ours. One of the most [69]
striking figures of the kind is the Monk of Montaudon (1180-1200): the
satirical power of his _sirventes_ attracted attention, and he gained
much wealth at the various courts which he visited; this he used for the
benefit of his priory. He enjoyed the favour of Philippe Auguste II. of
France, of Richard Coeur de Lion and of Alfonso II. of Aragon, with that
of many smaller nobles. The biography says of him, "E fo faitz seigner
de la cort del Puoi Santa Maria e de dar l'esparvier. Lone temps ac la
seignoria de la cort del Puoi, tro que la cortz se perdet." "He was made
president of the court of Puy Sainte Marie and of awarding the
sparrow-hawk. For a long time he held the presidency of the court of
Puy, until the court was dissolved." The troubadour Richard de
Barbezieux refers to this court, which seems to have been a periodical
meeting attended by the nobles and troubadours of Southern Prance.
Tournaments and poetical contests were held; the sparrow-hawk or falcon
placed on a pole is often mentioned as the prize awarded to the
tournament victor. Tennyson's version of the incident in his "Geraint
and Enid" will occur to every reader. The monk's reputation must have
been considerable to gain him this position. His love poems are of
little importance; his satire deals with the petty failings of mankind,
for which he had a keen eye and an unsparing and sometimes cynical [70]
tongue.

Be.m enoia, s'o auzes dire,
Parliers quant es avols servire;
Et hom qui trop vol aut assire
M'enoia, e cavals que tire.
Et enoia.m, si Dieus m'aiut
Joves hom quan trop port' escut,
Que negun colp no i a agut,
Capela et mongue barbut,
E lauzengier bee esmolut.

"These vex me greatly, if I may say so, language when it is base
servility, and a man who wishes too high a place (at table) and a
charger which is put to drawing carts. And, by my hope of salvation, I
am vexed by a young man who bears too openly a shield which has never
received a blow, by a chaplain and monk wearing beards and by the sharp
beak of the slanderer." The monk's satire upon other troubadours is
stated by himself to be a continuation of that by Peire d'Auvergne; the
criticism is, as might be expected, personal. Two _tensos_ deal with the
vanities of women, especially the habit of painting the face: in one of
them the dispute proceeds before God as judge, between the poet and the
women: the scene of the other is laid