Analysis of manuscripts: By the amount and order of material they contain, the mss fall into 3 broad groups: ADIKNN2 - CR - GLa1. A common ancestor of GLa1 skipped the first part of stanza IV and the last three lines of V, while GL are further united by their additional omission of 75-76. CR alone preserve stanza VII; they occasionally share readings with GLa1 (see for example 35, 38, 39, 59) but none is demonstrably superior. Both C and R have a great many individual readings (see respectively 8, 11, 16, 19, 22, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 34 and so on, and 4, 14, 15, 17, 18 (–1), 19, 22, 27, 28, 29, 31, 32 and so on), which makes either unsuitable for use as base ms. Missing material aside, no common error unites all members of the ADIKNN2 group; N seems to have escaped (or corrected) the error in 8 (see the note). Of this group, A is excluded by its errors in 11 (with G), 34 (with C), isolated errors in 38, 55, 76 and isolated readings in 1, 7, 21, 24, 33, 35, 48 and 75; a number of the latter are very probably the results of scribal interventions to clarify the text. Of the remaining mss, K has by far the smallest number of isolated errors (12, 29) and overall requires the least intervention. (Compare D: minor individual errors in 3, 7, 22, 42, 59 and individual in 38; N has minor isolated errors in 10, 22, 25, 32, 34, 41?, 47, 49, 55, 56, 60, 65, 66, 73 (at the rhyme), 75, and is individual in 42; N2 has isolated errors in 4, 13, 38, 44, 49, 55, 60, 62, 73, 74 and individual readings in 41, 50, and 75; I has isolated errors in 5, 16, 18, 28, 33, 37, 44). I have therefore adopted K as base except for the first tornada, whose authenticity there is no reason to doubt, which is based on C. My text differs in only a few details from Linksill’s.
| I | II | III | IV | V | VI | VII | VIII | ||
| ADIKNN2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | - | 7 | |
| C | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 8 | |
| R | 1 | 2 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 7 | |
| GL | 1 | 2 | 3 | 434-41* | +53-55 | 5 | - | 6 | |
| a1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 434-41* | +53-55 | 5 | - | - |
* GLa1 omit lines 42-52.
Deviations from base. 8 uolc 12 ia 13 honra added above the line 29 tain 34 p. n. uendre s. 42 queu 49 Mes h. 56 guiz 67-72 om. 73 Francs 74 o·m] non or nom 75 coman, comen 78 tout.
I. 1 podetz A; preiar a1 2 bon Na1; faich LNRa1 3 pros CR; esmeud G; dom D 4 eil GLa1, el N2, que R; fa R; me ior G 5 si quels CR, t. qels G, t. quel NN2; crozatz CGR, crezat I; capagna G 7 p. recobrar A; sepuchre D; croiz N2 8 on uenc C, on fo GLNRa1; qe G, qi L, quil N2; uolc ADIKN2a1, uolg G; qen G 9 lo pros m. R; a·l D.] el al R, d. al CGLNN2a1 10 om. G, in place of 10-11 G repeats line 22: qeil | la iainbdos e tan qant pot sen lagna; bon D; uassailz N 11 om. AG; e dardit cor C, e de ricor R; mielhs far CNR; so om. L.
II. 12 Cant N; ai I, ia K 13 dien N2, don a1 14 s’eran mil] sis fan.m. R 15 en semps | ablor G, En sens a. l. L, elsemblan sieu R; tot R 16 qu’el] et C; honra·ls] honral GLNa1, honrars I 17 P. qe G; q. autres C, q. liautre G, els autres R; sou deios G 18 que tal CG, Caital I, Qental L, cap tal R; a] sa GLNa1; leuat GR; ala c. G - 19 non or nom ADIK, nom CNN2; pes mais que C; li ACN; Don no (nom a1) me (mi La1) p. qonor (qonors La1) m. li. s. GLa1; per qe non || cugconors m. linli s. R 20 ca NN2, cap R; Qa qest (Qaiqest L) s. elautre (e a lautre the ‘a’ expunctuated L) u. a. GL; qel vol aqest s. e l. a. a1 21 d. la d. A, ail deu d. G, hal d. d. La1; forssa g. esauer A, g. forsa e poder C, sen e forza epoder (forze p. a1) GLa1, g. eforce | poder NN2, sen e forsedeuer R 22 Qels ACR, Qeil G; aian d. N2, aia nibdos G; e tant] quar t. C; po N; san l. D, si l. L; per qe | pretz la companha R.
III. 23 Ses D; foz G; laiyr C; e sel] cel G 24 f. e c.] c. e f. CN2Ra1; p. e v.] ploia u. A, u. e p. CGLRa1 25 qua son g. C, qi segni G, qen son g. L, qe s. g. a1, q. s. gut N; passemmar R; pro GLNa1 26 cum om. G, comz or conz R 27 dreit em beslem C; que·l p.] lo p. R; a la m. a1 28 nos to || lels C, tollo nos L, quens t. R; turcx CLRa1; e] mas R; no GIR, nol L; mortz I 29 amos G; tain K, staing L; cu G; in c. G; mas eras tanhcar el fos m. e. c. R 30 passem de la e | quals C, Qel (Qe li L, qeil a1) aiudem eqi GLa1; sen r. G; qel aiudem e salqesne r. R 31 Per (pot a1) sa auol u. GL, pot sa gran uida R; e sa] per sa G; greu om. R 32 que grans peccatz C; uiuen GLa1, estaim N; cassatz uezem | peccatcom d. t. R 33 doncs C, car R; er] es AL, om. R; sortz s. A, fals quil (qen R) CR, salu sem G, sotz s. I, sals qen (sel a1) La1.
IV. 34 Deu se lanet G; vendre om. AC, uender L; per nos en crotz leuar C, per nos uendre (uendra N) saluar DIKN 35 sofrin A; sufret N, suferc N2; en (e R) receup m. en (e R) sufri p. CLRa1, En sofri p. (–4) G 36 Elauiuro L; iudeus G; en fo aunitz per | fals i. f. C, elaussiron per nos i. f. R 37 e·n] e AR; elliat I, elaiz G 38 en (e GLR) fo per nos CGLRa1; al t. D, enl t. N2; tauqier e. l. f. A, fust querem l. f. C, t. et e. l. f. GLa1, tormen | et en f. R 39 marturiatz CGLRa1; de correias AC, e corteziaz G, e correiatz LRa1, ab coreiet N, ab correia et N2; per nos G, per totz L, ab nos a1 40 coronan or coronam G 41 homs N; p. c. fel cor totsel qestmal n. p. R; p. ques ben fols chascun q. d. n. p. N2 42 om. GLa1; q. cuion r. C, qeuz (queu IK, qui N, quens N2) u. r. DIKNN2, q. sans u. toler R 43 om. GLa1; uius e m. AR 44 om. GLa1; nos chai I, nos e. N, non n. N2, sen e. R; gran CNR; gran m. CNR.
V. 45 om. GLa1; fan nostres CR; pecchat DIN2; trobar INN2 46 om. GLa1; mortz CR; uezem R; e re (uieus R) no sabem quo CR 47 om. GLa1; i a] ma N; gaillart] feuz C; ni] e N2; bo CN2; car . car . non | ya un galhart ni tan bo R 48 om. GLa1; Sil A, qua C, sa R; plazer CR 49 om. GLa1; Mes IK, e sa R; ca ancca N, gauz caira N2, que a. R; non] nol R 50 om. GLa1; quar per un C, Qen c. N2; ioy R; nal C; ric .m. R 51 om. GLa1; e d. es gaisqe fon mezes en c. R 52 om. GLN2a1; e re | n. C; qiel R 53 om. N2; am] uoil GLa1; lui] dieu CGLa1; u. per p. CGLNa1, denha | p. R 54 om. N2; morir de lai C, morir per lui GLRa1; uiu LNR - 55 om. N2; ad a. C; Ama uentur GL; que fos A, efos GLNR; miua N; e | mauenture fos m. a. a1.
VI. 56 Nostre col L, Nostrestols N; guiz DIK, gui N, ghi G; sanh CGNR; mico | laus N 57 els CG; chanpames L, companhas R; tendan R; lor ACGLa1, li R; confanon GN2 58 cde G; elion Ga1, elyo L, e leion N2 59 cons GL; framencs D, flamench GN, rayniers R; crit flandres CLRa1, cde flandres G; grans om. CGLRa1; colps durs d. D 60 fera GLRa1, fieri N, feiran C; qers N2; quespaze CR, des | pa e N, despaza G; lansai ACDN2R, lansi N, lanchas La1 61 q. tost C, Qen breu GLa1; haurons L; totz morz] sobratz C, uencuz GLa1; qelsturcx aurem leu descofitz e r. R 62 cobrarez G, trobarem C; el CGLRa1; cam N2; ab la v. a1, lauerais G; cruz G 63 c’avem] ques C, om. G; perduda CR; el u. r. CNa1, els ualenz r. G, el rey ualen R 64 ponha de sai los moros c. C, Pognon de zai sobre morz c. G, Poi | gnan de chaj sobrels mors (moros a1) c. La1; ponhe de lai mort sobrels c. R 65 fay R; osz LN; setges GRa1, sieges L, setis N, siege N2 66 saudan N; e] est C; remanha CR.
VII. 67 nos mand e·ns] somone R 70 p. elsabel uolremaner R 72 de luj seruir e R.
VIII. 73 Francs ADIK, Bel GL, Franc NR, Bei N2; caualer GLNN2; fan C; sois e m. G, motz esos N 74 lai G, leu R; non or nom DIK, o L, non N, nim N2; lays R 75 om. GL; cum an C, coman DIKNN2, comau R; ni non s. A; com m’en] cum A, cossim CR, comen DIK, comi N 76 om. GL; quar CR; mius A; bels ADN, gen R; doler C 77 qu’eu om. R; sous G, can uos R; eqenc no G, eqar n. L 78 cug esser C; sol N; e ses C, sens GL; tot’autra] tota C, toutautra K.
Dating and historical circumstances:
The piece dates from shortly after the election of Boniface de Montferrat as leader of the crusaders at Soissons in early August 1201 (see stanza I). It was probably not composed in France, however: as Linskill argues (p. 222), Raimbaut did not accompany Boniface to Soissons, but took the cross later and sailed east, probably from Marseille (see Epic letter, 30 and the note), in the spring of 1203, according to Linskill (p. 224). The dedication to Bel Cavallier may support a place of composition in Italy (at the court of Montferrat?).
5-8. Compare Robert de Clari’s reported praise of Boniface as «le plus preudomme que nous saviemes», Robert de Clari. La conquête de Constantinople, éd. Philippe Lauer, Paris 1956, IV, 6-7 (p. 5). – I take ADIKN2a1 uolc as a minor scribal slip in the common ancestor (avoided in N); the perfect (‘God wanted’) would have little sense in this context and I correct.
12. K ia (and I ai) are isolated by minor errors.
26. Melchior and Gaspar, two of the three Magi.
34. DIKN misplace vendre, A omits it, suggesting that in their common source this word may have been added as a marginal correction.
39. Linskill: e correjatz de correjas ab notz ‘and was scourged with knotted scourges’. It is tempting to see DIK correie as a common error and emend to eliminate the hiatus with following ab (compare AC), but N (coreiet) and N2 correia et) suggest the text had the noun + conjunction (+ ab). Is the force of e here ‘and what’s more’, giving perhaps ‘with a whip - a knotted one’?
49. IK scribal error: mes misread from nies.
56. A misreading in a common source may have meant tol was understood as a verb and guit then inflected as its subject (DIK; A corrects?).
57-60. It was principally the people of Flanders and Champagne who were committed to the crusade before the assembly at Cîteaux on 13 September 1201, when many Burgundians joined (Jonathan Phillips, The Fourth Crusade and the sack of Constantinople, London 2005, p. 89).
58. As Linskill (following De Batholomaeis) suggests, a lion probably featured on the coat of arms of Montferrat at this time.
59. The count of Flanders referred to here is Baldwin IX who later became emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople (see edition of BdT 392.9a on Rialto).
62. The relic of the True Cross had been captured by Saladin in the defeat at Hattin in 1187.
63. As Linskill shows, the kings of Spain referred to here are Pere II of Aragon (1196-1213) and Alfonso VIII of Castile (1158-1214).
66. The poet envisages Boniface attacking the sultan of Egypt, as was agreed at the Treaty of Venice in April 1201 but, according to Villehardouin (Chronicles of the Crusades, trans M. R. B. Shaw, Harmondsworth 1963, p. 35), kept secret from the general public (Phillips, Fourth Crusade, pp. 68-72). – Romaingna: pace Linskill, this is most probably not the Italian province: this was not on Boniface’s route to embarcation in Venice, nor is there any suggestion Boniface intended to travel through the Italian peninsula on his way to the East. Rather, Romania was a term frequently used in vernacular texts to refer to the Byzantine Empire and the lands in the near East which had once belonged to Rome: see Guida, p. 354; Arié Serper, «Romania, Byzance et l’épopée», in Miscellanea di studi in onore di Aurelio Roncaglia a cinquant’anni dalle sua laurea, 4 voll, Modena 1989, IV, pp. 1297-1303.
72. Bartsch and then Hill and Bergin print consi·m.
73. Bels cavalliers is a minority reading but the senhal designates the lady whom Raimbaut addresses ten other songs.
75. Like Guida, I follow Marshall (review of Linskill, Medium Aevum, 34, 1965, pp. 245-247, p. 247) who suggests printing «com m’an» (with A) and «ni sai com m’en», with N2 (difficilior). See remaner de ‘ne pas aller à’ (PD), and Wallace S. Lipton, ‘Imposed verb pronominalisation in medieval French and Provençal’, Romance Philology, 14, 1960-1961, pp. 111-137.
78. K tout (isolated): a minor scribal error.
[RH, lb]
