with the majority of the troubadours, shows himself a
vigorous supporter of Alfonso. Referring to this same expedition of 1183
he asserted "Had I but a speedy horse, the king might sleep in peace at
Balaguer: I would keep Provence and Montpelier in such order that
robbers and freebooters should no longer plunder Venaissin and Crau.
When I have put on my shining cuirass and girded on the sword that Guigo
lately gave me, the earth trembles beneath my feet; no enemy so mighty
who does not forthwith avoid out of my path, so great is their fear of
me when they hear my steps." These boasts in the style of Captain
Matamoros are, of course, not serious: the poet's personal appearance
seems to have been enough to preclude any suppositions of the kind. In [113]
another poem he sings the praises of Sancha, daughter of Alfonso VIII.
of Castile, who married Alfonso II. of Aragon in 1174. With the common
sense in political matters which is so strangely conjoined with the
whimsicality of his actions, he puts his finger upon the weak spot in
Spanish politics when he refers to the disunion between the four kings,
Alfonso II. of Aragon, Alfonso IX. of Leon, Alfonso VIII. of Castile and
Sancho Garces of Navarre: "little honour is due to the four kings of
Spain for that they cannot keep peace with one another; since in other
respects they are of great worth, dexterous, open, courteous and loyal,
so that they should direct their efforts to better purpose and wage war
elsewhere against the people who do not believe our law, until the whole
of Spain professes one and the same faith."

The Monk of Montaudon, Peire Raimon of Toulouse, Uc de San Circ, Uc
Brunet and other troubadours of less importance also enjoyed Alfonso's
patronage. Guiraut de Bornelh sent a poem to the Catalonian court in
terms which seemed to show that the simple style of poetry was there
preferred to complicated obscurities. The same troubadour was
sufficiently familiar with Alfonso's successor, Pedro II., to take part
in a _tenso_ with him.

Pedro II. (1196-1213) was no less popular with the troubadours than his [114]
father. Aimeric de Pegulhan, though more closely connected with the
court of Castile, is loud in his praises of Pedro, "the flower of
courtesy, the green leaf of delight, the fruit of noble deeds." Pedro
supported his brother-in-law, Raimon VI. of Toulouse, against the
crusaders and Simon de Montfort during the Albigeois crusade and was
killed near Toulo