Ioculator seu mimus, Performing Music and Poetry in medieval Iberia

Abstract

All Christian, Jewish and Muslim peoples are constantly concerned with com-posing and singing'. This was written by Ramon Vidal de Besalú, a Catalantroubadour who lived in the thirteenth century in the Crown of Aragón. Headdressed his work, the poetic and grammatical treatiseRazos de trobar,toacommunity of"connoisseurs"who saw the performance of courtly music andpoetry as a fundamental civilising agent. But who were those poets and musi-cians? For whom did they perform? What was their role in fostering a performa-tive dimension of cultural life in the late Middle Ages? Finally, how did thiscontribute to the social value of the poet and musician as an artist?