Lecturae Tropatorum (Mar 2016)
Raimon Bistortz d’Arles, "Aissi com arditz entendenz" (BdT 416.2)
Abstract
Raimon Bistortz d’Arles belongs to the group of troubadours active around the middle of the 13th century, who were connected to the Este court, and to whom particular attention is paid in the final section of Occitan chansonnier F. This song stands out for its length: 96 ll., in 3 coblas singulars. Its metrical structure (Frank 233:4) is similar to that of the pastourelle by Joyos de Toloza, L’autrier el dous temps de pascor (BdT 270.1), as well as of the exchange of sirventes between Lanfranco Cigala and Lantelmo (BdT 282.13 and 283.1). Compared to previous critical editions (Kolsen, 1928, and Rivière, 1986), the few corrections of the text mainly concern evident errors. The few problematic readings at ll. 9-12 and at the end of the song (ll. 81 and following) are characterized by a logical and semantic ambiguity, which suggests the need for an overview of previous translation proposals.
