Azalais de Porcairagues was a trobairitz (woman troubadour), composing in Occitan in the late 12th century. A medieval depiction of Comtessa de Dia The trobairitz were Provençal women troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries. ... Occitan, or langue doc is a Romance language characterized by its richness, variability, and by the intelligibility of its dialects. ... (11th century - 12th century - 13th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 12th century was that century which lasted from 1101 to 1200. ...

The sole source for her life is her vida in the Biographies des Troubadours, which tells us that she came from the country round Montpellier; she was educated and a gentlewoman; she loved Gui Guerrejat, the brother of William VII of Montpellier, and made many good songs about him; meaning, probably, that the one poem of hers known to the compiler had been addressed to Gui. William VII of Montpellier was the eldest son of William VI and of his wife Sibylle. ...

Gui was perhaps born around 1135; he fell ill early in 1178, became a monk, and died later in that year. Nothing is known of the dates of Azalais's birth and death. From her name, and from the statement in the Biographies cited above, it can be concluded that she came from the village of Portiragnes, just east of Béziers and about 10 kilometers south of Montpellier, close to the territories that belonged to Gui and to his brothers. Aimo Sakari argues that she is the mysterious joglar ("jongleur") addressed in several poems by Raimbaut of Orange (a neighbour, and a cousin of Gui Guerrejat). Béziers (Besièrs in Occitan, and Besiers in Catalan) is a town in Languedoc, in the southwest of France. ... Montpellier (Occitan Montpelhièr) is a city in the south of France. ...

One poem attributed to Azalais, classically simple and emotional, survives today. As usually printed it has 52 lines, but the text varies considerably between manuscripts, suggesting that it was not written down immediately on its composition. The poem alludes to the death in 1173 of Raimbaut of Orange; it was possibly first composed before that date and emended afterwards. The poem's envoi seems to mention Ermengarde of Narbonne (1143-1197), a well known patroness of troubadour poetry. Events Canonization of Saint Thomas à Becket, buried at Canterbury August 9th - Construction starts on the Leaning tower of Pisa Castle at Abergavenny was seized by the Welsh. ... In poetry, an envoi is a short stanza at the end of a poem used either to address an imagined or actual person or to comment on the preceding body of the poem. ... Ermengarde (1127 or 1129 – 1196 or 1197) was viscountess of Narbonne from 1134 to 1192. ...

As observed by Sakari, the third strophe of the poem seems to contribute to a poetical debate begun by Guilhem de Saint-Leidier as to whether a lady is dishonoured by taking a lover who is richer than herself. Raimbaut of Orange also comments in his poem A mon vers dirai chanso. Soon afterwards there follows a partimen on the topic between Dauphin of Auvergne and Perdigon, and then a tensó between Guiraut de Bornelh and king Alfonso II of Aragon. Dauphin dAuvergne, or in Occitan Dalfi dAlvernha was Count of Clermont and Montferrand (see Rulers of Auvergne), troubadour and patron of troubadours. ... Alfonso II of Aragon (Alfons I of Provence and Barcelona, 1152-1196), known as the Chaste or the Troubadour was king of Aragon and count of Barcelona from 1162 to 1196. ...

Sources and bibliography

• First stanza in Occitan and English.
• Pierre Bec, Chants d'amour des femmes-troubadours: trobairitz et chansons de femme (Paris: Stock, 1995) pp. 65-70: complete poem in Occitan and French.
• Biographies des troubadours ed. J. Boutière, A.-H. Schutz (Paris: Nizet, 1964) pp. 341-2.
• A. Sakari, 'Azalais de Porcairagues, le "Joglar" de Raimbaut d'Orange' in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen vol. 50 (1949) pp. 23-43, 56-87, 174-198.