Agoult, William D'

, a Provencal gentleman and poet, of the twelfth century, died in 1181, leaving behind | him the character of a man, learned, amiable, witty, and elegant in person and manners. He married Jausserande de Lunel, in praise of whom he wrote many verses, dedicated to Ildefonso, the first of the name, king of Arragon, prince of Provence, and count of Barcelona, in whose court he held the rank of first gentleman. He complained that in his time the passion of love was not properly understood, and therefore wrote a treatise or poem, entitled “La maniera d'Amar del temps passat.” In this he maintains, in a chain of reasoning, that no one can be happy unless he is a good man; that no one can be a good man unless he is in love; and that no man knows how to love who is not careful of his mistress’s honour. None of his writings have been published. The family of Agoult still exists in Dauphiny and Provence. ¹