Amori cortesi: Scritti sui trovatori by Pietro G. Beltrami (review)

Pietro Beltrami thought to publish a collection of previously published articles as early as 2003 or 2004 (xxxiii); in 2020 this came to pass, in part as a celebration of his retirement from the classroom (vii). The scholar credits several colleagues with helping him in this endeavor: Gian Paolo Codebò, Eliza Guadagnini, Antonella Martorano, Paolo Squillacioti, and Sergio Vatteroni, who served as “curators” of this ensemble and who may be responsible for some of the accompanying materials.

Beltrami informs readers that he and the curators read carefully each of the twenty-five essays in this hefty volume, correcting typographic errors and silently inserting corrections and updates — two of the essays have codicils added (see below) — such that these “reprints” represent more than simply a collection of Beltrami’s observations over the years; the essays will need to be cited independently from the original publication. All of the pieces are in Italian (one was translated from its original French), which tells us something of the audience for this book. In addition to the Tabula gratulatoria, we are provided a list of Beltrami’s publications from 1970 to 2019 (xv-xxxi), reflecting the wide range of his interests and scholarly engagements; more than 175 items — books, articles, reviews — are included, on topics ranging from the Occitan materials of this tome to Dante, medieval Latin, Old French, lexicography, and metrics.

The volume is divided into seven sections that delineate Beltrami’s areas of Occitan study. Below, I list the title of each essay and its page numbers; I invite readers to consult the provenance list in Amori cortesi for details (ix-x; all titles should be easily found using search engines).

I. Trovatori: “Leggere i trovatori oggi (e domani?),” original title, “Lirons-nous les troubadours, et comment?” 3–25.

II. Trovatori antichi: “Ancora su Guglielmo IX e i trovatori antichi,” 29–60; “Per la storia dei trovatori: una discussione,” 61–94; “Cercamon ‘trovatore antico’: problemi e proposte,” 95–118; “La canzone ‘Bels m’es l’estius’ di Jaufre Rudel,” 119–144, with a codicil that recognizes several editions of Jaufre that have appeared since the 1978–1979 publication date of this essay; we also have a noteworthy example of scholarly humility, as Beltrami corrects an earlier error (144); “Per una rilettura di ‘Deiosta·ls breus jorns e·ls loncs sers’,” 145–178; “Peire d’Alvernhe e l’interpretazione dei trovatori,” 179–187.

III. Giraut de Borneil: “Giraut de Borneil ‘plan e clus’,”191–227; “Giraut de Borneil, la pastorela ‘alla provenzale’ e il moralismo cortese,” 229–263; “Lettura di ‘Ben cove, pus ja baissa·l ram’ (BdT 242,25),” 265–291; “Lettura di ‘Quan lo fregz e·l glatz e la neus’ (BdT 242,60),” 293–322; “Un divertimento di Giraut de Borneil con Delfino d’Alvernia,” 323–344; “La canzone ‘Per solatz revelhar’ di Giraut de Borneil,” 345–357; “Note su ‘Ans que venha’ di Giraut de Borneil,” 359–370; “Appunti per una nuova edizione di Giraut de Borneil,” 371–386.

IV. Bertran de Born: “Bertran de Born poeta galante: la canzone della ‘domna soiseubuda’,” 389–406; “Bertran de Born il giovane e suo padre,” 407–439; “Giochi di corte per Bertran de Born (‘Chazutz sui de mal en pena’),” 441–461; “Bertran de Born fuori da Altaforte: Qualche nota su ‘Ges no mi desconort’,” 463–485.

V. Arnaut Daniel: “‘Lo ferm voler’ di Arnaut Daniel: noterella per una traduzione,” 489–502 and “Arnaut Daniel e la ‘bella scuola’ dei trovatori di Dante,” 503–531.

VI. Trovatori del duecento: “Appunti su ‘Razo e dreyt ay si·m chant e·m demori’,” 535–566 — originally published in 1987, this essay concludes with a codicil recognizing more recent research that changes some of its contents, but not its conclusions; “Spigolature su Sordello e la poesia italiana del Duecento,” 567–607.

VII. Questioni di metrica: “Variazioni di schema e altre note di metrica provenzale,” 611–648 and “‘Er...