Gontier de Soignies
Encyclopedia
Gontier de Soignies was a medieval trouvère
and composer
who was active from around 1180 to 1220.
in the County of Hainaut
, a region that was then a state of the Holy Roman Empire
. His life is mostly unknown, although in his works he alludes to travels in France
and Burgundy, as well as the protection of the Count Palatine
.
One of his works is mentioned in Le Roman de la rose ou de Guillaume de Dole by Jean Renart
.
style.
List of the main songs
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 composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
who was active from around 1180 to 1220.
Biography
Gontier was from the region of SoigniesSoignies
Soignies is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut.The municipality is composed of the Town of Soignies together with the villages of Casteau, Chaussée-Notre-Dame-Louvignies, Horrues, Neufvilles, Naast and Thieusies...
in the County of Hainaut
County of Hainaut
The County of Hainaut was a historical region in the Low Countries with its capital at Mons . In English sources it is often given the archaic spelling Hainault....
, a region that was then a state of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. His life is mostly unknown, although in his works he alludes to travels in France
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...
and Burgundy, as well as the protection of the Count Palatine
Otto I, Count of Burgundy
Otto I was Count of Burgundy from 1190 to his death and briefly Count of Luxembourg from 1196 to 1197...
.
One of his works is mentioned in Le Roman de la rose ou de Guillaume de Dole by Jean Renart
Jean Renart
Jean Renart, also known as Jean Renaut, was a Norman trouvère or troubadour from the end of the 12th century and the first half of the 13th century to whom three works are ascribed. Nothing else is known of him or his life...
.
Works
Thirty-four love songs have been ascribed to Gontier, all of which have been preserved in several manuscripts, although only twenty-seven are generally considered to be his. His poetry is of a lyrical, rotrouengeRotrouenge
In the Middle Ages, the rotrouenge or retroencha was a recognised type of lyric poetry, although no existing source defines the genre clearly. There are four conserved troubadour poems, all with refrains and three by Guiraut Riquier with music, that are labelled retronchas in the chansonniers...
style.
List of the main songs
- A la joie des oiseaus
- L'an ke li dous chans retentist
- Au tens gent que raverdoie
- Biau m'est quant voi verdir les chans
- Douce amours, ki m'atalente
- Doulerousement comence
- Merci, amors, ore ai mestier
- El mois d'esté que li tens rassoage
- Quant oi el bruel
- Quant oi tentir et bas et haut
- Quant li tens torne a verdure
- Se li oisiel baisent lor chans
- Li tans noveaus et la douçors
- Tant ai mon chant entrelaissié
- Chanter m'estuet de recomens