(fl. ca. 1147-ca. 1170) troubadour
Bernard de ventadour was born in the province of Limousin in south-central France. One biographer, writing long after his subject’s death, claimed that Bernard was a lowly servant in charge of heating the ovens at the viscount of Ventadorn’s castle. According to this biographer, Bernard fell in love with the viscount’s wife and addressed his love songs to her. The viscount discovered the affair, and Bernard moved to Normandy, where he had a love affair with Eleanor of Aquitaine. When she left to marry Henry II of England, Bernard joined the court of Count Raymond V of Toulouse. Finally, when Raymond died, Bernard became a monk.
In reality, we know little of Bernard’s life apart from what we can glean from his songs. Although he was probably not a menial servant, he almost definitely grew up in the castle of Ventadorn (or Ventadour). In the vida (a biographical portion of verse found in most troubadour songs) of one song, he claims to be the son of a man-at-arms and a relative of the viscount of Ventadorn. He was acquainted with Eleanor of Aquitaine, and it is certain that he knew Henry II of England. Because 12th-century Ventadour was a hotbed of troubadour activity, Bernard must have been acquainted with the works of earlier composers like jaufre rudel and with the more popular medieval romance.
Bernard’s songs are remarkable expressions of courtly love (see chivalry and courtly love) and, more specifically, of fin’amor (expressions of the impact of love on the individual), of which he is credited as being the creator. Unlike the works of some of his contemporaries, they are neither too complicated nor difficult to understand, nor too polished or simple. “It is no wonder if I sing better than any other singer,” begins one song, “for my heart draws me more towards love and I am better made for its commands.” In another song, which begins with the line “I have a heart so full of love,” Bernard declares himself to be so happy “That the ice appears to me a flower, / And the snow lies green.” Later in the poem, however, he complains that he is suffering even more than Tristan did when trying to win Iseult (see tristan and iseult). Scholar James Wilhelm notes that Bernard’s reasoning thus “follows the rather helter-skelter pattern of the somewhat crazed, moon-bewitched lover.”
At times, Bernard implicitly and wittily compares his secular love for a woman to a pious love for the Virgin Mary. (The Provencal language in which he wrote derived from Latin, the language of the Church.) Mentions of paradise, grace, and a lady whom the poet hopes will grant his pleas all were sure to remind medieval listeners of religion, even as the poet wished for a reward that was decidedly secular.
Several of Bernard’s contemporaries enjoyed more popularity in the 12th century, but 20th-century readers and critics esteem Bernard’s work far above that of rival troubadours. Wilhelm believes that Bernard has one of the best senses of humor in medieval literature. Furthermore, he is diversified: his stanzas constantly surprise with their sudden, sometimes illogical shifts of tone that keep the reader’s wits on edge. He has the same kind of brittle, inexhaustible melodic quality that crackles in Mozart’s sonatas.
Approximately 40 of Bernard’s songs still survive, and scholars rank his verses above those of fellow troubadours Rudel and Marcabru for their sensuality and freedom of expression. See also middle ages.
English Versions of Works by Bernard de Ventadour
Bilingual Edition of the Love Songs of Bernart de Ven-tadorn in Occitan and English: Sugar and Salt. Translated by Ronnie Apter and Mark Herman. Lewiston, N.Y.: Edwin Mellen, 1999.
“I have a heart so full of love.” In Seven Troubadours: The Creators of Modern Verse. Edited by James J. Wilhelm. University Park, Pa.: Penn State University Press, 1970.
“It is no wonder if I sing better than any other singer” and “When I see the lark moving its wings against the sun’s rays.” In The Courtly Love Tradition. Edited by Bernard O’Donoghue. Totowa, N.J.: Barnes & Noble, 1982.
A Work about Bernard de Ventadour
Merwin, W. S. The Mays of Ventadorn. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2002.
