“The revival of interest in Provençal poetry in the late nineteenth century was a major inspiration for modern literary thinking. In tracing Friedrich Nietzsche’s engagement with Provençal lyric, Yunus Tuncel elucidates many of the philosopher’s most affirmative and exhilarating gestures. Tuncel does not shy away from difficult questions, such as the seeming divergence between Nietzsche and the Provençal poets in terms of representing gender. Festooned with copious, illustrations and written in a creative and poetic manner, Nietzsche, Gai Saber, and Modernity sits at the borderline of philosophy and joy.”
— Nicholas Birns, New York University

“Tuncel explores the textual and topographical terrain of the troubadours and trobairitiz to show the spiritual affinity between their gai saber culture and Nietzsche’s advocation for a joyful wisdom, complicating the narrative divide between antiquity, medievalia, and the modern – enriching the study of the medieval poets and the modern philosopher while challenging us to live more fully.”
— David Kilpatrick, Mercy University

“Tuncel’s Nietzsche, Gai Saber, and Modernity traces an obscure, but fascinating genealogy of modernity from the Occitan culture and its “gai saber” in medieval France, to the troubadour minstrels it created, culminating in Nietzsche’s own joyful wisdom. It is an erudite and exciting read that brings a crucial microhistory back into the light.”
— Luke Trusso, New York University

About Authors
Yunus Tuncel is a co-founder of the Nietzsche Circle and the Editor-in-Chief of its electronic journal, The Agonist, which is published twice a year. He is the author of Towards a Genealogy of Spectacle (Eye Corner Press, 2011), Agon in Nietzsche (Marquette University Press, 2013), Emotion in Sports (Routledge, 2019), Nietzsche on Human Emotions (Schwabe, 2021), Flames of Passion (Beadle, 2022) and the editor of Nietzsche and Transhumanism (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2017) and the co-editor of Nietzsche and Music (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2022).

Seth Binsted is a photographer based in New York City and his philosophical focuses on the intersection between art and thought.