"Pensemus qualiter viri prehonorati a propria diverterunt" (DVE, I, xiv, 5): els textos occitans d’un cercle de poetes toscans

Abstract

This article re-examines a set of Occitan texts written by a circle of Tuscan poets and their importance for understanding the reception of troubadour culture in medieval Tuscany. Often viewed as marginal, these texts have not been adequately analyzed for what they can tell us about the use of Occitan as a literary language in Italy at the end of the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth centuries. Instead of casting them as unoriginal, derivative, or linguistically incorrect attempts at Occitan composition by foreign poets, this article considers their originality, innovation, and the transformations they may have undergone in their transmission history. Arguing that these texts be viewed as invaluable evidence of a vibrant Occitanophone literary culture in Tuscany, I advocate for further inquiry into the multilingual compositions of this circle of Tuscan poets