Torneyamen


A torneyamen or certamen was a lyric genre of the troubadours of the thirteenth century. Closely related to the tenso, a debate between two poets, and the partimen, a question posed by one poet and another's response, the torneyamen took place between several poets, originally usually three. The first three-way tenso was initiated by Raimbaut [de Vaqueiras] with Ademar de Peiteus and Perdigon. These wider tensos only became known as torneyamens later. A tenso or partimen that was submitted to another troubadour for adjudication may have a poetic jutjamen attached to it and so may be considered as a torneyamen between three. The torneyamen, like the related debate forms, was probably especially common at contests, such as floral games and puys. Many such tensos and partimens come with attached jutjamens rendered in verse, as in the example Senyer Bernatz, dues puncelhas say cited below.

Examples