Johan Basset
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Ffra Johan Basset (Catalan pronunciation:
[ʒuˈam bəˈsɛt], modernised as
Fra Joan Basset) was a
Catalan author of twenty verses and a prose
Letovari. His work is preserved in the
Cançoner Vega-Aguiló (1420–30). He was probably active in the early years (1416–21) of the reign of
Alfonso V. His religious title,
fra ("brother"), has led to speculation that he was a
knight of the
Order of Saint John of Jerusalem (based on an unsourced assertion of Jordi Rubió). Johan preached at
Cervera during
Lent in 1424. It is recorded that he was a member of the "Order of Santa Anna". This is probably a reference to the convent of Santa Anna at
Barcelona, which was originally a house of the
Order of the Holy Sepulchre under the guidance of the
Patriarch of Jerusalem. Cohabitating at Santa Anna was a group of
Brothers of Penitence and some
Augustinian canons of
Santa Eulàlia del Camp (sine 1293). In 1420 the friars and canons passed into the Casa del Sant Sepulcre de Santa Anna.
[1]
Johan was a competent and original poet; his poetry diverse in form and style, his themes both religious and amorous. Besides his religious and amorous poetry, Basset wrote three unique pieces: a
planh, a piece entitled
Vers lauda, and another called
Vers clus. Basset's
Letovari (
electuarium) is a manual for curing the love-sick, dedicated to
Guerau de Massanet. It has much in common with the
Consolació of
Luys Ycart and the
Medicina of
Bernat Metge.
[2]
Johan's religious verse consists in four poems about the
Virgin Mary. His
Dansa de Nostra Dona was his first published work: it was edited by
Manuel Milà i Fontanals and published in his
Obras completas (1886–93). Its
incipit is
Ab letres d'aur per mesura and it was addressed to an anonymous lady
de Sant Climent (from
Sant Climent de Taüll). A similarly titled piece, the
Dansa e laors de Nostra Dona, has the form of a typical love song (
cançó); only its title betrays its religious purpose. It incipit is
Lausan vostra saviesa.
Johan's
Dir me cové si be.m tench l'engeny fflach and
Mayres de Dieu, valerosa princesa are also addressed to Mary. In the latter, each stanza begins with a line introducing the
Mayres de Dieu followed by six lines beginning
e cert molt val ("is certainly more worthy") and ending with the refrain
e res no val tant com la vostra cort ("and nothing is worth as much as your court"). The structure of this piece and its contents suggest it is a religious
plazer, a genre introduced to Catalonia by
Cerverí de Girona over a century earlier and Catalanised by
Pere March within Johan's lifetime.
Johan's love poetry fits within the tradition of
courtly love and of the
troubadours. This is obvious when he refers to himself as a "prisoner" of his lady and in his use of
feudal and
military terminology to describe their relationship.