Guillem de Masdovelles facts for kids
Guillem de Masdovelles (pronounced gee-LEM duh maz-doo-VEL-yes) was a brave soldier, a smart politician, and a talented poet from Catalonia, a region in Spain. He lived a long time ago, between 1389 and 1438. His family was from a place called Penedès, but he became an important leader in the city of Barcelona.
Guillem wrote fifteen poems that are still around today. These poems are kept in a special collection called the Cançoner dels Masdovelles. This collection also includes poems by his nephew, Joan Berenguer de Masdovelles, who put the book together around 1470. Guillem and his nephew even wrote some poems together, like a poetic debate! Guillem also took part in at least three public poetry contests.
Contents
Guillem's Military Adventures and Poems
Guillem de Masdovelles first appears in history in 1389. At that time, he wrote a special type of poem called a sirventesch. He wrote it during a war against a group called the Armagnacs. He dedicated this poem to Ramon d'Abella, who was the leader of the cavalry (soldiers on horseback) company Guillem was fighting with.
Fighting the Armagnacs
Late in 1389, a powerful count named John III of Armagnac tried to invade northern Catalonia. He wanted to take over the Kingdom of Majorca. Guillem wrote his sirventes poem before the real fighting began. His company was active near the towns of Torroella de Montgrí and Palafrugell. John III's son, Bernard VII of Armagnac, led some Armagnac knights into Catalonia. Guillem wrote about the rumors of these knights in his poem. He even pretended to speak as the count of Charolais to make his fellow Catalans more excited to fight!
Serving Martin of Aragon
After the war with the Armagnacs, Guillem started working for Martin of Aragon. Martin was a duke who had also fought against the Armagnacs. Now, he was fighting in Sicily to help his son, Martin I of Sicily, who was facing a rebellion.
Guillem was in Sicily in early 1394. While they were surrounding the city of Catania, Martin asked Guillem to write another sirventes. This poem was like a piece of propaganda. It was meant to encourage more soldiers to join their side in Catalonia. The poem was very strong and even talked about defeating the rebellious Sicilians completely. Guillem said he wrote it using the "gay science," which was a term for the rules of poetry at the time.
Later Military Service
Guillem de Masdovelles also fought in another war in 1413. This was between Ferdinand I of Aragon and James II of Urgell. Guillem fought on Ferdinand's side. After this, he lived in Barcelona and held several important public jobs. He also spent a lot of time in Vilafranca del Penedès.
Poems About Love and Farewell
Guillem de Masdovelles wrote different kinds of poems, including some about love and saying goodbye.
Saying Goodbye in Poetry
He used a type of poem called a comiat, which usually means a song to "dismiss" a loved one. But Guillem used it to say goodbye to working for Guerau de Cervelló. Guerau was a very important governor in Catalonia. Guillem listed several things Guerau had done wrong to his family. We don't fully understand all the details today, but it shows that Guillem wasn't afraid to speak his mind in his poetry. It seems Guillem was with Guerau in Sicily when Guerau helped during the siege of Catania. Guerau died in 1405.
"Cursing" Poems
Guillem also wrote three maldits. These were poems where he "cursed" or complained about women who made his life difficult. Each poem was about a different woman. In one, he complained that a lady's love cost too much and her letters were full of lies. In another, a lady had another lover, so Guillem shared her secrets in his poem. This was not very polite for the time, but Guillem felt it was fair because she wasn't polite either. The third poem was a mix of a maldit and a comiat, where he gave up on a lover he called an "ugly liar." Guillem's maldits even influenced other poets, like Jordi de Sant Jordi.
Poetry Contests and Prizes
Guillem de Masdovelles was a competitive poet! He took part in special poetry contests called floral games. These contests were held in different cities, including Toulouse and Barcelona.
Winning Prizes
He won a prize for a poem called a canso in Toulouse. In Barcelona, he was "crowned" for another poem, which meant he won a top prize. We don't know the exact dates of these wins, but they were probably when he was younger.
The poem he wrote for Toulouse, Eras mi ponch Amors tan finamen, was about secret love. He followed the traditional rules for love poetry from that time. The poem he gave in Barcelona, Pus li prat son de verdura guarnit, was written in a fast style because it was during Lent, a time when things were supposed to be simpler. Guillem also wrote another poem for the Barcelona contest, Le temps presens de guaya primavera, but he didn't win a prize for that one.
A Final Contest
When Guillem was seventy years old, he entered one last poetry contest. This was in June 1438 in Barcelona. It was a private contest held by a notary (a legal official) named Bartomeu Castelló. The prize was for the best planh, which is a poem of mourning or sadness about love.
In his poem, Del cruzel crim de lleza magestat (which means "On the cruel crime of disrespecting royalty"), Guillem mentioned famous lovers from old stories. He talked about characters like King Lac, Palamedes, Lancelot, and Tristan. He used these stories to help make his point in the poem. He also used this trick of referring to famous lovers when he debated with his nephew.
Poetic Debates with His Nephew
Six poetic debates, called tensos, between Guillem and his nephew, Joan Berenguer, have been saved. These poems seem to be from later in Guillem's life.
One interesting debate was called Pus qu'iey suy vielhs, en favor de les velles (meaning "Because I am old, in favour of old ladies"). In this poem, Guillem and his nephew argued about whether older or younger women were better to write about in love poems. In another poem, Mos cars nebotz: en vostres cançons vey, Guillem argued that poets in the past loved more strongly. He used famous examples like Tristan and Jaufre Rudel, who both supposedly died from love, to prove his point.
See also
In Spanish: Guillem de Masdovelles para niños
