Sacred and profane in the medieval lyric

THE title on the outer cover 1. of this impressive volume could be misleading: until we examine the titleapage the book might seem to be a purely musical treatise. In fact it is an anthology of the whole tradition of early European poetry from the writings of the late Roman Empire to the time of the Hundred Years War.
It covers a vast range of languages and cultures, beginning with the Latin of pagan song and Christian hymn and ending with the Middle English ballads of the time of Chaucer. These last are •presented in their original form with marginal modern equivalents of obscure or obsolete words and expressions.
Otherwise we have the compiler's verse translations of more than 200 examples, with the original text of 20 of these at the end. The book is therefore addressed to the general reader rather than to the linguistic expert.
"About my translations," writes Professor Wilhelm, "I can say that I have tried to be faithful to the literal sense of the text, although I have never permitted myself to be unnecessarily hampered. Where I have taken liberties, I have often expressed them in the notes."
The preface admits that there are omissions. The editor gives no old Norse skalds, Welsh lyrics or Arabic poems on the plea that he lacks the competence to deal with them. Spanish and Portuguese examples are omitted because they consist mostly of "simple dance songs or love poems imitative of the Provençal canso." Such omissions are of minimal importance.
Each of the nine main sections of the book has its own introduction, and each item is briefly noted and, where possible, dated. After a first short section ("The End of the Classical Lyric), there comes a selection of Great Christian Hymns from St. Ambrose to St. Thomas Aquinas.
The subsequent sections are devoted respectively to Latin Lyrics from 600 to 1050; The Carmina Burana; Provencal Songs; Italian Songs; North French Songs; German Songs, and Songs of Great Britain.
While this anthology stresses the interdependence of the sacred and profane, it also demonstrates the great diversity of the medieval lyric.
As Professor Wilhelm claims: "The men of Provence have a delicate metaphysical wit that the others never quite caught: the Italians strive for supernatural solemnity; the Germans stress realistic elements; and the English have a rich folklore tradition that runs deep in their creations.
"There is a world of difference between the roughhewn Marcabrun and the smooth, facile Char 1 e s &Orleans, between the cynical Cecco and the brooding Cavalcanti, between the goodhumoured Chaucer and the spleen-filled Villon. If this collection stresses that diversity, it will have fulfilled its purpose."
Professor Wilhelm has not only proved his point; he has provided an anthology of unusual interest.
On the fly-leaf the English publishers add a note of apology : "As the book is a photographic reprint of the American edition, American spelling and usage have been retained."
A. Gregory Murray