This collection of essays is the fruit of Menichetti's project funded by the Fonds national suisse de la recherche scientifique (FNS), the Répertoire critique des manuscrits littéraires en ancien occitan, a significant future online resource. A total of 19 high quality essays, all directly germane to the topic and title of the volume are included and are important for the field.

Menichetti's introduction (9-13) presents the volume and its contributors; she explains the logic of the sections which each demonstrate areas in which Occitan studies has developed over the last 50 or so years.

The first section, "Ajouts et limites du corpus" opens with Martin Glessgen's and Marco Robecchi's "La base de données bibliographiques du D(E)AG et du D(E)AO. Méthodologie informatique et philologie" (17-60), accompanied by 20 screen shot illustrations. The authors consider how the Répertoire critique has expanded the corpus of texts and how computer science contributes to manuscript descriptions.

Stefano Asperti and Maria Careri edit a recently discovered religious text in "Frammenti di uno sconosciuto poema sacro provenzale nelle Archives départementales des Bouches-du-Rhône" (61-76). The 58 lines preserved offer new insights relevant to Occitan linguistics and literary history; 2 b/w photos enhance our understanding. Five color photos add to Federico Guariglia's "Frammenti del Libre de vicis et de vertutz (Somme le roi) alla Biblioteca di Cremona" (77-93), on this witness to the huge tradition of the Somme le roi.

With "I ricettari medici in lingua occitanica: stato dell'arte e analisi di un caso particolare (con esempi di lessicologia comparata)" (95-117), Ilaria Zamuner expands "literary texts" to include medical recipes, specifically those found in Basel manuscript, Universitätsbibliothek D II 11. Zamuner considers 2 specific technical terms, the hapax 'avalida,' whose definition she narrows to an ophthalmological condition, and 'gavar' or 'gavarth' with meaning 'pus in a part of the body.'

The second section, "Manuscrits, centres de copie et réseaux de transmission," opens with "La musica nei manoscritti letterari in antico occitano" (121-138) by Francesco Carapezza, a scholar with mastery in literary and musicological studies. He reconsiders the musical corpus of Occitan literary manuscripts, insisting on the presence and importance of music in our understanding of these texts and their transmission. His appendix provides a quick overview of manuscripts with musical notation, an expansion beyond the 10 Occitan and French chansonniers usually studied. Caterina Menichetti follows with "Quelques considérations autour du ms. BnF, fr. 2164 du Roman de Jaufre" (139-162), a study of one manuscript of the Jaufre romance and what this witness tells us about production and reading practices. Menichetti concludes that there were 2 copyists and 2 illustrators; she hypothesizes that the Jaufre romance was often accompanied by images (she provides 4 color photos) and that this format points to connections to Iberian copying practices.

Catherine Léglu studies the Abreujamen de la estoria in "Un 'livre-monde' illustré en prose occitane: Londres, BL, Egerton 1500 et Add. 17920 (Avignon, c. 1321-1326)" (163-181). Léglu describes how these manuscripts are actually a single book, an Occitan prose version of what she calls a portrait of the world in all its beauty; 3 illustrations are included. Léglu concludes that the book was the product of an international team associated with the Roman Curia in Avignon. Alessio Collura deals with different codicological issues in "La letteratura apocrifa in lingua d'oc sub specie traditionis: i manoscritti Paris, BnF, fr. 1745 e London, BL, Harley 7403" (183-206), pondering transmission issues of apocryphal or religious texts. Collura posits a Languedoc macro-region centered on Montpellier and Toulouse, extending to Narbonne, Carcassonne, and Rodez (205-206), documented with 2 b/w maps.

Federica Fusaroli contributes "La tradizione manoscritta del Libre de vicis et de vertutz" (207-232, with 7 b/w photos), complementing Guariglia's essay. Fusaroli's proposed stemma (215) presents not only the relationship between the several witnesses but also their relative geography and temporality, useful graphic additions. She concludes that the Somme le roi appealed to very different audiences in its French and Occitan versions. Fabio Zinelli's "Stratigrafie francescane: la scripta del manoscritto Assisi, Chiesa nuova, 9" (233-292) contributes to discussion of religious texts. His article uses linguistic stratigraphy to identify Catalan, Italian, and Occitan traits so as to reconstruct the transmission of texts.

Turning to secular literature, Mariam Cabré addresses "La narrativa in versi tra Occitania e Catalogna: nuove riflessioni sulle testimonianze manoscritte" (293-307), insisting on the importance of codicological study to understand these texts, their audiences, and their transmission. She invites scholars to add the holster book [1] to our understanding of Occitan and Catalan book circulation. Sadurni Martí contributes "Per un riesame della tradizione occitana del Canto della Sibilla" (309-331), presenting an edition of 2 witnesses to the Canto, one of which is the oldest vernacular version; the second is key to textual traditions in Occitania and Catalonia. He concludes that there is a clear link between the Occitan and Catalan traditions.

The next section moves to the southeast, "Aux frontières du corpus: les manuscrits vaudois." Andrea Giraudo opens with "I manoscritti in occitano valdese. Punti fermi e questioni aperte" (335-347), setting the stage and suggesting topics for further research. Matteo Cesena completes this section with "Un manoscritto cataro dalle valli valdesi: il caso del ms. Dublin, Trinity College Library, 269" (349-367), the oldest and most problematic manuscript in the Waldensian corpus.

The last section is devoted to "Les troubadours entre 'traces' et chansonniers." Paolo Di Luca opens with "La tradizione extravagante della lirica trobadorica (le tracce): ricognizione e prospettive di ricerca" (371-390). This scholar lists 27 lyrics found in manuscripts outside the usual suspects. Niccolò Antonio Favaretto considers transmission of an encyclopedia in troubadour chansonniers in "Un poemetto enciclopedico nei canzonieri trobadorici: il caso del Thezaur di Peire de Corbian" (391-408), one of which is the important songbook D, Modena, Biblioteca universitaria de Modena α.R.4.4. Barbara Francioni focuses on the handwriting of the several scribes in "Sur l'étude graphématique du chansonnier occitan D-Dª. Premières remarques" (409-430).

With "Nuove indagini sulla confezione del canzoniere trobadorico R" (431-470), Marina Navàs and Camilla Talfani explore a different songbook, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, fr. 22543. The researchers reflect on the localization, dating, materials, composition, decoration, scribes, paleography, and musical notation of this major manuscript. Their essay is complemented by 22 color illustrations allowing comparison of scribal practices. Ivo Elies Oliveras concludes with his essay on the various readers and annotators of a different songbook, Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France fr. 856, "Il copista e i lettori: maniculae, segni e annotazioni nel canzoniere C" (471-498) with particular attention to manicules, little pointing fingers often found in the margins of books, accompanied by 14 color illustrations.

The volume closes with a massive cumulative bibliography for works cited in the many essays (499-552), an Index of names, an Index of "textes anciens" organized by author name or title, an Index of troubadour texts, organized by author, and an Index of manuscripts cited.

The editors must be commended for their success in bringing together this group of young and experienced scholars to consider a broad topic; every contribution in this book is a significant addition to our knowledge of medieval Occitan language and literature. The inclusion of many color illustrations is remarkable as is the relatively low price of the book. Moreover, because of FNS funding, the work is available in open access (see https://www.viella.it/libro/9791254697719, consulted 2 July 2025). This is a major addition to our knowledge, and I count myself lucky to own the work in print.

Note:

[1] A modern term, a 'holster book' means a portable notebook or memorandum book characterized by a long, narrow format and by a leather or vellum wallet binding or carrying case, somewhat like the holster of a pistol. Often used for accounts, holster books could also be used as miscellanies or commonplace books. Definition from Peter Beal: A Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology 1450-2000, Oxford 2008 (Online publication 2011).

Wendy Pfeffer