About Guilhem Magret
Lived 1195 – 1210 (aged 14–15). Guilhem Magret was a French troubadour, composer and poet.
Miniature of Guillem found beneath his vida in MS I. He is shown playing dice; he has rolled a five, a four and a three. Guillem or Guilhem Magret (; fl. 1195–1210) was a troubadour and jongleur from the Viennois. He left behind eight poems, of which survive a sirventes and a canso with melodies.
According to his vida, he was a gambler and publican who could not keep the money he earned but spent it away gambling and frequenting taverns, and so he was always ill-equipped for riding. In Maigret, pujat m’es el cap, a tenso with Guilhem Rainol d'Apt, he is despised by his debate partner as a joglar vielh, nesci, badoc: "an old, silly, stupid jongleur". Despite this, his biographer notes that he was well liked and honoured and his songs were "good".
Guillem travelled widely in Spain, sojourning at the courts of Peter II of Aragon and Alfonso IX of León. Eventually he entered a hospital in Spain, in the land of "Lord Roiz Peire dels Gambiaros" (probably Pedro Ruiz de los Cameros), and there ended his life. Among the dates which can be established for Guillem's life are 1196, when he composed a song on the death of Alfonso II and succession of Peter II in Aragon, and 1204, when he wrote a song to celebrate the November coronation of Peter by Pope Innocent III in Rome.
Guillem's music is rich, diverse, motivically-varied, and neumatically-textured. L'aigue puge contremont contains four unusual B–F leaps, which Guillem probably intended as a motive.
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Important facts
Frequently asked questions
Who was Guilhem Magret?
French troubadour
When was Guilhem Magret born?
Guilhem Magret was born in 1195.
When did Guilhem Magret die?
Guilhem Magret died in 1210.
What was Guilhem Magret's occupation?
Guilhem Magret was a troubadour, composer and poet.
What nationality was Guilhem Magret?
Guilhem Magret was French.
Sources & further reading
Cite this page
APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Guilhem Magret. https://biography.guide/guilhem-magret/
MLA: "Guilhem Magret." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/guilhem-magret/.
Chicago: "Guilhem Magret." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/guilhem-magret/.
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