Bruciare arca e vascello? Su un sirventese a tradizione doppia di Bertran de Born

Abstract

Constructed as a series of contrasts between man and woman, between old age and youth, Bertran de Born's sirventes, Bel m’es quan vei camjar lo senhoratge (BEdT 80,7), transmitted by only two manuscripts, has been considered a kind of manifesto of courtly love in southern France of the late 12th century. In this contribution, we aim to highlight some shortcomings in its manuscript and editorial tradition, attempting to better define its critical text. In particular, we re-evaluate the redaction of songbook M, following Appel and opposing the choice of more recent editors, who have rather uncritically preferred C. Furthermore, verse 29, which refers to "burning the cash box and the coffers," will be subjected to a different interpretation and a proposed correction as a possible archetypal error.