Rui Fernandes de Santiago
Trovador medieval

Biographical Note:

Galician troubadour, active in the second quarter of the 13th century. The attributive item in his cantigas de amigo tell us that he was a cleric, and the one in his love songs that he was natural of Santiago de Compostela.
López Ferreiro, at the beginning of the 20th century, and later Ron Fernández1 and Arias Freixedo2 (in his edition of the troubadour's works), had reviewed all the available data on the troubadour's biography at the time, particularly that contained in his will, drawn up in Salamanca and dated 1273, in which he mentions having been chaplain to Alfonso X and a professor at the University of the city.
More recently, José António Souto Cabo did the same3, but added new and important documents to those previously known. One of these new documents, a deed of sale dated 1263, which lists Rui Fernandes and his two brothers as the sellers, even mentions the names of his parents and grandparents. It is precisely the identification of the troubadour's grandfather, Sancho Juiães, that leads Souto Cabo to conclude that Rui Fernandes was still a second cousin of Julião Peres, or D. Juião, the first-generation troubadour mentioned in the Tavola Colacciana but whose work has been lost.
Furthermore, from the aforementioned will, we can conclude, as Souto Cabo does, that «his presence in Salamanca implies prior integration into the See of Santiago, without, however, having belonged to the chapter body itself, since he never declared himself a 'cónego'. Now, the documentation of Tombo C39 preserves the memory of a Rodrigo Fernandes who, at least between 1244 and 1250, belonged to the group of the so-called "clerics of the choir" of Compostela (...) From the deed in question, from which it is clear that he was a wealthy person, we come to know the testator's financial relationship with the cities of Salamanca and Santiago, as well as with the entire diocese of Compostela.» Moreover, and if we believe that he was very ill at the time, as mentioned in the same will, it is possible that he died in that year of 1273 or shortly thereafter.

References

1 Ron Fernández, Xavier (2005), “Carolina Michaelis e os trobadores representados no Cancioneiro da Ajuda”, in Carolina Michaelis e o Cancioneira da Ajuda hoxe, Santiago de Compostela, Xunta de Galicia.
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2 Arias Freixedo, Xosé Bieito (2010), As cantigas de Roi Fernandíz, clérigo de Santiago, Universidade de Vigo.
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3 Souto Cabo, José António (2023), “Ca o vej’eu assaz om’ordinhado. Airas Nunes no “coro” clerical trovadoresco”, en Madrygal. Revista de Estudios Gallegos 26.
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