Descort

Form and genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry

The descort (Old Occitan: [desˈkɔɾt]) was a form and genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry used by troubadours. It was heavily discordant in verse form and/or feeling and often used to express disagreement. It was possibly invented by Garin d'Apchier when he wrote Quan foill'e flors reverdezis (only the first two lines survive); the invention is credited to him by a vida, and these are unreliable. Gautier de Dargies imported the descort into Old French and wrote and composed three.

Unlike the canso, the most common open poetic form of the troubadours and the template upon which most genres were built, the descort is made of stanzas with a variable number of lines, and of lines with a variable number of syllables. Whereas the different stanzas of a canso usually share at least some of the rhymes, the rhymes of a descort are usually used within a single stanza and then discarded. Raimbaut de Vaqueiras brings this to the extreme by actually using different languages in each stanza.[1] This made the descort a more challenging piece to write, as its irregular nature forced the troubadour to always write a new melody.[2]

## List of descorts

[edit]

30 descorts survive[3]

Troubadour  | Incipit | Notes

|
|

Albertet de Sestaro | Bel m'es oimais |
Aimeric de Belenoi | S'a midons plazia |
Aimeric de Peguillan | Qui la vi, en ditz | Sometimes classed as a canso
Cerveri de Girona | Pus amors vol que faça sa comanda |
Cerveri de Girona  | Estrayreˑm volia / De mi dons amar |
Cerveri de Girona  | De Pala a Torosela | Called a recepta dexarob in the rubric
Elias de Barjols | Una valenta |
Elias de Barjols  | Si.l bela.m tengues per seu |
Elias Cairel | Quan la freidors / irais / l'aura doussana |
Garin d'Apchier  | Quan foill'e flors reverdis | Only the incipit is known, perhaps a canso
Guillem Augier Novella | Quan vei lo dous temps venir |
Guillem Augier Novella  | Ses alegratge |
Guillem Augier Novella  | Erransa |
Guillem de la Tor | En vos ai meza |
Guiraut de Calanso | Bel semblan |
Guiraut de Calanso  | Ab la verdura |
Guiraut Riquier | Pos aman |
Giraut de Salaignac | Per solatz e per deport / Me conort / E.m don alegransa |
Peire Raimon de Toloza | Ab so gai, plan e car |
Pons de Capdoill | Un gai descort tramet leis cui dezir |
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras | Eras quan vei verdejar | A multilingual poem
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras  | Engles, un novel descort |
Anonymous  | Bella domna cara | Also called an acort
Anonymous  | Poi qe neve ni glazi | Sometimes classed as a canso
Anonymous  | Pos la douza sasons gaja |
Anonymous  | Lai un fis prez nais e floris e grana |
Anonymous  | Joi e chanç e solaç / E amors certana |
Anonymous  | En aquest son gai e leugier |
Anonymous  | Sill qu'es caps e guitz | Sometimes classed as a canso
Anonymous  | Tot aissi soi desconsellatz | Sometimes classed as a sirventes
Anonymous  | Amors, / dousors, / mi assaja |
Anonymous  | A chantar m'er un discort |
Anonymous  | Com plus fin'amors mi destreng |

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Linskill, J. (1964). The Poems of the Troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras. The Hague: Mouton & Co.
2. ^ Aubrey, Elizabeth (1996). The Music of the Troubadours. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. p. 86. ISBN 0-253-33207-9.
3. ^ Frank, Istvan (1953). Répertoire métrique de la Poésie des Troubadours. Paris: Edouard Champion. pp. 183–195.

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Western medieval lyric forms

By regional tradition|

| Occitan|

* Alba (poetry)
* Arlabecca
* Aubade
* Canso
* Cobla esparsa
* Dansa
* Descort
* Devinalh
* Ensenhamen
* Enuig
* Gab
* Lo Boièr
* Maldit-comiat
* Partimen
* Pastorela
* Planh
* Salut d'amor
* Sestina
* Sirventes
* Tenso
* Torneyamen
* Tornada
* Trobar clus
* Trobar leu
* Trobar ric
* Viadera

|

French|

* Chanson de toile
* Formes fixes (Ballade, Rondeau, Virelai)
* Grand chant
* Pastourelle
* Reverdie
* Rondel
* Rondelet

Italian|

* Ballata
* Octave
* Ottava rima
* Petrarchan sonnet
* Sicilian octave

Welsh|

* Awdl
* Cerdd dafod
* Cywydd
* Traethodl

German|

* Leise
* Tagelied

Galician-Portuguese|

* Cantiga de amigo
* Cantiga de amor
* Cantigas de escárnio e maldizer

English|

* Madrigal

others|

* Kyrielle
* Triolet

By alphabetical order|

* Alba
* Arlabecca
* Aubade
* Awdl
* Ballade
* Ballata
* Canso
* Cantiga de amigo
* Cantiga de amor
* Cantigas de escárnio e maldizer
* Cerdd dafod
* Chanson de toile
* Cobla esparsa
* Cywydd
* Dansa
* Descort
* Devinalh
* Ensenhamen
* Enuig
* Formes fixes
* Gab
* Grand chant
* Kyrielle
* Leise
* Madrigal
* Maldit-comiat
* Octave
* Partimen
* Pastorela
* Pastourelle
* Petrarchan sonnet
* Planh
* Reverdie
* Rondeau
* Rondel
* Rondelet
* Salut d'amor
* Sestina
* Sicilian octave
* Sirventes
* Tagelied
* Tenso
* Tornada
* Torneyamen
* Traethodl
* Triolet
* Trobar clus
* Trobar leu
* Trobar ric
* Viadera
* Virelai

Authority control databases

National|

* Germany
* United States
* France
* BnF data
* Israel

Other|

* IdRef
* Yale LUX

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