Guilhem de Berguedan

Who was Guilhem de Berguedan?

Guillem de Berguedà, or Guilhem de Berguedan in Occitan, was a Catalan troubadour and viscount of Berguedà. He was the most prolific Catalan poet of the twelfth century, though he composed in Occitan, and thirty-one of his poems survive. Most are sirventes, "typically violent and obscene, reflecting his character and turbulent life," but there are a few cansos. Most of what is known about him derives from his vida and his songs.

The viscounty of Berguedà was a fief of the County of Cerdagne and the first mention of its dates to the tenth century. In 1131 Guillem's father appears for the first time in a document as rendering homage to Huguet de Mataplana, from he held a fief. It is not until 1138 that the troubadour Guillem first appears in documents, as a child at the side of his father. Later writings indicate that he had three younger brothers, Raymond, Berengar, and Bernard.

Some sirventes mention an imprisonment sometime before 1175, but in that year Guillem's adult career as a troubadour commenced. In several sirventes Guillem had insulted and humiliated Ramon Folc, the viscount of Cardona, thus earning Ramon's enmity. The influential viscount of Cardona then sought to turn Alfonso II and his court against the troubadour, but on 3 March 1175 Guillem dishonorably attacked and killed Ramon. His title and fiefs were confiscated and he was consequently exiled from Catalonia and is not heard of again for seven years. During his exile he befriended one Arnau de Castellbò and gathered around himself a small group of loyal supporters. It was probably during this period of exile that he made his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.