SOURCE: "Sordello, the Troubadour," in Sordello: A History and a Poem, Robert Brothers, 1886, pp. 5-11.

The following is an excerpt from an article by Dall first published in a periodical in 1872. She summarizes the disparate chronicles of Sordello's life and speculates that perhaps two interpretations of the troubadour's character existed: one as a singer only and the other as a warrior and thinker. Dall also assesses the poet's writings, finding that "the best of Sordello's verses show a dignity of composition and purity of taste which put him in the very front rank of the Provençals. "

"Who wills has heard Sordello's story told," yet not without some hard work; some diving into old and musty chronicles, the best American collection of which perished when the library of the Canadian Parliament was burned.

From the Vidas of the Troubadours (c. Late 1200s):

Sordel was from Mantoana, from a...