Alba (poetry)

The alba (Old Occitan [ˈalba]; "sunrise") is a genre of Old Occitan lyric poetry. It describes the longing of lovers who, having passed a night together, must separate for fear of being discovered.

A common figure found in the alba is the guaita ("sentry" or "guard"), a friend who alerts the lovers when the hour has come to separate. The lovers often accuse the guaita of dozing, being inattentive or separating them too early. The lovers fear not just the lady's husband but also the lauzengiers, the jealous rival.

The following example, composed by an anonymous troubadour, describes the longing of a knight for his lady as they part company after a night of forbidden love. Though generally representative of the style, this particular verse uses an atypical strophic pattern.

Quan lo rosinhols escria
ab sa part la nueg e.l dia,
yeu suy ab ma bell'amia
jos la flor,
tro la gaita de la tor
escria: "Drutz, al levar!
Qu'ieu vey l'alba e.l jorn clar.

While the nightingale sings,
both night and day,
I am with my beautiful
beneath the flowers,
until our sentry from the tower
cries: "Lovers, get up!
for I clearly see the sunrise and the day.

Under the influence of the Occitan troubadours, the Minnesingers developed a similar genre, the Tagelied, in Germany, and in northern France the trouvères developed an equivalent aube genre. The alba itself was imported into the Galician-Portuguese trovadorismo movement, but only one example of it, by Nuno Fernandes Torneol, survives.

In 1263, as a counterpart to the alba, Guiraut Riquier composed a song he called a serena (evening song), in which a lover complains about waiting for the evening.

List of Occitan albas

Only 18 albas are known.

Composer	Incipit	Type	Notes
Bernart de Venzac	Lo Paire el Filh el sant Espirital	religious
Raimbaut de Vaqueiras	Gaita be gaiteta del castel	profane
Guiraut de Bornelh	Reis glorios, verais lums e clartatz	profane
Folquet de Marselha	Vers Dieus el vostre nom e de Sainta Maria	religious
Cadenet	S'anc fui belha ni prezada	profane
Raimon de las Salas	Deus aidatz	profane
Bertran d'Alamanon or Gaucelm Faidit	Us cavalier si jazia	profane
Guilhem d'Autpol	Esperansa de totz ferms esperans	religious
Guiraut Riquier	Ab plazer	profane
Guiraut Riquier	Qui vuelha ses plazer	religious
Uc de la Bacalaria	Per grazir la bon'estrena	profane
Peire Espanhol	Ar levatz sus, franca cortesa gen	religious
Anonymous	En un vergier, sotz folha d'albespi	profane
Anonymous	Ab la gensor que sia	profane
Anonymous	Quan lo rossinhol escria	profane	cobla esparsa
Anonymous	Drutz que vol dreitamen amar	profane	cobla esparsa
Anonymous	Eras airay co que·us dey dir	profane
Cerveri de Girona	Aixi com cel c'anan erra la via	religious

See also

• Aubade
• Tagelied