Gilabert de Próixita facts for kids
Gilabert de Próixita (died December 4, 1405) was a poet from Valencia. He wrote twenty-one poems that we still have today. These poems were in the Occitan language.
Some people say he helped bring new ideas to Catalan poetry. He mixed Italian and French styles with the old ideas of courtly love from the classic troubadours. His last name can be spelled in different ways, like Próxita, Próxida, or Progita.
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Gilabert de Próixita's Life Story
Gilabert came from an old family called the Procita (or Procida). They were from Naples and were important to the rulers there. Later, Peter III of Aragon moved them to Valencia.
By the 1300s, his family was involved in a local fight. They sided with the Centelles family against the Vilaragut family. Gilabert was the fifth son of Nicolau de Próxita and Elvira de Centelles.
Military Service and Conflicts
In 1392, Gilabert joined an army trip to Sicily. He went with his older brothers, Olf and Tomàs. They served under Martin the Humane. In 1395, he and his brothers also went on another trip. This time it was with John I of Aragon to Sardinia and Sicily.
After his military service, Gilabert returned to Valencia in 1396. He quickly got caught up in the fight between the Centelles and Vilaragut families. The city council sentenced him to exile in May that year. This meant he had to leave the city.
On November 11, 1398, Gilabert and other knights led a group of Centelles supporters. They fought in the streets against Pere de Vilaragut. Because of this, Gilabert was put in prison again. He was not set free until October 1399.
His Death and Family
Gilabert de Próixita died on December 4, 1405. He passed away in Genoa while working for Pope Benedict XIII. He left behind his wife, Bernarda de Valeriola, and a daughter named Joana. His wife later married Guillem Ramon de Centelles.
Gilabert was buried in his family's chapel. This chapel was in the Sant Domingo de València convent.
Gilabert de Próixita's Poems
Most people did not know about Gilabert's poems for a long time. They were first published in a modern book in 1954. This book was put together by Martí de Riquer.
Many of his poems are found in an old book called the Cançoner Vega-Aguiló. This book was damaged by humidity. This made many of his poems hard to read. But new technology, like Ultraviolet light, helped. Now, all his poems have been copied and can be read.
The Vega-Aguiló book only listed the author as "Próxita." However, another old book from the 1500s helped. It was an Occitan songbook in the Escorial library. This book listed some works by "Mossèn Gilabert de Próxita, poeta."
How He Wrote: Style and Language
Gilabert used different types of poetic rhythm. Some poems had seven syllables per line, others eight. Most of his poems had ten syllables per line. Sometimes he changed the rhythm on purpose. He was very good at making his poems flow well. His style seems to have been influenced by the rules of the Consistori del Gay Saber in Toulouse.
Even though Gilabert wrote in Occitan, his language also had some Catalan words. This happened when Occitan did not have a good word for what he wanted to say. He also had a richer vocabulary than other Catalan poets of his time.
What His Poems Were About
All of Gilabert's poems that we have are about the same thing: love. He wrote about his own feelings and how love made him feel. His poems do not talk about history or real-life events. They are not like stories.
The only things we can learn about his life from his poems are:
- He was a knight.
- His wife came from a higher social class.
- One of his poems was given to a "new consistory." This was probably the Consistori de Barcelona, which started in 1393.
The main ideas in Gilabert's poems were popular in Occitan poetry around the 1300s. He often wrote about the lady's "cruelty" and the poet's "sickness" from love. This sickness pushed him to extreme feelings, even thinking about death. This strong feeling helped him write more powerfully than most other Catalan poets.
His Poetic Techniques
Gilabert was very expressive in his writing. But he did not always look deep inside himself. Sometimes his poems could be a bit repetitive. He might use many words to explain something. However, he did not use a very complex style called trobar ric. His writing was always grammatically perfect.
Many of his images and metaphors were common for his time. For example, he used the idea of a "Castell d'Amor" (castle of love). His military references were very strong because he had real experience as a soldier. He also used stories like a bird flying too close to the sun or a foolish alchemist. These showed how much he had read.
Gilabert also used a French-style ballade in two of his poems. This style was new in Catalonia at the time. The themes in these poems, like jealous people (lausengiers), were still like the old troubadour poems. They showed the knightly feeling of Valencia around 1400.
Gilabert's poem Dona del mon no·s pens que per amors tries to keep the lady's name a secret. He also wants to keep their love a secret. This is so others won't think they are loved by her too. He put special words in the poem just for this lady. He had been serving her for nine years.
Edited texts available online
- Incipitario de Gilabert de Próixita.
See also
In Spanish: Gilabert de Próixita para niños
