Amanieu de la Broqueira

Amanieu de la Broqueira (fl. 1188) was a Gascon troubadour. His name suggests he was from Labroquère, near Saint-Bertrand-de-Comminges. He wrote two cansos that have been preserved in the 14th-century troubadour chansonnier E (BN f.f. 1749):

  • Mentre que·l talans mi cocha ["While the desire is pressing me"] (PC 21,1)[1]
  • Quan reverdejon li conderc ["When the countryside turns green again"] (PC 21,2)[2]

Along with the works of Guilhem d'Anduza and Guilhem Raimon de Gironella, Amanieu's songs are found only in chansonnier E, which has a high proportion of Gascon, Catalan and Langedocien composers. For reasons unknown, the chansonnier gives Amanieu's name as Ameus.[3]

In Quan reverdejon li conderc, Amanieu gives his own name as Amaneus Aureilla, which is perhaps a family name or else indicates that he came from Aureilhan.[3] Towards the end of the song, Amanieu laments that he did not send it by one of his preferred jongleurs, Porta-joia d'Engolmes from the Angoumois and Paire de Bodeles from the Bordelais [fr]. Porta-joia from Angoumois is probably the same person as the jongleur Porta-joia l'escassier (i.e., he who walks on crutches) mentioned by Raimon de Durfort. "Porta-joia" is a nickname meaning "he who carries joy". This places Amanieu's poetic activity in the last third of the twelfth century.[4]

Mentre que·l talans mi cocha has a refrain at verses 2 and 9 and might be classified as a retroencha.[5]

Besides the information gleaned from his poems and the chansonnier, one contemporary document mentions him. In 1188, Amanieu was one of the witnesses of a donation of Count Bernard IV of Armagnac to the cathedral of Auch. His name was spelled "Amaneus de Broquera".[6]

  1. ^ Jeanroy 1923, pp. 22–23.
  2. ^ Jeanroy 1923, pp. 24–25.
  3. ^ a b Zufferey 1987, pp. 18–788.
  4. ^ Paden 1984, p. 104.
  5. ^ Chambers 1985, p. 237.
  6. ^ Romania 2002, pp. 563–64.