amiens.
The nickname "Muset" may derive from his inspiration ("muse
") or from his habit of muser (wandering about, wasting time).
Old French
Old French was the Romance dialect continuum spoken in territories that span roughly the northern half of modern France and parts of modern Belgium and Switzerland from the 9th century to the 14th century...
trouvère
Trouvère
Trouvère , sometimes spelled trouveur , is the Northern French form of the word trobador . It refers to poet-composers who were roughly contemporary with and influenced by the troubadours but who composed their works in the northern dialects of France...
and a native of Lorraine
Lorraine (province)
The Duchy of Upper Lorraine was an historical duchy roughly corresponding with the present-day northeastern Lorraine region of France, including parts of modern Luxembourg and Germany. The main cities were Metz, Verdun, and the historic capital Nancy....
. He made his living in the Champagne by travelling from castle to castle singing songs of his own composition and playing the vielle
Vielle
The vielle is a European bowed stringed instrument used in the Medieval period, similar to a modern violin but with a somewhat longer and deeper body, five gut strings, and a leaf-shaped pegbox with frontal tuning pegs. The instrument was also known as a fidel or a viuola, although the French...
. These are not confined to the praise of courtly love
Courtly love
Courtly love was a medieval European conception of nobly and chivalrously expressing love and admiration. Generally, courtly love was secret and between members of the nobility. It was also generally not practiced between husband and wife....
that formed the usual topic of the trouvères, but contain many details of a jongleur's life. His complete works are eighteen: nine attributed in chansonnier
Chansonnier
A chansonnier is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings of songs, hence literally "song-books," although some manuscripts are so called even though they preserve the text but not the music A chansonnier is a manuscript or...
s, three self-referencing, and six whose attributions are based on modern scholarship (one of which is held to be mis-attributed in the manuscripts). Twenty one poems credited to him were edited and published by Joseph Bédier
Joseph Bédier
Joseph Bédier was a French writer and scholar and historian of medieval France.-Biography:Bédier was born in Paris, France to Adolphe Bédier, a lawyer of Breton origin, and spent his childhood in Réunion. He was a professor of medieval French literature at the Université de Fribourg, Switzerland ...
in 1912 (Paris) and later, with the reduction of his authentic corpus
Text corpus
In linguistics, a corpus or text corpus is a large and structured set of texts...
to sixteen poems, by Massimiliano Chiamenti
Massimiliano Chiamenti
Massimiliano Chiamenti was an Italian poet and philologist.He lived in Bologna, where he taught at the "Liceo delle Scienze Sociali Laura Bassi and at the "Liceo Scientifico Leonardo Da vinci""....
in 2005 (Rome). Nine of his poems have surviving music. Seven are chansons jongleuresques, that is, songs describing the life of a jongleur. His three serventois condemn the avarice of the nobility, but his moralising is balanced by self-deprecating humour. He also wrote two descort
Descort
The descort is a subgenre of Occitan lyric poetry used by the troubadours. It is a song heavily discordant in verse form and/or feeling and often used to express disagreement. It was invented by Garin d'Apchier when he wrote Quan foill'e flors reverdezis...
s, one lai
Lai
A lai is a lyrical, narrative poem written in octosyllabic couplets that often deals with tales of adventure and romance.Lais were mainly composed in France and Germany, during the 13th and 14th centuries. A Provençal term for a similar kind of poem is descort.The English term lay is a...
, and one cynical tenson with Jacques d'Amiens.
The nickname "Muset" may derive from his inspiration ("muse
Muse
The Muses in Greek mythology, poetry, and literature, are the goddesses who inspire the creation of literature and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths...
") or from his habit of muser (wandering about, wasting time).