The Estoire de la guerre sainte, attributed to Ambroise d’Evreux,
informs us that the Chanson d’Aspremont was read aloud during the
winter of 1190 to entertain the soldiers of Richard the Lionhearted
and Philip Augustus, who were stationed in Sicily. This heroic epic
(chanson de geste) in rhymed decimeter and Alexandrines tells of
the campaign of Charlemagne in Italy against the pagan king Agolant
and his son Helmont. The Anglo-Norman manuscript held by the
Fondation Martin Bodmer was produced in the 13th century and
contains interlinear and marginal corrections, added in a second
hand at a slightly later date than that in which the text was
written. Because the additions were doubtless made with the help of
a proofing manuscript, we can thus measure the complex effort that
was required for the dissemination of this text.
Rights
e-codices - Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland
