Sainte des Prez was a trouvère probably from Le Prés in La Ferté-sous-Jouarre [1] and active in the 13th century. [2]
Nothing is known about her beyond what can be deduced from her name. [1] She shares her toponymic surname with Gui des Prés, named in a chansonnier from Siena as the composer of a song elsewhere attributed to Perrin d'Angicourt and who himself may be identical with Guy des Prés, bishop of Noyon from 1272 to 1296. [3] In 1581, Claude Fauchet included Sainte des Prez in his catalogue of French poets from before 1300. [4]
Sainte probably belonged to the school of trouvères centred on Arras. [2] She wrote a jeu-parti with the otherwise unknown lady of La Chaucie, probably La Chaussée in Crouy-sur-Ourcq. [3] This is her only surviving work. It has Picard dialectal features. She opens the poetic exchange with the line "Que ferai je, dame de la Chaucie" (What shall I do, Lady of Chaucie) by which the song is conventionally known. [5] In her response, the lady (dame) addresses Sainte as damoisele (maiden), meaning unmarried. The subject of their debate is how a woman ought to behave when a man declares his love for her. The older and more experienced married lady recommends letting the man have his say, but Sainte is afraid of being seduced by flattery. [6]