reign ( 1187) as Bonifaz I., Marquis of Monferrat, and he
welcomed the troubadour as both a guest and a friend. ²³
The novitiate in poetry, arms, and love was over; and
Raimbaut, a mature man of about thirty years, now began
the real work of his life. ²⁴

But what became of his earlier patron, Guilhem del
Bauz?

No one of his extraordinary family gained so high a title,
and no one met so terrible an end as he did. By siding
with the French invaders against the count of Toulouse
and the Albigensians he realized the ambition of his
family, and was able to call himself the "King of Arles
and Vienne." ²⁵ Exulting in success and pride he rode
haughtily and happily down the hill of Orange one day
( 1218), crossed the meadows full of buttercups and nar-
cissus, and went his royal way, joyous with memories of
love and song. Before night the men of Avignon caught
him, flayed him alive, cut him in pieces, and hung up his
dripping members over the gates of their town.

-51-