The 'Chansonnier' of Oxford Bodleian Ms Douce 308: Essays and Complete Edition of Texts (review)

This well researched, well presented volume contains a diplomatic edition of the complete chansonnier found in Bodleian MS Douce 308 (commonly known as trouvè re chansonnier I and as motet MS D), including the indexes which the scribes provided for the first six sections of the chansonnier. All pieces have been given, including both occurrences of songs that were copied twice in different places — a rare opportunity to compare renditions of a single text by the same scribe, or by two scribes working closely together. There are also eleven colour plates showing pages from the index section and each of the generic sections — Grand Chant, Estampies, Jeus parties, Pastorelles, Balletes, Sottes chansons contre amours, and (unlabelled in the manuscript) Motets and Rondeaux. The miniatures that head each section are shown along with the two extra miniatures occurring within the collection of jeux-partis. The opening page of the Tournois de Chavency, with miniature, is also shown for comparison. The essays provide a detailed study of codicological structure and scribal hands, showing that all of the texts in this manuscript, plus those now contained in British Library Ms Harley 4972, were copied by the same two hands and originally formed a single codex. Further analysis of the hands allows the distinction of two principal phases of work and explains certain anomalies, such as the unexpected presence of miniatures in the middle of the jeux-partis section: these were used to fill space that resulted from an effort to combine groups of texts copied from different exemplars. Atchison describes the alternation of hands and the division of labour within each section of the chansonnier, arguing that one was most likely a 'master' scribe and the other a pupil being trained. While this particular interpretation did not strike me as conclusive, it is an intriguing possibility. The miniatures that head each section act as visual indicators of genre, depicting an encounter between a mounted knight and a shepherdess for the pastourelles, a man and lady in conversation for the jeux-partis, and so on. As Atchison points out, the illustrations for the dance tunes offer clues to performance practice. The ballets are headed with a miniature depicting a couple dancing while a seated figure beats on a tabor. The miniature for the estampies shows three seated figures singing and clapping under the direction of a fourth, suggesting that these pieces may not have been sung by the dancers themselves. I did wonder about Atchison's reading of one of the jeux-partis miniatures: she saw it is a depiction of performance and judgment of these debate poems, whereas I would have thought that it depicts the common scene of men assailing a castle of ladies, with both sides using roses as weapons. For the most part however, Atchison's work is a model of clarity and thoroughness, and this edition will be greatly welcomed by those wishing to teach or study the work of medieval scribes and compilers, as well as those with an interest in the written transmission of Old French lyric.