sirvente
Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
- noun A form of lyric verse of the Provençal troubadours satirizing political figures, personal rivals, or social morals.
Examples
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The sirvente was a song of war or politics, sometimes satirical, sometimes in praise of the exploits of a generous patron.
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Perchance you know a ballade, villanelle, or sirvente which would fall sweetly on ears too long accustomed to howling wolves and rainy winds. '
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The rhymes in the sirvente differed from what we consider correct by consisting always of a repetition of the same word.
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I remember well that, at the siege of Retters, there was a little, sleek, fat clerk of the name of Chaucer, who was so apt at rondel, sirvente, or tonson, that no man dare give back a foot from the walls, lest he find it all set down in his rhymes and sung by every underling and varlet in the camp.
Note
The word 'sirvente' comes ultimately from a Latin word meaning 'servant'.
