in Paradise and the interlocutors
are the Almighty and the poet, who, represents that self-adornment is a
habit inherent in female nature. In neither poem is reverence a [71]
prominent feature.

One of the most extraordinary figures in the whole gallery of troubadour
portraits is Peire Vidal, whose career extended, roughly speaking, from
1175 to 1215. He was one of those characters who naturally become the
nucleus of apocryphal stories, and how much truth there may be in some
of the fantastic incidents, in which he figures as the hero, will
probably never be discovered. He was undoubtedly an attractive
character, for he enjoyed the favour of the most distinguished men and
women of his time. He was also a poet of real power: ease and facility
are characteristics of his poems as compared with the ingenious
obscurity of Arnaut Daniel or Peire d'Auvergne. But there was a
whimsical and fantastic strain in his character, which led him often to
conjoin the functions of court-fool with those of court poet: "he was
the most foolish man in the world" says his biographer. His
"foolishness" also induced him to fall in love with every woman he met,
and to believe that his personal attractions made him invincible.

Peire Vidal was the son of a Toulouse merchant. He began his troubadour
wanderings early and at the outset of his career we find him in
Catalonia, Aragon and Castile. He is then found in the service of Raimon
Gaufridi Barral,[24] Viscount of Marseilles, a bluff, genial tournament [72]
warrior and the husband of Azalais de Porcellet whose praises were sung
by Folquet of Marseilles. It was Barral who was attracted by Peire's
peculiar talents: his wife seems to have tolerated the troubadour from
deference to her husband. Peire, however, says in one of his poems that
husbands feared him more than fire or sword, and believing himself
irresistible interpreted Azalais' favours as seriously meant. When he
stole a kiss from her as she slept, she insisted upon Peire's departure,
though her husband seems to have regarded the matter as a jest and the
troubadour took refuge in Genoa. Eventually, Azalais pardoned him and he
was able to return to Marseilles. Peire is said to have followed Richard
Coeur de Lion on his crusade; it was in 1190 that Richard embarked at
Marseilles for the Holy Land, and as a patron of troubadours, he was no
doubt personally acquainted with Peire. The troubadour, however, is said
to have gone no