Book Series Arizona Studies in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, vol. 34

Poetry of Charles d’Orléans and His Circle

A Critical Edition of BnF MS. fr. 25458, Charles d’Orléans’ Personal Manuscript

Mary-Jo Arn, John Fox (eds)

  • Pages: 957 p.
  • Size:175 x 255 mm
  • Language(s):French, English
  • Publication Year:2011

  • € 115,00 EXCL. VAT RETAIL PRICE
  • ISBN: 978-2-503-53382-7
  • Hardback
  • Available


This is the first complete edition of the French poetry of Charles d’Orléans and his circle since Champion’s 1923 edition. It is also the first full translation into English.

Review(s)

"The scope and the completeness of this edition (as well as the sheer beauty of Charles's poetry) make it a must-have for anyone interested in and captivated by late medieval poetry." (R. Blumenfeld-Kosinski, in: The Medieval Review, 12.03.07, http://hdl.handle.net/2011/14275)

"Bref, cette édition est un outil indispensable pour qui veut étudier les pièces de Charles d'Orleans dans leur contexte, c'est-à-dire dans un ordre de présentation conforme à l'ordre de confection du volume et au sein des pièces des autres poètes qui ont contribué à cette collection." (Olivier Delsaux, dans: Le moyen français, vol. 70, 2012, p. 170)

Summary

This is the first complete, modern critical edition of the personal copy of the poetry of Charles, duc Orléans (BnF MS. fr. 25458), a manuscript made up primarily of lyrics. The duke also included lyrics composed by members of his household, his family, his friends, his peers, and various visitors to his court at Blois.  The manuscript was almost certainly commissioned in London near the end of the duke’s captivity (1439–1440).  The edition contains the first translation (facing-page) of the duke’s collection into English. It is intended to supersede Pierre Champion’s 1923 edition of the same manuscript. Before Champion, editions of the duke’s poetry simply reproduced the poems in manuscript order; his edition offered a new order based on his observations of the manuscript’s construction. This new edition corrects that order by basing it on a recent codicological study of the manuscript, The Poet’s Notebook, by Mary-Jo Arn.  It is intended for literary scholars of both French and English, but its extensive contextualizing introduction, translation, and glossary will make it useful to advanced students and readers in a variety of disciplines.