Airas Nunes
Trovador medieval

Biographical Note:

A cleric (as the attributive item of his compositions informs us), probably Galician, whose period of activity should be between the end of Alfonso X’s reign and the beginning of Sancho IV’s (1284-1289). Actually, according to a document from the chancellery of the former monarch, we learn that in 1284 Airas Nunes was the beneficiary of two sums of money for the purchase of a horse and clothing, a donation apparently related to the scene of violence reported in one of his songs. Taking into account the reference made, in the same song, to his cabelos canos (white hair), he wouldn't have been a young man at the time. At least another two compositions can be equally dated: the cantiga de amigo in which he makes reference to a pilgrimage of Sancho IV to Santiago (1286), and the satirical song in which he mentions the conflict between king Sancho and the Princes of La Cerda (1289), and where he clearly defends the stand of the Castilian king.
Confirming these facts, but adding many others, José António Souto Cabo, in a recent and well-documented research work1, sheds new light on the troubadour's biography. Airas Nunes can thus be identified with the cleric of the same name who appears, albeit discontinuously, in numerous documents from the Lugo Cathedral and the monastery of Ferreira de Palhares, from 1250 to 1292. This proximity to the Lugo Cathedral is likely due to his being the nephew of an important figure in that institution, the canon and notary Fernando Pais (1235-1272), and cousin of his successor, his son Paio Fernandes (d. 1298). With them, he likely practiced the office of clerk from an early age, which he would later hold at the Castilian court (his intermittent presence in Lugo likely stems from these absences in the court). These relationships also contributed to the fact that, late in life, he was appointed cleric of the parish of Tirimol (Lugo), a position that did not require his presence but was essentially a prebend.
In the documentation of Sancho IV, and in addition to the three known documents cited above, Souto Cabo located two others where the name Airas Nunes appears, and in which he is explicitly identified as a clerk (in one of them) and a troubadour (in the other).
In the Lugo documentation, he is stated to have died on July 28th, but in an unspecified year, which Souto Cabo places within a range ranging from 1292 to 1312, the probable date being the first decade of the 14th century.
A learned troubadour, as indicated by his perfect command of forms and his taste for quotation (particularly Provençal), Airas Nunes certainly also collaborated on the writing of the Cantigas de Santa Maria, which is evidenced by the double appearance of his name in the Codigo de los Musicos.

References

1 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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