The Women Troubadours

by Meg Bogin

An introduction to the women poets of 12th-century Provence and a collection of their poems. This is the first twentieth-century study of the women troubadours who flourished in Southern France between 1150 and 1250―the great period of troubadour poetry. The book is comprised of a full-length essay on women in the Middle Ages, twenty-three poems by the women troubadours themselves in the original Provencal with translations on facing pages, a capsule biography of each poet, notes, and reading list.

Genres: History, Poetry, Medieval, Nonfiction, Music, France, Womens

194 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

Reviews

[Roman Clodia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is almost 40 years old now (published 1980) but it's an accessible edition of trobairitz poetry in the original Provencal with modern English facing translation. Bogin provides a prefacing essay on the historical and cultural background to this body of medieval women's writing and this is where the book shows its age: she wants to read the material as a way to recuperate authentic female emotions and desires as if the poetry is a set of private diary entries only written in verse - this in a period where that sort of intimate writing and interiority just doesn't really exist. Instead, we need to see the verse as a self-conscious literary output that is created from the pressures of culture, gender and history.

What makes this poetry so fascinating is the way it 'speaks back' to male-authored troubadour poetry (though that canonises the masculine poetic voice in a way that we can choose not to) and, especially, makes great use of the tenson form, a dialogue between male and female lovers.

Bogin has pulled together a mass of biographical information from the medieval sources and that alone makes this worth buying and reading. So a very good introduction to a little-studied body of female-authored verse that both seems to look back to a classical Latin tradition as well as forward to the love poetry of the Renaissance.

[Illiterate · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bogin mistakenly uses 70s feminism to claim women speak directly/personally and seek voice/recognition. The poetry is an interesting contrast to that of the men.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and sweet and tantalizing glimpse into the 12th Century. The introduction with cultural background was not too enjoyable, full of the generalities a medieval scholar gets tired of reading, but the poems themselves and the discussion of them, and the carefully cobbled-together scraps of biography at the end, were very interesting.

Some of the poems read like notes passed in some fabulous, 12th Century Courtly High School.

:)

Interesting in gender studies, to me, was the translator rendering "bel" as "pretty" when it referred to a female subject and "handsome" when it referred to a male.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent study of the 20 or so "trobairitz" of the 13th century. These women poets wrote with a directness and passion often absent in their male counterparts. Good samples given in the original with facing English translations. Good translations that do not try to recreate the rhyme or rhythm but rather are content to convey the meaning.

[Zoé · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book in a secondhand bookstore and was instantly intrigued. This book begins with an introductory essay, which is then followed by a collection of poems from the female troubadours and their biographies.

As I was expecting the entire book to be an essay, I was a bit disappointed that it did not go into more detail or provide a more in-depth analysis of the poetry by women troubadours. However, it works well as an introduction to the poem collection, especially for people (like me) who may not already know much about the troubadours and the medieval period. The author also highlights the lack of literature on the topic, so I appreciate her efforts to bring attention to the history of women troubadours.

While I was not overly interested in the poems, I liked that the initial text in Old Provençal was included alongside the English translators. As a French speaker, it was fascinating to try to parse out some of the meaning for myself (and I do mean try, although some bouts of phrases were familiar enough to be recognizable).

I recommend to people who want to learn more about women's lives and contributions throughout history, or who are interested in poetry.

[Elizabeth Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a complete ignoramus of medieval society and absolutely no scholarly background into medieval history, social structure or norms, or that period of literature in general. That disclaimer aside, I really enjoyed this!

It's a nice little book with a fair-sized introduction to give context and wet your toes before you plunge into the material. There's a pronunciation guide and a word on the translations, both interesting reads. The theme of courtly love, from my vantage, is sweet and wistfully portrayed.

On the left side are the verses in their respective original languages, and the right has the translations.

"If it would do me any good, I'd remind you singing
that I had your glove -
I stole it trembling;
then I was afraid
you might get scolded
by the girl who loves you now:
so I gave it back fast, friend,
for I know well enough
that I am powerless."

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An intriguing little book of research of the 20 or so "trobairitz" (women Troubadours) of the 13th century. Work by women throughout history has often gone undocumented, destroyed, and lost or stolen by men. This book gives us a general history of Troubadour poetry and information about some women poets who captivated audiences just as much as their male comrades yet only a few of their poems remain.
The translation of their poetry is more a direct, realistic translation rather than artistic attempt to make it rhyme as it would have been performed in Occitan French.

Delightful introduction to these brilliant women.

[livbug22]

random book i found in my local library and ending up loving, the contrast in their poems vs the men’s are so interesting. a few great knockout lines that stand so true today hundreds of years later, absolute bangers and hey possible 13th century lesbianism? great stuff

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Call me an absolute dork but I loved this book, it was fascinating. Troubadours rap battled (for love), it’s right there in the history!!

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

The essay had strengths and weaknesses, but overall I enjoyed reading this work. I plan to use it in the future when teaching Women in the Middle Ages.

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a very useful little volume for anyone who enjoys historical fiction about women during the middle ages. Its 79 page introduction give a great overview of courtly poetry, the development of "courtly love" as an art form, the status of women in a courtly warrior society, and--very interestingly--the culture of Occitania (modern Provence, France) a thousand years ago. It gives you an academic and historical basis from which to engage in a fictional account, for one thing. For another, the fact that women troubadours existed anywhere in this male-dominated world is in and of itself a wonder. The poetry, too, gives one insight into what women really thought!

[Marti Martinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have only just recently learned about the troubadours and their range, impact, and form (especially the sestina). This book is a great companion work to the male troubadours and for its Introduction (except for one glaringly incorrect theological premise), the examples of the influence of Arabic poetry on the Occitan, and its fine selection of female verse. Ms. Bogin does make the valid observation that there is little imagery in the poems: they are mostly narrative or dialogue. I was a bit disappointed in some of the visual quality of the photographs, but the book is worth having if you like this period and its poetry.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this an enjoyable book and quick to read. I'd never heard anything about the 12th-century women troubadour poets in southern France, although I learned a lot about the male poets of courtly love while studying English at university. So I was very interested to read about the women poets of this period and to see Meg (she's Meg rather than Magda in the edition I have!) Bogin's translations of their poems, which have a powerful simplicity.

[Lisa]

Wow. I found this book lying on the sidewalk when I was walking my dog. Have been searching for it for years. Fabulous bibliography. Hints and leads to scholarship on the relation of the European lyric tradition to ancient Arabic poetry.

[Ameliedanjou · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of those books I give away as gifts to get people interested in medieval poetry. Sure there's a more recent book by another author on the same topic that is more thorough, but this is easier to read and a better intro to the genre.

[Eve · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing little collection of written works from women who were poets back in the 12th century. During a time when it was predominately men who wrote, this is a refreshing look into the female psyche and heart during medieval times.

[Alex Stephenson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sect of musical history we know almost nothing about, this work compiles everything we know about the female troubadours and trobairitzes into a compact yet informative package. Nice resource for anyone interested in this history.

[Highlyeccentric · Rating 4 out of 5]

Didn't read all of them, but enjoyed the ones I did. My provencal is wobbly but good enough to be annoyed with the translations at time.