The salutz d'amor, or simply salutz, is a love letter in verse directed by a troubadour to his beloved lady. Among the twenty salutz composed by troubadours, Azalais d'Altier's is unique as the sole example of this poetic genre written by a trobairitz and addressed to another woman.
Tanz salutz e tantas amors,
.....
vos tramet Azalais d’Altier,
a vos, donna, cui ilh volria
mais vezer qe ren q’el mon sia. vv. 1-8.
[So many greetings and so much love, [...] Azalais d'Altier sends you, madam, the one in the world I would most like to see]
It is noteworthy that Azalais d'Altier refers to herself in the opening verses of her salutz, as is characteristic of the genre.
While there is no documentary evidence about Azalais d'Altier, it is presumed that she was a lady from Altier, a castle situated in the present Lozère department of Occitanie, not far from Anduze, where Clara d'Anduze, another trobairitz, lived. Clara d'Anduze is known from the single preserved song En greu esmai e en greu pessamen (BEdT 115,001).
A razo accompanying the canso by Uc de Saint-Circ (Anc mais non vi temps ni sazo, BEdT 457,004), dating from 1217 to 1253, refers to his relationship with Clara d'Anduze, which ended when Uc succumbed to the amorous advances of another lady. Azalais d'Altier's intervention on Clara's behalf ultimately succeeded in reconciling the two lovers, as indicated by the verses in which Uc addresses Azalais.
Chanssos, enans que ans aillor,
a N’Azalais d’Autier ten via,
qu’ieu voill que sapcha de cal guia
m’estai ni cum me vai d’amor,
ni cum eu sui partitz d’error. vv. 46-50
[Song, before you go anywhere, go to N'Azalais d'Altier because I want her to know how I am I, and how I am faring with love and how I got away from error.]
In Tanz salutz e tantas amors, one can observe the formal features and content characteristic of the salutz genre: paired octosyllabic lines, a longer text than cansos, and an epistolary structure. The paired octosyllabic form, typical of narrative texts intended for recitation rather than song, highlights this genre's distinctiveness. The epistolary structure of the salutz adheres to the medieval ars dictaminis principles for composing letters, while adapting these conventions to the context and poetic expressions of the canso. The narrative structure of the salutz often follows a five-part division, as recommended by Latin precepts. In the case of this salutz, the canonical structure is specified as follows:
a) Greeting, vv. 1-8
- The term salutz is used as a greeting formula at the beginning, v. 1.
- The author’s name is introduced in the initial verses, v. 6.
- The word domna is used in the vocative throughout the poem, appearing in vv. 7, 23, 27, 33, 39, 73, and notably in v. 101 to mark the poem’s conclusion.
b) Captatio Benevolentiae, vv. 9-26
- The repeated praise of the woman's physical charms and moral qualities, vv. 9-26.
- Expressions of tenderness and friendship are drawn from the love vocabulary of troubadour canso, although some critics interpret these expressions as having an erotic connotation.
c) Narration, vv. 27-88
- The author conveys the lover's repentance for past unfaithfulness to the addressee, vv. 27-88.
- Allusion to the story of Troilus and Briseis, as examples of lovers renowned for their misfortunes, vv. 61-64.
- Introduction of Love as an allegorical figure, vv. 75, 100.
d) Request, vv. 89-96
- A plea for forgiveness.
e) Conclusion, vv. 97-101
- The conclusion contains a covert mention of the name of the domna to whom the salutz is addressed.
To which domna did Azalais d'Altier address her salutz? Some clues suggest a possible answer. Although the salutz does not specify a particular addressee, it appears that Azalais d'Altier poetically engages with the razo mentioned in the poem by Uc de Saint-Circ. The refrain from Anc mais non vi temps ni sazo (BEdT 457,004) is addressed to Azalais, indicating a connection. At the end of the salutz, Azalais advises the lady to be "fina e clara" for her lover (v. 98). This could imply that the dedicatee is Clara d'Anduze, another trobairitz, with Azalais employing a play on words based on the adjective clara and the name of the trobairitz.
E no·l sias oimais avara,
anz li sias fina e clara,
qe·l noms ni·l semblanz no·us desmenta. vv. 97-99
[cease to be stingy with him, but courteous and clear, so that neither the name nor the posture belie you.]
For some time, this salutz had been attributed to Uc de Saint-Cir. This was because of the obscurity of Azalias d’Altier and the aforementioned razo, which stated that n’Uc be fasia las letras de las responsions que convenian a fair a las dompnas dels plasers qu’ellas li mandavan ("Uc wrote the letters of the responses that were appropriate to give to the ladies for the favours they granted him"). Despite this, the salutz d'amor Tanz salutz e tantas amors is now universally recognized in all trobairitz repertoires and anthologies as the work of Azalais d'Altier.
(English translation by Pol Bridgewater)