Guiraut de Bornelh

In the period shortly after his death Guiraut de Bornelh (fl. 1165-1200) was considered the master of troubadours, although he is not as highly favoured by modern critics. Despite a humble birth he was well educated. He seems to have received patronage in many Occitan courts.

72 of his songs have come down to us, of which only four have melodies. He was quite competent in the trobar leu style, but his love of word play meant that he excelled at trobar clus. In terms of modern scholarship his most famous song is Reis Glorios. It is an alba told from the perspective of a night watchman observing a young couple.