Robert de Reins La Chievre


Robert de Reins 'La Chievre' was a trouvère from the Île de France, probably active in the thirteenth century. He is among those trouvères, like Richard de Fournival, who are associated with the early development of the motet and who may be more numerous than previously believed.
Robert may have belonged to the La Chievre family documented in Reims in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. The Roman de Renart attributed a poem about Tristan to a certain Chievre de Reins, who may be Robert. This attribution led Wilhelm Mann to conclude that he was active before 1300, though other scholars have argued on linguistic grounds that he must have been writing later.
Nine songs are attributed to Robert and "no fewer than four have their first stanza enhanced by a liturgical tenor in a motet appearing anonymously in a polyphonic source". These four are numbers 1-4 in the list below. Two of these motets are preserved as liturgical clausulae. Three of the motets have the same music and text as the song versions but one has the same music but transmits a contrafact Latin text.

List of works

The RS number is that found in the standard catalogue for songs. The refrains are numbered from the catalogue of Nico van den Boogaard. The motet voice numbers are the ones in the standard catalogues for motets.
  1. L'autrier de jouste un rivage. As a song in TrouvX f.189v with refrain vdB1424 in stanza II. As a motet with text Virgo gignit and Tenor DOMINO QUONIAM in W2 f.190r. As a 2-voice clausula in motet MS F f.156r.
  2. Quant voi le dous tens venir. As a song in TrouvK p. 190, TrouvN f.91r, Trouv X fol.135r with refrain vdB1149 in stanza I and vdB1580 in stanza II. As 2-voice motet Qant voi le douz and tenor LATUS in W2 f.245r. As 3-voice motet with Triplum En mai quant rose in Montpellier Codex f.203v, Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, n.a.fr.13521 f.382v, Montpellier Codex f.167v. As 2-voice clausula in F f.158v.
  3. Main s'est levee Aëlis. As a song in TrouvX f.190v with refrain vdB689 in stanza I. As motets Main s'est levee with tenor MANSUETUDINEM in the Munich fragments f.A7r, Noailles Chansonnier =TrouvT f.184v, Chansonnier du roi =TrouvM f.206r.
  4. Quant fueillissent li buisson. As a song in TrouvX f.190r with refrain vdB670 in stanza I and vdB1242 in stanza II. As motet Quant florissent li buisson with tenor DOMINO QUONIAM in Montpellier f.244v.
  5. Plaindre m'estuet de la bele en chantant. As a song in Trouv C = the Berne Chansonnier f.215r, TrouvK p. 188, TrouvN f.90r, TrouvP f.113r, TrouvX f.134r.
  6. Jamais pour tant. As a song in TrouvM f.175v, TrouvT, f.153r and the Saint Germain-des-Pres Chansonnier = TrouvU f.32r.
  7. Touse de vile. As a song in Trouva f.124, TrouvK p. 401, TrouvX f.190r.
  8. Bien s'est Amours honie. As a song in TrouvC f.30v, TrouvK p. 188, TrouvN f.89v, TrouvP f.71v, Trouv X f.133v, TrouvU f.33v.
  9. Qui bien veut Amours descrivre. As a song in Trouva f.102v, TrouvC f.113r, TrouvF f.115r, TrouvH f.223v, the Cangé Chansonnier = TrouvO f.115v, TrouvK p. 189, TrouvP f.72r, TrouvN f.90v, TrouvX f.134v, TrouvM f.174v, TrouvT f.152v, TrouvU f.37r with refrain vdB710 in all sources.