The Sestina of Arnaut Daniel in the Mirror of Philological Researchers and Critical Editions

Abstract

The editions of Arnaut’s sestina and the history of its study reflect the general trend: both its editors and researchers endow trobadours’ lyrics with an elevated meaning. This is also noticeable when referring to their other poems; however, this tendency can be traced especially clearly in the case of sestina. In the early manuscripts A, B and S (13th century) its text is obscene: the key words-rhymes “cambra” (room) and “verja” (branch) have the meaning of obscene euphemisms, and the tornada itself frankly expresses the poet’s hope for a carnal union with his beloved. This variant of tornada seems to us a possible author’s ending of the poem, since it corresponds to its other verses. In addition, we believe that by singing the carnal and “close” love Arnaut argues with the famous song of love from afar by Jaufre Rudel. In the later manuscripts, the obscene sense of tornada became more obscure, and in the two of them — U (turn of the 13th–14th centuries) and C (15th century) — obvious is the intention of the scribes to put accent on the beauty of the poem rather than its content. In the editions of 19th–21st centuries the sense of the sestina and of its tornada has continued to be transformed in the same direction.

Keywords

• sestina
• tornada
• key word-rhyme
• obscene euphemism
• manuscript
• critical edition
• conjecture
• free translation
• gloss
• reception.