The Tale of the Alerion

by Guillaume de Machaut, Minnette Grunmann-Gaudet

Guillaume de Machaut, the most important poet and musician of fourteenth-century France, had considerable influence on subsequent generations of writers in both France and among them, Charles d'OrlTans, Christine de Pizan, and Geoffrey Chaucer. The Dit de l'alerion, one of his long narrative poems, is particularly interesting for students of Chaucer, but has remained inaccessible to contemporary readers because of the difficulties inherent in Middle French and in Machaut's enigmatic use of the language. With this scholarly translation, Minnette Gaudet and Constance B. Hieatt make this interesting and long-neglected treatise on love and falconry available to students of medieval literature. In the poem, Machaut defines the problems and pleasures of courtly love by comparing them to those of falconry, a sport which modern readers know little about. The introduction and notes to this edition provide valuable information about the art of falconry, thus clarifying aspects of the poem which might be incomprehensible today. The scholarly notes and introduction furnish explications and variant readings of obscure passages and comments on wordplay. A running summary of the contents of the poem is also provided in the margins. The editors have retained the peculiarities and playfulness of Machaut's style by duplicating, in so far as possible, the poet's wordplay and the intricate rhythms of his octosyllabic verse. They have therefore chosen to create a verse translation in preference to one in prose. As the only translation of Machaut's poem, this volume will be of value to all medievalists, and especially to Chaucerians.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published October 22, 1994

About the author

Guillaume de Machaut (ca.1300-1377) est un compositeur et écrivain français du XIVe siècle. Il a mené une vie dans le monde laïc, au service de mécènes et en liens étroits avec la Couronne de France. Il a aussi mené une vie ecclésiastique en tant que chanoine de Reims. Clerc lettré et maître des arts, il a marqué pendant au moins un siècle la production artistique européenne.

Guillaume de Machaut (ca.1300-1377) is a 14th-century French composer and writer. He led a life in the secular world, in the service of patrons and in close ties with the Crown of France. He also led an ecclesiastical life as a canon of Reims. A literate clerk and master of the arts, he marked European artistic production for at least a century.

(Source:Wikipedia)