Almucs de Castelnau (fl. 12th c.)

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Almucs de Castelnau (fl. 12th c.)

French noblewoman. Probably born in Provence, France, about 1140; married Guiraut de Simiane, lord of Castelnau; children: four sons, including Raimbaut.

A noblewoman of Provence, Almucs de Castelnau composed poetry and was a patron of troubadours. As a young teenager, she became the second wife of Guiraut de Simiane, who was lord of Castelnau. The couple had four sons, one of whom, Raimbaut, became a troubadour and patron of troubadours. The one extant poem by Almucs is a tenson (a poem in the form of a dialogue or debate) written with Iseut de Capio, in which Iseut begs Almucs to have pity on a dying knight who was Almucs' lover but then betrayed her.

Laura York , Anza, California

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