Cleric-trouvères and the Jeux-Partis of Medieval Arras

Abstract

In the founding documents of their confraternity, the trouveres and jongleurs of the northern French city of Arras claimed extraordinary prestige for their humble occupation, insisting on their literacy in Latin and the vernacular. The songs created in Arras reflect the learned, clerical identity of the city’s musicians, particularly the debate song genre called the jeu-parti. Scrutiny of the participants in extant jeux-partis, examination of the material presentation of the genre in the chansonnier d’Arras, and analysis of the song contest “Maistre Symon” illustrate the dominance of cleric-trouveres in the genre and the emphasis placed on clerical identity. The authorial persona of the cleric-trouvere has been viewed as important to the emergence of vernacular literature; this article explores the presence of this persona in thirteenth-century song.