Marcabru in motion : 'Dire vos vuoill ses duptanssa' in Chansonniers A and C, and in Matfre Ermengaud's Breviari d’amor.

Abstract

The poems by Marcabru (fl. 1130-50) and Matfre Ermengaud (d. 1322) illustrate the intertextual nature of the Occitan tradition. This paper compares three versions of Marcabru's text (chansonnier A, longer version in C, and Matrfré's citation). If the version A appears "broadly biographical or personal," the version C, almost twice as long, is "less of a poem about Marcabru’s life, more of an attempt to define love in all its attractions and horrors." Finally, Matfre's Breviari uses the poem to express an opinion and then, also, to testify against itself. This epistemological meditation is at the very center of the preoccupation of both Matfre and Marcabru.