Trobairtiz...

[fajrdrako]

Latest reading: The Voice of the Trobairitz: Perspectives on the Women Troubadours, edited by William D. Paden. It's a collection of twelve essays about the female troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries; a combination of literary study and history. I found the Introduction to be the most interesting part, about the status of women over those centuries, as illustrated by various measurements. Seems that the late 12th century, when the Courts of Love of Eleanor of Acquitaine were set up, was a good time to be a female writer or son. Relatively speaking.

I was particularly interested by the essay by Angelica Rieger, "Was Beitris de Romans Lesbian? Women's relations with each other in the world of the Roubadours." Seems to me the essay said as much about the late 20th century as the late 12th; being a little to overconcerned with labels, rather than looking at what the chanson actually says. Not that I am any sort of an expert; I find Occitan difficult to read, and depend heavily on the translations of others.