| LC control no. | sh 85122988 |
|---|---|
| Topical heading | Sirventes |
| Variant(s) | Serventes |
| See also | Provençal poetry |
| Found in | Wikipedia, Aug. 9, 2012 (Sirventes. The sirventes or serventes (Occitan: sirventés; Catalan: sirventès or sirventés), sometimes translated as "service song", was a genre of Occitan lyric poetry used by the troubadours. The name comes from sirvent ("serviceman"), from whose perspective the song is allegedly written. Sirventes usually took the form of parodies, borrowing the melody, metrical structure and often even the rhymes of a well-known canso to address a controversial subject, often a current event. They were always opinionated, being either highly complimentary or, more often, oozing with vitriol. The first author known to have written a sirventes is Cercamon, and the most famous practitioner of the genre was Bertran de Born; Peire de Vic was also known for his sirventes, but only one has survived to this day.) Merriam-Webster online, Aug. 9, 2012 (sirvente plural sirventes: a usually moral or religious song of the Provençal troubadours satirizing social vices) Dictionary.com, Aug. 9, 2012 (sirvente: noun, plural sirventes - a medieval poem or song of heroic or satirical character, as composed by a troubadour.) |
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