Grandes pages de la Canso 1208-1219, Chanson de la Croisade contre les hérétiques d’Albigeois ou Cathares by Guilhem de Tudèle and Anonyme (review)

How to make the Albigensian Crusade appeal to tourists? This multidisciplinary effort is one example: lengthy excerpts from the Canso de la crosada, with a new verse translation by Brenon, the relevant paragraphs from Shirley’s prose translation, gorgeous photos both of the manuscript and of the sites mentioned in the text, all accompanied by a musical interpretation of the text by Salès. There is also a brief introduction and a longer essay by Brenon, “Le texte fondateur d’une conscience occitane?”—both these two only in French, and then a brief bibliography followed by a Chronology of “Hérésie et répression en pays d’Oc (XIIe-XIVe siècles)”, that is, from the first burning of heretics in Cologne and Liège (1135-1145) to the last pyre in Carcassonne (1329) and the last sentences against Italian Cathars at the end of the fourteenth century. Lastly, an essay by Salès, “Paratge, suite symphonique,” in which the musician describes his consultation of the manuscript and his decision to take his inspiration from the medieval text. He also describes the themes of his 44-minute-long composition: images from medieval and modern Occitania.

Brenon makes clear in her introduction that what is presented is but a small part of the whole Canso, some 1000 lines, chosen for their significance or for their poetic beauty (7). By reducing the text to these excerpts, she succeeds in telling the story for the modern audience, whose tolerance for epic repetition may be limited. Fortunately for Occitan scholars, each laisse included is identified by its laisse number, so it is possible to relate this volume to the full text.

Brenon has also divided her text into chapters, which provide anchors for the reader and which could be applied to the complete epic. These are: 1. The Call to Crusade; 2. The Example of Béziers; 3. The Fall of Carcassonne; 4. Taking Minerve; 5. The Destiny of Lavaur; 6. The Battle of Muret; 7. The Lateran Council; 8. Avignon, Beaucaire; 9. Toulouse Resists; 10. The Death of Montfort, and 11. Epilogue: Prince Louis.

What this reader does not understand, given what I think is the intended audience, is Brenon’s habit of using French cognates for Occitan terms, where a more expected French term exists. We see this happening, because the cognate requires explanation in French. For example, the Occitan line “Li borzes de la vila, li jove e·l canutz” (laisse 16) is translated “Les bourgeois de la ville, les jeunes, les chenus*” with the asterisk pointing to an explanation: “*vieux” (14). A more striking example comes in laisse 48, where Brenon translates masmudina as “masmoudines*” with the asterisk explaining that a masmudina (Shirley’s translation) is a Sarrasin gold coin. English readers, however, get no similar explanation (28-29).

On the other hand, Brenon does understand the education of her reader; she offers an explanation of the Antichrist, “personnage mythique, chef des forces du mal” (46) and explains that “tu fais échec aux fous” comes from the vocabulary of the chessboard (52).

Of perhaps greater interest to scholars is the concluding essay, a longer explanation of the Canso, its historic, poetic and religious context. She begins by discussing the genre of the Canso and its manuscript history. The discussion of the two authors points readers particularly to their differences: Guilhem is described as a collaborationist whose style is “besogneux et relâché” while Anonymous is an inspired poet and ardent partisan of the southern cause (77). Brenon tells readers what we can infer about Anonymous, a native of Toulouse or...