Vida is the usual term for a brief prose biography, written in Occitan, of a troubadour or trobairitz.
The word vida means "life" in Occitan. In the chansonniers, the manuscript collections of medieval troubadour poetry, the works of a particular author are often accompanied by a short prose biography. It is sometimes a matter of controversy to what extent these are based on independent sources; there is no doubt that certain assertions are deduced from literal readings of details in the poems. Most of the vidas were composed in Italy, many by Uc de Saint Circ.
Additionally, some individual poems are accompanied by razos, explanations of the circumstances in which the poem was composed.
Troubadours with vidas
Sources
There is a complete collection of vidas, with French translation and commentary, by Boutière and Schutz.
- Biographies des troubadours, edd. and trans. J. Boutière and A.-H. Schutz. Paris: Nizet, 1964.
There is a complete collection of English translations available as part of the Garland Library of Medieval Literature, Series B, translated by Margarita Egan.
- The Vidas of the Troubadours, ed. and trans. Margarita Egan. New York: Garland, 1984. ISBN 0 8240 9437 9.
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