Guillaume le Vinier

Guillaume le Vinier (c. 1190–1245) was a cleric and trouvère, one of the most prolific composers in the genre.[1] He has left compositions in all the major subgenres of trouvère poetry: chansons d'amour, jeux-partis, a lai, a descort, a chanson de mal mariée and a ballade.[1] He wrote Marian songs and even an imaginary dialogue with a nightingale.[1] His work can be dated with some precision: the poem "En tous tens" is quoted in the Roman de la violette, which was written around 1225.[1]

Guillaume le Vinier (seated) in the Chansonnier du Roi

Guillaume was born into a wealthy bourgeois family of Arras, the son of Philippe le Vinier and Alent.[1] His younger brother, Gilles le Vinier, was also a trouvère. The two exchanged at least two jeux-partis: "Frere, ki fait mieus" and "Sire frere, fetes m'un jugemen".[1] (The former may have served as a model for the anonymous song "A ce que je vuel comencier" (RS1272), although this assumption has been made purely on the basis of shared poetic form, since no contemporary melody survives for RS1272, which can be viewed, with a later piece of 'nonsense' notation here.) Guillaume is called 'magister' in a charter of 1245 and 'maistre' in manuscript copies of his songs, so was certainly a cleric. One of his songs (RS378) makes reference to the 'je' having been formerly at the Abbey of Saint-Vaast. Nonetheless, a charter of 1245 notes that he married a certain Hauydis, who remarried one Robert de Humbercourt on the death of Guillaume.[2]

Guillaume was well-connected to the other trouvères active in and around Arras. He composed jeux-partis with Colart le Boutellier, Andrieu Contredit and Adam de Givenchi for certain, and may also have collaborated with Moniot d'Arras, Thomas Herier and the King of Navarre.[1] Colart, Adam and Jehan Erart all dedicated works to him.[1] He expressed a debt of gratitude to Gace Brulé's style in "Voloirs de faire" and quoted Gace's "N'est pas a soi" in one of his jeux-partis with Gilles.[1] The unaccredited Marian song "Vierge pucele roiaus", which is modelled on the Old Occitan piece "Lo clar tems vei brunezir" by Raimon Jordan, may belong to Guillaume.[1]

Most of Guillaume's music is in bar form, although "Chancon envoisie" is given partially in mensural notation in the Chansonnier Cangé.[1] His melodies typically have a range greater than an octave. According to Karp, "modal interpretation of the melodies does not seem appropriate".[1]

The date of Guillaume's death must be before Pentecost (4 June) in the year of 1245, since he is inscribed in the Necrology of the Confrérie des jongleurs et des bourgeois d'Arras for that year.