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73. La Pastourelle Granson
GRANSON, 73. «LA PASTOURELLE GRANSON»: EXPLANATORY NOTES
ABBREVIATIONS: A: Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire, MS 350; B: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, f. fr. 1727; C: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, f. fr. 1131; D: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, f. fr. 24440; E: Barcelona, Biblioteca de Catalunya, MS 8, Catalan, 1420–30; F: Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, f. fr. 2201; K: Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire, IS 4254; N: Brussels, Bibliothèque royale Albert 1er, MS 10961–10970, c. 1465; P: Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Van Pelt Library, MS Codex 902 (formerly Fr. MS 15), 1395–1400; 100B: Les Cent Ballades; Basso: “L’envol et l’ancrage”; BD: Chaucer, The Book of the Duchess; Berguerand: Berguerand, Duel; Boulton: Song; Braddy: Braddy, Chaucer and Graunson; Carden: “Le Livre Messire Ode d’Oton de Grandson; CA: Gower, Confessio Amantis; DL: Guillaume de Machaut, Dit dou lyon; DLA: Guillaume de Machaut, Dit de l’alerion; FA: La fonteinne amoureuse; FC: Wimsatt, French Contemporaries; GW: Granson, Poésies
On the lack of formal models for this poem, see the Introduction, pp. 26–27. Except for the brief narrative setting in the opening, the entire poem consists of the dialogue between the shepherd and shepherdess in alternating stanzas. Granson uses a 10-line stanza with the same rhyme scheme as in all but one of his 10-line ballades, but without refrain. Though Granson’s most popular work (judging from the number of surviving copies) and one of his most original, the poem has attracted little critical comment, even among those who have studied the fourteenth-century pastourelle, perhaps because it fits so poorly among the more conventional pastourelles of Granson’s time. The shepherdess in particular is worthy of attention, both for the right she claims to govern her own behavior and for the cleverness of her replies.
79 On doit d’onneur suyr la feste. For the variants, see the Textual Notes. The reading in manuscript P, which we have used as our base, “En doit don fuir la feste,” is defective both metrically and grammatically. The alternative reading in manuscripts A and F, “On doit honneur fuir la feste,” is better metrically, but it gives two subjects for doit, and whichever one chooses, the statement does not appear consistent with the point that the shepherdess is making. There is no satisfactory solution. For all but the subject (for which on is more consistent with the ses in the following line), we adopt the reading of the later manuscript C (which offers “Je doybz donneur suyr la feste”) because it suits the sense, though it may well represent a scribe’s attempt to resolve the difficulty.
91–100 Si Bel Acuel . . . veir et parler. Piaget (“Oton de Granson,” p. 405n1) cites Christine de Pisan’s Balade XXVI (Œuvres poétiques, 1:27) as an analogue to this stanza, though there the lady makes a much stronger commitment to the lover that she addresses. Another analogue can be found in Machaut’s Remède de Fortune, lines 4197–4218, though there too the lady is much more reassuring than in this case.
141–50 Je maintien d’Amours . . . porroit aidier. In this remarkable stanza, the shepherd proceeds dizzyingly from the school-masters who denounce braggarts of the shepherdess’s last speech to (1) the facts of their situation, which are his masters and teach a different lesson, to (2) the school of Loyalty, where the lessons are guided by self-interest (justifying his distrust), to (3) the school in which he wishes to study the “Book of Joy,” to (4) a reaffirmation of his wish to find joy only with his shepherdess.
151–60 Nul ne puet . . . appercevoir. The shepherdess is a bit elusive in her reply, but she seems to be saying that the shepherd would be happier if he didn’t look so closely into her behavior, or at least learned to look the other way. That certainly seems to be how he understands her in his reply in the next stanza.
171–90 Et puis que . . . trouveroit. The last two stanzas are not only inconclusive; they also seem to be disconnected from the stanzas that precede. One is tempted to speculate either that something has been lost or that the poet didn’t finish everything that he planned. Piaget compares the sentiment expressed here to the opening lines of 56 (“Oton de Granson,” p. 408).
GRANSON, 73. :«LA PASTOURELLE GRANSON»: TEXTUAL NOTES
Abbreviations: A: Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire, MS 350; B: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fr. 1727; C: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fr. 1131; D: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fr. 24440; E: Barcelona, Biblioteca de Catalunya, MS 8, Catalan, 1420–30; F: Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, fr. 2201; G: London, Westminster Abbey Library, MS 21; H: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fr. 833, c. 1500; J: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fr. 1952; K: Lausanne, Bibliothèque Cantonale et Universitaire, IS 4254; L: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, Rothschild MS I.I.9; M: Carpentras, Bibliothèque Inguimbertine, MS fr. 390; N: Brussels, Bibliothèque royale Albert 1er, MS 10961–10970, c. 1465; O: Karlsruhe, Badische Landesbibliothek, MS 410, c. 1430; P: Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Van Pelt Library, MS Codex 902 (formerly Fr. MS 15), 1395–1400; Q: Berne, Burgerbibliothek da la Bourgeoisie, MS 473, 1400–40; R: Turin, Archivio di Stato, MS J. b. IX. 10; S: Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, fr. 24404; T: Besançon, Bibliothèque Municipale, MS 556, 1826; V: Carpentras, Bibliothèque Inguimbertine, MS 411; W: Brussels, Bibliothèque royale Albert 1er, MS IV 541, 1564–81; Y: Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale e Universitaria, MS L.II.12.
For each poem, we provide the following:
Other editions: The location of the poem in the editions of Grenier-Winther (GW) and Piaget.
Base MS: The manuscript from which our text is taken, using the sigla listed on this page.
Other copies: The other manuscripts in which the poem appears, with the line numbers for excerpts.
Selected variants: Most of the notes record the editors’ emendations. A small number (for instance, regarding the titles) record alternative readings when we did not emend the base text. We do not, however, provide a complete list of variants, for which one may consult Grenier-Winther’s edition. Each note consists of a line number, a lemma (the reading from our text), the manuscript source for the reading that we have chosen, selected readings from other manuscripts; and the reading from the base manuscript when it was rejected. If no manuscript source is listed following the lemma, the adopted reading is the editors’ conjecture.
Other comments on the text, as required.
GW20, Piaget p. 221.
Base MS A. Other copies: F, K.
Title La pastourelle granson. So A, C (in a later hand), D, F, M, K. H: La pastourelle de granson. P: Complainte de pastour et de pastourelle amoureuse.
5 ouy. So A, D, E, F, H, K, M. P: ainsi.
6 Au. So A, C, D, E, F, H, K, M. P: Du.
after 10 La Bergiere. Speaker markers: D (in margin), E H. A, C, K, P: lack.
18 En. So C, D, E, F, H, K, M. P: Et.
33 contenance. So A, C, D, E, F, H, K, M. P: ordenance.
70 souvant. So A, F, K. C, D, H: tousjours. M: tousdis. P: lacks.
79 On. So A, D, F, H, K, M. C: Je. P: En.
d’onneur. So C. D, H: a honneur. A, F, K, M: honneur. P: don.
suyr. So C. D, H, K: faire. A, F, M, P: fuir.
80 Et. So C, D, H, M. A, F, K, P: Ne.
84 l’esay. So A, C, D, F, H, K, M. P: le say.
104 Nulz. So A, C, D, E, F, H, K. P: Ceulz.
105 recevoir. So A, C, D, E, F, H, K, M. P: decevoir.
128 qui. So A, C, D, E, F, H, K, M. P: quil.
153 fait. So A, C, E, F, H, K, M. P: font.
159 qui. So A, C, E, F, H, K, M. P: quil.
172 veulent. So A, C, E, F, H, K, M. P: voulant.
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