General Notes

Theobald I, also called THEOBALD THE TROUBADOUR, or THE POSTHUMOUS, French THIBAUD LE CHANSONNIER, or LE POSTHUME, Spanish TEOBALDO EL TROVADOR, or EL P"STUMO (b. May 30?, 1201, Troyes, France--d. July 7?, 1253, Pamplona, Navarre [now in Spain]), count of Troyes and of Champagne (from 1201), as Theobald IV, and king of Navarre (from 1234), the most famous of the aristocratic trouvEres.

He was the son of Theobald III of Champagne, who died before his son was born, and Blanche of Navarre, who was compelled to resign the guardianship of the young prince to King Philip II Augustus of France, to whom he did feudal homage in 1214. There is little doubt that the child was acquainted with ChrEtien de Troyes and other trouvEres who found patronage in the court of Champagne. After Philip's death (1223), Theobald supported Philip's son Louis VIII and took part with him in the crusade against the Albigenses, but in 1226 suddenly left the king at the siege of Avignon and returned to Champagne. Three months later, Louis died under doubtful circumstances, and Theobald was accused by his enemies of poisoning him. The real reason for Theobald's desertion appears to have been a desire to consolidate his position as heir apparent of Navarre by an alliance with the disaffected nobility of the south of France. The resentment of the League involved him in a war in which Champagne was laid waste and his capital saved only by the royal intervention of Blanche, who was skillful enough to detach him.

In 1234 he succeeded his uncle, Sancho VI the Strong, as king of Navarre, and from this period date his most fervent songs in praise of his lady. An obligation to go as a crusader to Palestine turned Theobald's thoughts to religion, and he announced his intention of singing henceforth only in honour of the Virgin. He led the crusade of 1239-40 and, after his return, spent the rest of his life in Champagne and Navarre devoting himself to efforts for the improvement of his dominions that won for him the title of 'le bon.' He died at Pamplona on July 7, 1253.

He was the most popular of the 13th-century trouvEres, and his work is marked by a grace and sweetness which he owed perhaps in part to his association witht he troubadors of the south. Theobald left about 60 lyrics, mainly love songs and debates in verse, with two pastourelles (love songs between knight and shepherdess) and nine religious poems. Perhaps he found his true level in the jeu-parti (courtly love debate) in which he discusses with a crony from the crusades whether it is better to embrace one's love in the dark or to see her without embracing her, with wry allusions to the crony's crutch and his own potbelly. Theobald's lyrics, with their music, have survived in six manuscripts. [Encyclopaedia Britannica CD '97, THEOBALD I]