I “Vers de la Mort” di Hélinant de Froidmont: citazione e diffusione di una forma metrica

Abstract

The Vers de la Mort were composed by the cistercian monk Hélinant de Froidmont between 1194 and 1197, in a metric form created by the author himself and known as ‘Helinant's strophe’, which was later adopted by several writers. Some of them developed a selection of Hélinant’s themes such as death, criticism against the Roman Church, and an overall satirical tone. The choice of the metric structure and the appropriation of specific topics is often associated with a series of more or less explicit references to Hélinant’s linguistic and stylistic features.

Keywords

• old French
• Middle Ages