The Poetry of the Medieval Troubadour, William IX of Aquitaine: The Songs that Built Europe

The Poetry of the Medieval Troubadour, William IX of Aquitaine, offers a new edition, translation, and critical discussion of his songs, highlighting their economic, political, and cultural significance in shaping modern Europe. The culture of courtly love initiated by William influenced personal freedoms, self-definition, and the pursuit of love and happiness but also contributed to the subjection of medieval Europeans to the market economy, imperialist ambitions of the Church, and proto-national kingdoms.

Format: Hardback
Length: 314 pages
Publication date: 15 August 2023
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

The Poetry of the Medieval Troubadour, William IX of Aquitaine: The Songs that Built Europe presents a fresh edition, translation, and critical analysis of the songs of the pioneering European troubadour, William IX, Duke of Aquitaine. This book contends that William and his poetic creations exemplify the economic, political, and cultural forces that laid the groundwork for modern Europe, encompassing the subjectivities of modern Westerners and the concerns and themes that later became the national literatures of France, Spain, England, Germany, and Italy. By promoting personal freedoms, self-definition, and the pursuit of love and happiness, the culture of courtly love initiated by William is distinctly modern yet can also be observed to have played a pivotal role in the subjugation of medieval Europeans to the emerging market economy, imperialist aspirations of the Church, and authority of proto-national kingdoms. As such, the process of liberating desire appeared to be a swift route to serfdom for all, perhaps the most pre-modern aspect of modern and postmodern conditions.

Weight: 617g
Dimension: 237 x 158 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666926934