Jaque de Cambrai

Jaque de Cambrai (fl. c. 126080), sometimes Jacques, was a trouvère from Cambrai. He composed four chansons courtoises, one pastourelle, six devotional chansons, and one Marian rotrouenge. The Berne manuscript preserves all his works, nine of them uniquely. In addition, a chanson and the pastourelle are preserved in the manuscript Oxford Douce 308 and one of the devotional songs is also copied in two other sources.[1] The Berne manuscript notes that his Haute dame, com rose et lis was modelled on (i.e. a contrafactum of) Ausi com l'unicorne sui by Theobald I of Navarre and Mere, douce creature on Quant voi la glaie meure by Raoul de Soissons. Otherwise none of his music survives, though staves for its transcription were prepared. Of all Jaque's works, only his rotrouenge, the Retrowange novelle, has no model mentioned in the manuscripts; its rubric reads only "Jaikes de CambraiDe Notre Dame" (Jaque of CambraiOn Our Lady).

Jaque's devotional songs emphasise Jesus' humanity and his Passion. These may be directed at the Cathars, who denied Christ's humanity. Jaque was one of the last medieval French poets to express his devotion to Mary primarily through chansons, that is, modelled on the chansons courtoises or love songs. After him the tendency was to use the serventois and even later the chant royal.

Table of Marian poems and their models

The following table is derived from O'Sullivan.

Incipit Genre Model (contrafactum of:) Composer of model
Grant talen ai k'a chanteir me retraie, Marian chanson chanson Loaus amors et desiriés de joie Colart le Boutellier
Haute dame, com rose et lis chanson Ausi conme unicorne sui Theobald I of Navarre
Kant je plus pens a commencier chanson chanson Tuit mi desir et tuit mi grief torment Theobald I of Navarre
Loeir m'estuet la roïne chanson De bone amor et de loial amie (me vient) Gace Brulé
Meire, douce creature chanson Quant voi la glaie meüre Raoul de Soissons
O Dame, ke Deu portais chanson Aïmans fins et verais Gautier d'Espinal
Retrowange novelle rotrouenge probably none, possibly pastourelle or ballette

See also

References

  1. See Rivière, ed. 1978, p13.
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