The introduction considers the loss of much troubadour poetry, explains why any literary evaluation of Rudel's lyrics must be tentative, and briefly discusses Rudel's music. The first chapter treats Rudel's social background as a lord of Blaye, the few facts known about his life, and various attempts to identify the beloved of his poems. It studies the history of Blaye, its linguistic situation, Rudel's genealogy, his friendships and later popularity - due, not only to his poetry and music, but to his legendary love for a lady overseas. After examining the truth of an Occitan biography which claims Rudel loved a countess of Tripoli, the chapter Judges other theories that his beloved was Eleanor of Aquitaine, the Virgin Mary or a personification of the Holy Land. A critical edition of Rudel's lyrics follows discussion of their order and attribution in the manuscripts. Previous editions are cited and the manuscripts located. The lyrics are presented with variant readings and comprehensive notes, which classify the manuscripts, discuss stanza-order, stanzaic structure, linguistic points, and justify proposed readings. Latin quotations from lost works, an index of proper names and a selective glossary are included. Finally, Rudel's poetry is studied as courtly rhetoric intended to win physical love. Rudel does not aspire to transcendental, joi. His imagery, flattery and insistence upon reciprocity would tempt, cajole or oblige the lady to return his love. His hypocritical courtly mask, which sometimes slips to reveal self-interest, suggests that he deserves some reward for his virtues. To excuse the lady's indifference, Rudel blames other obstacles, principally geographical distance. To win sympathy, he claims that his dreams are disillusioned or deny him satisfaction. The appendix contains sixty-two photographs of all relevant folios in the manuscripts.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:674057 |
| Date | January 1972 |
| Creators | Davies, Peter V. |
| Publisher | University of Leicester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://hdl.handle.net/2381/34884 |
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