Song of the Albigensian Crusade: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|1213 epic poem by William of Tudela}} |
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[[File:Louis VIII Marmande.jpg|245px|thumb|[[Louis VIII of France]] |
[[File:Louis VIII Marmande.jpg|245px|thumb|[[Louis VIII of France]] capturing [[Marmande]], from the sole surviving manuscript of the ''Song of the Albigensian Crusade'']] |
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| ⚫ | The '''''Song of the Albigensian Crusade'''''<ref>Original title, in [[Old Occitan]]: ''Canso de la crozada'', modern [[Occitan language|Occitan]]: ''Cançon de la Crosada'', known in French as: ''Chanson de la croisade albigeoise'', 'Fauriel (1837) supplied the title ''Aiso es la cansos de la crozada contr els ereges d albeges'', a (faulty) reconstruction of Old Occitan by the editor himself (Meyer 1875, [https://books.google.com/books?id=w1GX6VnvL6YC&pg=PR2 p. ii])</ref> is an [[Old Occitan]] [[epic poem]] narrating events of the [[Albigensian Crusade]] from March 1208 to June 1219. Modelled on the [[Old French]] ''[[chanson de geste]]'', it was composed in two distinct parts: [[William of Tudela]] wrote the first towards 1213, and an anonymous continuator finished the account. However, recent studies have proposed the [[troubadour]] [[Gui de Cavalhon]] as the author of the second part.<ref>Saverio Guida, "L'autore della seconda parte della Canso de la crotzada", in ''Cultura Neolatina'', LXIII, 2003, pp. 255–282.</ref> It is one of three major contemporary narratives of the Albigensian Crusade, the ''[[Historia Albigensis]]'' of [[Pierre des Vaux-de-Cernay]] and the ''[[Chronica (Guillaume de Puylaurens)|Chronica]]'' of [[William of Puylaurens]] being the others. |
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| ⚫ | The '''''Song of the Albigensian Crusade''''' is an [[Old Occitan]] [[epic poem]] narrating events of the [[Albigensian Crusade]] from March 1208 to June 1219. Modelled on the [[Old French]] ''[[chanson de geste]]'', it was composed in two distinct parts: [[William of Tudela]] wrote the first towards 1213, and an anonymous continuator finished the account. However, recent studies have proposed the [[troubadour]] [[Gui de Cavalhon]] as the author of the second part.<ref>Saverio Guida, |
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There is a single surviving manuscript of the whole ''Song'' (fr. 25425 in the [[Bibliothèque Nationale de France|Bibliothèque nationale]]), written in or around [[Toulouse]] about 1275. |
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==Publication== |
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There is a single surviving manuscript of the whole ''Song'' (fr. 25425 in the [[Bibliothèque Nationale de France|Bibliothèque nationale]]), written in or around [[Toulouse]] about 1275. The original title is '''''Cansó de la crozada''''' ("song of the crusade").<ref>''Cançon de la crosada'' in modern Occitan.</ref> The first critical edition was published with a French translation—'''''Chanson de la croisade contre les albigeois'''''—by [[Paul Meyer (philologist)|Paul Meyer]] in two volumes (1875–79). Eugène Martin-Chabot published another multi-volume French translation under the title '''''Chanson de la croisade albigeoise'''''. Henri Gougaud used the same title in his single-volume edition of 1992. The ''Song'' was finally translated into English (as ''The Song of the Cathar Wars'') by Janet Shirley in 1996. |
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==Contents== |
==Contents== |
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===First part=== |
===First part=== |
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The first was written by [[William of Tudela]] (he names himself in ''laisses'' 1 and 9), |
The first was written by [[William of Tudela]] (he names himself as "maestre W." in ''laisses'' 1 and 9). |
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The author also names the date of the beginning of the composition, as 1210 (''laisse'' 9). |
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It comprises the first 2749 lines, in 130 ''laisses'' (rhymed stanzas of varying length), and takes the story to the beginning of 1213. |
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It is strongly partisan, in favour of the [[Crusaders]] and against their opponents, the [[Cathars]] and southerners in general. The text has the earliest use of the term ''[[:wikt:crusade|crusade]]'' (as ''crozada'').<ref> |
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The term ''croiserie'' "the act of making the sign of the cross; a crusade" is attested for the late 12th century. |
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A Middle Latin term for the oriental crusades was ''negotium crucis'' "affair of the cross". |
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The Occitan ''crozada'' was adopted into French as ''croisade'' by the 15th century, and from there into English by the late 16th century. |
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Eliza Miruna Ghil, "Crozada: Avatars of a Religious Term in Thirteenth Century Occitan Poetry", ''Tenso'' 10.2 (Spring 1995), 99–109, doi:10.1353/ten.1995.0009.</ref> |
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===Second part=== |
===Second part=== |
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The author was apparently an educated man, displaying some knowledge of theology and law, and belonged to the [[diocese of Toulouse]] (since he calls bishop [[Folquet de Marselha]] "our bishop"). Michel Zink suggests that he was with [[Raymond VII of Toulouse]] in Rome and Provence during the years 1215 and 1216.<ref>M. Zink, "Introduction" (Gougaud 1992, pp. 20–22).</ref> The poet mentions the death of [[Guy de Montfort, Lord of Sidon|Guy of Montfort]], which actually took place in 1228;<ref>Laisse 142, lines 7–8</ref> it is questionable whether the whole of part 2 was written after that date, or whether the reference to Guy's death was a later insertion. |
The author was apparently an educated man, displaying some knowledge of theology and law, and belonged to the [[diocese of Toulouse]] (since he calls bishop [[Folquet de Marselha]] "our bishop"). Michel Zink suggests that he was with [[Raymond VII of Toulouse]] in Rome and Provence during the years 1215 and 1216.<ref>M. Zink, "Introduction" (Gougaud 1992, pp. 20–22).</ref> The poet mentions the death of [[Guy de Montfort, Lord of Sidon|Guy of Montfort]], which actually took place in 1228;<ref>Laisse 142, lines 7–8</ref> it is questionable whether the whole of part 2 was written after that date, or whether the reference to Guy's death was a later insertion. |
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Saverio Guida has proposed that [[Gui de Cavalhon]] may be the author. Gui, besides being a [[troubadour]], was also a noble, and one of the most faithful allies of [[Raymond VI of Toulouse]]. |
Saverio Guida has proposed that [[Gui de Cavalhon]] may be the author. Gui, besides being a [[troubadour]], was also a noble, and one of the most faithful allies of [[Raymond VI of Toulouse]]. |
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The text was first edited by [[Claude Charles Fauriel]] in 1837. |
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The first critical edition was published with a French translation, as ''Chanson de la croisade contre les albigeois'', by [[Paul Meyer (philologist)|Paul Meyer]] in two volumes (1875–1879). |
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Eugène Martin-Chabot published another multi-volume edition and French translation under the title ''Chanson de la croisade albigeoise'' (1931–1961). |
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Gougaud (1992) published a new single-volume French translation. |
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An English translation was published by Shirley (1996). |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{reflist}} |
{{reflist}} |
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*[[Claude Charles Fauriel|Fauriel, Claude]], '' Histoire de la croisade contre les hérétiques albigeois'', Imprimerie Royale, Paris (1837). |
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*[[Paul Meyer (philologist)|Meyer, Paul]], ed. and tr.,, ''Chanson de la croisade contre les albigeois''. Paris, [https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k103147b.texteImage vol. 1] (1875), [https://archive.org/details/lachansondelacro02guiluoft vol. 2] (1879). |
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*[[Anne Brenon]], Janet Shirley, Christian Sales, Jean-Louis Gasc, ''Grandes pages de la Canso. 1208-1219'' (2012). |
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==External links== |
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{{wikisourcelang|fr|La Chanson de la croisade contre les albigeois}} |
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*[https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b60006868/f9.image BNF fr. 25425] |
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{{Authority control}} |
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[[Category:1213 books]] |
[[Category:1213 books]] |
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[[Category:1220s books]] |
[[Category:1220s books]] |
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[[Category:13th-century poems]] |
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[[Category:Old Occitan literature]] |
[[Category:Old Occitan literature]] |
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[[Category:Albigensian Crusade]] |
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[[Category:Epic poems]] |
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[[ca:Cançó de la Croada]] |
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[[fr:Chanson de la Croisade albigeoise]] |
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[[la:Canso de la Crosada]] |
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[[hu:La Chanson de la croisade contre les albigeois]] |
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[[oc:Cançon de la Crosada]] |
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[[pl:Canso de la Crosada]] |
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[[pt:Canção da cruzada]] |
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Latest revision as of 09:42, 20 October 2024
The Song of the Albigensian Crusade[1] is an Old Occitan epic poem narrating events of the Albigensian Crusade from March 1208 to June 1219. Modelled on the Old French chanson de geste, it was composed in two distinct parts: William of Tudela wrote the first towards 1213, and an anonymous continuator finished the account. However, recent studies have proposed the troubadour Gui de Cavalhon as the author of the second part.[2] It is one of three major contemporary narratives of the Albigensian Crusade, the Historia Albigensis of Pierre des Vaux-de-Cernay and the Chronica of William of Puylaurens being the others.
There is a single surviving manuscript of the whole Song (fr. 25425 in the Bibliothèque nationale), written in or around Toulouse about 1275.
Contents
[edit]First part
[edit]The first was written by William of Tudela (he names himself as "maestre W." in laisses 1 and 9). The author also names the date of the beginning of the composition, as 1210 (laisse 9). It comprises the first 2749 lines, in 130 laisses (rhymed stanzas of varying length), and takes the story to the beginning of 1213.
It is strongly partisan, in favour of the Crusaders and against their opponents, the Cathars and southerners in general. The text has the earliest use of the term crusade (as crozada).[3]
Second part
[edit]The second part comprises the remaining 6811 lines of the poem, in laisses 131 to 214. The author's identity is not certain, although the name of Gui de Cavalhon has been recently proposed. This second part covers events from 1213 onwards and takes the opposite point of view, critical of the Crusaders and strongly in favour of the southerners (though not of Catharism). To historians the Song is important for this whole period because it is the only major narrative source that takes the southern viewpoint; it is especially important from April 1216 to June 1219, because the prose narrative by Pierre des Vaux-de-Cernay becomes more sketchy and incomplete from 1216 onwards.
The author was apparently an educated man, displaying some knowledge of theology and law, and belonged to the diocese of Toulouse (since he calls bishop Folquet de Marselha "our bishop"). Michel Zink suggests that he was with Raymond VII of Toulouse in Rome and Provence during the years 1215 and 1216.[4] The poet mentions the death of Guy of Montfort, which actually took place in 1228;[5] it is questionable whether the whole of part 2 was written after that date, or whether the reference to Guy's death was a later insertion. Saverio Guida has proposed that Gui de Cavalhon may be the author. Gui, besides being a troubadour, was also a noble, and one of the most faithful allies of Raymond VI of Toulouse.
Editions and translations
[edit]The text was first edited by Claude Charles Fauriel in 1837. The first critical edition was published with a French translation, as Chanson de la croisade contre les albigeois, by Paul Meyer in two volumes (1875–1879). Eugène Martin-Chabot published another multi-volume edition and French translation under the title Chanson de la croisade albigeoise (1931–1961). Gougaud (1992) published a new single-volume French translation. An English translation was published by Shirley (1996).
References
[edit]- ^ Original title, in Old Occitan: Canso de la crozada, modern Occitan: Cançon de la Crosada, known in French as: Chanson de la croisade albigeoise, 'Fauriel (1837) supplied the title Aiso es la cansos de la crozada contr els ereges d albeges, a (faulty) reconstruction of Old Occitan by the editor himself (Meyer 1875, p. ii)
- ^ Saverio Guida, "L'autore della seconda parte della Canso de la crotzada", in Cultura Neolatina, LXIII, 2003, pp. 255–282.
- ^ The term croiserie "the act of making the sign of the cross; a crusade" is attested for the late 12th century. A Middle Latin term for the oriental crusades was negotium crucis "affair of the cross". The Occitan crozada was adopted into French as croisade by the 15th century, and from there into English by the late 16th century. Eliza Miruna Ghil, "Crozada: Avatars of a Religious Term in Thirteenth Century Occitan Poetry", Tenso 10.2 (Spring 1995), 99–109, doi:10.1353/ten.1995.0009.
- ^ M. Zink, "Introduction" (Gougaud 1992, pp. 20–22).
- ^ Laisse 142, lines 7–8
- Fauriel, Claude, Histoire de la croisade contre les hérétiques albigeois, Imprimerie Royale, Paris (1837).
- Meyer, Paul, ed. and tr.,, Chanson de la croisade contre les albigeois. Paris, vol. 1 (1875), vol. 2 (1879).
- Martin-Chabot, Eugène, ed. and tr., La chanson de la croisade albigeoise. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, (1931–1961).
- Gougaud, Henri, tr., Chanson de la croisade albigeoise. Paris: Livre de Poche (1992).
- Shirley, Janet, tr., The Song of the Cathar Wars: A History of the Albigensian Crusade, Ashgate Publishing (1996).
- Anne Brenon, Janet Shirley, Christian Sales, Jean-Louis Gasc, Grandes pages de la Canso. 1208-1219 (2012).
External links
[edit]
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