RAZO

razo: translation

Like theVIDAS, razoswere preserved mainly in 13th-century Italian manuscripts of TROUBADOUR poetry.While thevidasprovided short biographies of individual troubadours and were included in lyric anthologies as an introduction to each author, therazos(from the Provençal word for “reason” or “explanation”) would relate the circumstances under which specific lyrics were composed.Razostend to be a bit longer thanvidas, though none exceeds 2,500 words. Fewerrazosthanvidasare extant;razosexist for only about two dozen troubadours. But evidence suggests that therazoswere probably originally composed prior to the more numerousvidas.

It is likely that the extantrazoswere originally recited by JONGLEURS prior to the performance of individual songs.The stylistic similarities among most writtenrazosandvidasare indicative of a single author. Some scholars believe that the jongleur Uc de Saint-Circ (mentioned in some manuscripts) collectedrazosfrom other jongleurs in the mid-13th century, and wrote them down in the form included in the manuscripts.

Biographical information in therazosis factually suspect. It seems clear that most of therazosare fictionalized stories drawn from the poems they introduce. Often they describe lovers’ quarrels, reflecting the attitude of the typicalCANSOSor love poems. Some, as Elizabeth Poe has pointed out, are so outlandish as to suggest a deliberately humorous effect. Poe mentions acansoby Peire VIDAL, written for a lady named Loba. Punning on the name, Peire compares his treatment at this lady’s hands to that of a wolf beaten by shepherds. In therazofor this poem,Uc describes Peire as trying to sneak into his lady’s castle dressed in a wolf skin, and being chased by dogs and shepherds. One of the most important legacies of therazosis their influence on DANTE. Inspired by the examples of the troubadour anthologies, he structured his first important poetic work, theVITA NUOVA, to include authenticrazosintroducing each poem, where he gives his own version of how the poems came to be written. Dante saw therazosfor what they were: the first form of “literary criticism” of European vernacular poetry.

■ Martinez, Ronald. “Italy.” InA Handbook of the Troubadours, edited by F. R. P. Akehurst and Judith M. Davis, 279–294. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.

■ Poe, Elizabeth W. “The Vidas and Razos.” InA Handbook of the Troubadours, edited by F. R. P. Akehurst and Judith M. Davis, 185–197. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995.