Comtessa de Dia

The Comtessa de Dia (Countess of Die), possibly named Beatritz or Isoarda (fl. c. 1175 or c. 1212), was a trobairitz (female troubadour). She is only known as the comtessa de Dia in contemporary documents, but was most likely the daughter of Count Isoard II of Diá (a town northeast of Montelimar now known as Die in southern France). According to her vida, she was married to William of Poitiers, but was in love with and sang about Raimbaut of Orange (1146-1173). Bruckner, Shepard, and White cite Angela Rieger’s analysis of the songs, which associates them, through intertextual evidence, with the circle of poets composed of Raimbaut d’Aurenga, Bernart de Ventadorn, and Azalais de Porcairagues. If her songs are addressed to Raimbaut d’Aurenga’s nephew Raimbaut IV, the Comtessa de Dia may have been urging the latter to support Raymond V of Toulouse. Five of the Comtessa’s works survive, including 4 cansos and 1 tenson. Scholars have debated whether or not the Comtessa authored , a tenso typically attributed to Raimbaut d’Aurenga. One reason for this is the similarities between this composition and her own . A second reason references the words in her vida, (“And she fell in love with S