Jaque de Cambrai

Who is Jaque de Cambrai?

Jaque de Cambrai, sometimes Jacques, was a trouvère from Cambrai. He composed four chansons courtoises, one pastourelle, six devotional chansons, and one Marian rotrouenge. The Berne manuscript, in which most of his works are uniquely preserved, notes that his Haute dame, com rose et lis was modelled on Ausi com l'unicorne sui by Theobald I of Navarre and Mere, douce creature on Quant voi la glaie meure by Raoul de Soissons. Otherwise none of his music survives, though staves for its transcription were prepared. Of all Jaque's works, only his rotrouenge, the Retrowange novelle, has no model mentioned in the manuscripts; its rubric reads only "Jaikes de Cambrai—De Notre Dame".

Jaque's devotional songs emphasise Jesus' humanity and his Passion. These may be directed at the Cathars, who denied Christ's humanity. Jaque was one of the last medieval French poets to express his devotion to Mary primarily through chansons, that is, modelled on the chansons courtoises or love songs. After him the tendency was to use the serventois and even later the chant royal.