Raimon Jordan

Raimon Jordan was a troubadour of French origin, active according to the records between around 1178 and 1195. He belonged to the family of the viscounts of Saint-Antonin, in Quercy, although he never himself held the viscountal title. His work forms part of the troubadour lyric of southern France, composed in the Occitan language.

Very little documentary evidence survives concerning the troubadour. Only one document, dating from 1178, mentions him as a witness to a feudal transaction, and little more is known of his life. His lineage embraced Catharism, which ultimately cost the viscounts their lordship and their title.

Thirteen of his songs survive, two of which have come down to us with melodies, transmitted in the manuscript F-Pn fr.844. One of them, "Vas vos soplei, domna, premeiramen", was taken up decades later by Peire Cardenal for a sirventes. The other, "Lo clar temps vei brunezir", served as the basis for several songs in Old French: a Marian canticle attributed to Guillaume or Jaques Le Vinier (the attribution is disputed), another anonymous Marian canticle, and a jeu-parti between Thibaut IV and a certain "Phelippe".

His melodies are distinguished by predominantly conjunct stepwise motion and a range slightly exceeding an octave, with occasional motivic variation and repetition of phrases. Their importance lies chiefly in the dissemination of his melodies beyond his own oeuvre.