Gace Brulé
Encyclopedia
Gace Brulé French
trouvère
, was a native of Champagne
.
His name is simply a description of his Blazon
ry. He owned land in Groslière and had dealings with the Knights Templar
, and received a gift from the future Louis VIII
. These facts are known from documents from the time. The rest of his history has been extracted from his poetry.
It has generally been asserted that he taught Thibaut of Champagne
the art of verse, an assumption which is based on a statement in the Chroniques de Saint-Denis: "Si l'est entre lui [Thibaut] et Gace Brulé les plus belles chançons et les plus delitables et melodieuses qui onque fussent ales." This has been taken as evidence of collaboration between the two poets.
The passage will bear the interpretation that with those of Gace the songs of Thibaut were the best hitherto known. Paulin Paris, in the Histoire littéraire de la France
(vol. xxiii.), quotes a number of facts that fix an earlier date for Gace's songs. Gace is the author of the earliest known jeu parti
. The interlocutors are Gace and a count of Brittany who is identified with Geoffrey of Brittany
, son of Henry II of England
.
Gace appears to have been banished from Champagne and to have found refuge in Brittany
. A deed dated 1212 attests a contract between Gatho Bruslé (Gace Ernie) and the Templars for a piece of land in Dreux
. It seems most probable that Gace died before 1220, at the latest in 1225.
See Gedeon Busken Huet, Chansons de Gace Brulé, edited for the Société des anciens textes français
(1902), with an exhaustive introduction. Dante
quotes a song by Gace, Ire d'amor qui en mon over repaire, which he attributes erroneously to Thibaut of Navarre (De vulgari eloquentia
, p. 151, ed. P Rajna, Florence, 1895).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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...
, was a native of Champagne
Champagne (province)
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...
.
His name is simply a description of his Blazon
Blazon
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image...
ry. He owned land in Groslière and had dealings with the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
, and received a gift from the future Louis VIII
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
. These facts are known from documents from the time. The rest of his history has been extracted from his poetry.
It has generally been asserted that he taught Thibaut of Champagne
Theobald I of Navarre
Theobald I , called the Troubadour, the Chansonnier, and the Posthumous, was Count of Champagne from birth and King of Navarre from 1234...
the art of verse, an assumption which is based on a statement in the Chroniques de Saint-Denis: "Si l'est entre lui [Thibaut] et Gace Brulé les plus belles chançons et les plus delitables et melodieuses qui onque fussent ales." This has been taken as evidence of collaboration between the two poets.
The passage will bear the interpretation that with those of Gace the songs of Thibaut were the best hitherto known. Paulin Paris, in the Histoire littéraire de la France
Histoire littéraire de la France
Histoire littéraire de la France is an enormous history of French literature initiated in 1733 by Dom Rivest and the Benedictines of St. Maur but it was abandoned in 1763 after the publication of volume XII...
(vol. xxiii.), quotes a number of facts that fix an earlier date for Gace's songs. Gace is the author of the earliest known jeu parti
Jeu parti
Jeu parti [Fr.; Occitan joc partit, “partimen”]. A debate or dialogue in the form of a poem. According to Guilhem Molinier, the author of Las leys d'amors, a 13th-century treatise on how to write poetry in the style of the troubadours, there is a clear difference between a partimen and a tenso: in...
. The interlocutors are Gace and a count of Brittany who is identified with Geoffrey of Brittany
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany
Geoffrey II, Duke of Brittany and Earl of Richmond was Duke of Brittany between 1181 and 1186, through his marriage with the heiress Constance. Geoffrey was the fourth son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine.-Family:He was a younger maternal half-brother of Marie de...
, son of Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
.
Gace appears to have been banished from Champagne and to have found refuge in Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. A deed dated 1212 attests a contract between Gatho Bruslé (Gace Ernie) and the Templars for a piece of land in Dreux
Dreux
Dreux is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France.-History:Dreux was known in ancient times as Durocassium, the capital of the Durocasses Celtic tribe. Despite the legend, its name was not related with Druids. The Romans established here a fortified camp known as Castrum...
. It seems most probable that Gace died before 1220, at the latest in 1225.
See Gedeon Busken Huet, Chansons de Gace Brulé, edited for the Société des anciens textes français
Société des anciens textes français
Société des anciens textes français is a learned society founded in Paris in 1875 with the purpose of publishing all kinds of medieval documents written either in langue d'oïl or langue d'oc . Its founding members are Henri Bordier, marquis J. de Laborde, A...
(1902), with an exhaustive introduction. Dante
DANTE
Delivery of Advanced Network Technology to Europe is a not-for-profit organisation that plans, builds and operates the international networks that interconnect the various national research and education networks in Europe and surrounding regions...
quotes a song by Gace, Ire d'amor qui en mon over repaire, which he attributes erroneously to Thibaut of Navarre (De vulgari eloquentia
De vulgari eloquentia
De vulgari eloquentia is the title of an essay by Dante Alighieri, written in Latin and initially meant to consist of four books, but abandoned in the middle of the second. It was probably composed shortly after Dante went into exile; internal evidence points to a date between 1302 and 1305...
, p. 151, ed. P Rajna, Florence, 1895).