Anonymous, Aucassin et Nicolette [Aucassin and Nicolette]

Glyn Burgess (University of Liverpool)

Ed. by Hugh Magennis, Queen's University Belfast
The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.05: French Writing and Culture: The Nineteenth-Century , 1800-1900.
Vol. editors: Edward Forman (University of Bristol), Nigel Harkness (University of Newcastle upon Tyne), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield), Jennifer Yee (University of Oxford)

Dates

First circulation or publication c. 1250

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Comedy
Romance

Resources

Aucassin et Nicolette is a love story set principally in Beaucaire in the south of France. It is one of the most popular of all medieval French works and has been frequently translated into English. The text consists of forty-one sections of alternating prose and verse and it is the only extant work of its kind in medieval French literature. At the end of the text the author describes the work as a cantefable, a term not found elsewhere and which is presumably meant to indicate a mixture of lyrical material or song (cante) and a narrative element in prose (fable). The verse sections are preceded by the formula or se cante, “now it is sung” (the manuscript contains some musical notation), and the …

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1209 words

Citation: Burgess, Glyn. "Aucassin et Nicolette". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 April 2004 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=15597, accessed 22 November 2024.]

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