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 prose sections by the formula (with minor variants)
or dient et content et fablent, “now…
1209 words
Citation: Burgess, Glyn. "Aucassin et Nicolette". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 05 April 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=15597, accessed 24 November 2024.]
