CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Robert de la Piere

French trouvère

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJun 4, 2022
Entity authorityQ3938484 ↗
Source-derived summary

Robert de la Piere (died 1258) was a trouvère of the so-called "school" of Arras. In his time Robert's bourgeois family was prominent in Arras, though the earliest known member is only recorded in 1212. Robert served as a magistrate in 1255, as attested by one surviving document in the municipal archives. There is also a surviving notice of his death in the spring of 1258, at Arras.

His nine chansons and five jeux partis survive only in north French sources, and were probably not widely copied or performed. The only possible exception to this is Hé, Amours, je fui nouris, which is widely preserved, but at the same time has conflicting attribution: it is more commonly assigned to Gillebert de Berneville in the manuscripts. The song Joliement doi chanter ascribed to Robert is also more often found ascribed to Gillebert. Hé, Amours was the basis for two contrafacta: Aucun gent m'out blasmé and Mout sera cil bien mouris, in praise of Mary. All the other seven chansons undisputedly assigned to Robert have melodies in bar form with similar Aufegesangen, but their Abgesangen exhibit greater freedom.

List of works

Chansons

Cele que j’ain veut que je chant por li

C’il qui m’ont repris

Contre le dous tens de mai

J’ai chante mout liement

Je chantai de ma doulour

Je ne cuidai mais chanter

Par maintes foi ai chanté liement

Jeux partis

Robert de la Piere, repondés moi with Jehan Bretel

Chopart, uns clers que se veut marier with Coupart

De ce, Robert de la Piere with Lambert Ferri

Grieviler, un jugement with Jehan de Grieviler

Mahieu de Gant, respondés with Mahieu de Gant

Mahieu de Gant, respondés with Mahieu de Gant

References

Falck, Robert.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Robert de la Piere” as french trouvère. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Robert, Piere and French.

Editorial reviewA dependable orientation record for establishing vocabulary, names and a first evidence trail. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1258, 1212, 1255—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1200. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Robert, Piere and French providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Robert de la Piere”, the useful work is to connect “french trouvère” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 4, 2022. The linked authority identifier is Q3938484. VIAF identifies the subject as 29797277. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1258, 1212 and 1255.

Critical limits

The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Robert de la Piere”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Robert de la Piere primary sources, Robert de la Piere archive and Robert research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Robert de la Piere”?
  2. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
  3. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Robert de la Piere” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.