Aimeric de Belenoi

Who is Aimeric de Belenoi?

Aimeric de Belenoi was a Gascon troubadour. At least fifteen of his songs survive and there are seven more which were attributed to him in some medieval manuscripts.

Aimeric's birthplace was the castle of Lesparra in the Bordelais. He was related to another troubadour, Peire de Corbiac, who was his uncle. His vida says he was a cleric and later a jongleur before he took to "inventing good songs, which were beautiful and charming." He seems to have later been the feudal lord of Belenoi, an unknown location.

The chief object of his songs was a lady named Gentil de Rieux, a Gascon from Gensac-Saint-Julien and the wife of Raimon de Benque. His biographer records that he lingered in Gascony a long time "for her" before eventually moving on to Catalonia, where he died.

Aimeric's poetry refers to events at Toulouse, Provence, and Italy, implying that he was so widely travelled. He was at the Este court in Ferrara in the 1210s, where he probably had contact with Aimeric de Pegulhan, Albertet de Sestaro, Guillem Augier Novella, and Peirol. He probably also made the acquaintance of Peire Cardenal.