Literary History of the Troubadours

...so much so, and bent under the weight of a venerable old age, he could not give the public the fruit of his labors on the troubadours. Troubadours were medieval poet-musicians from Southern France who composed in Occitan. Mutual friends invited me to take on this enterprise. Initially, I believed it suited neither my principles nor my tastes; I thought it was solely a matter of gallantry original: "galanterie"; in this context, it refers to the stylized and often superficial codes of courtly romance., and that it mattered very little to know how our first poets sang to their ladies. But I had the curiosity to look through the extracts; there, I perceived many interesting details for the history of manners original: "mœurs"; a term encompassing the social customs, moral character, and daily life of a historical period. and for the history of the human spirit. I felt that one could draw enlightenment from them on a multitude of subjects, barely known in our day and obscured by the clouds of prejudice: then my scruples vanished.

A laudable sentiment from Mr. de Sainte-Palaye finally decided me. He feared that a licentious pen might one day seize the materials amassed for public utility, and employ them to the prejudice of good morals. He likewise feared that a false taste for frivolity or wit original: "bel-esprit"; here used to describe a style of writing that prizes cleverness and social polish over scholarly depth or moral utility. might degrade his research by turning it away from its true goal, seeking less to create a useful work than a brilliant and perhaps pernicious one. These views aligned too well with my own, for