The corpus currently (v0.4) contains thirteen texts:
Alexis, AlexisProl,
Boeci, Eulalie, Passion,
PrDieu, PrVierge2, PrVierge3,
Serments, SFoi, SGregPaint,
SLeger and Spons. The complete corpus (v1.0) is projected
to contain twenty-two texts.
The thirteen texts are found in seven manuscripts:
- Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 150
- Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 9768
- Clermont-Ferrand, Bibliothèque Municipale, ms. 240
- Leiden, University Library, Vossiani lartini in-octavo 60
- Orléans, Bibliothèque Municipale, no. 444
- Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, lat. 1139
- Hildesheim, Sankt-Godehardi
1. Valenciennes, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 150
- Provenance: Saint-Amand-les-Eaux, Picardy
- Date of manuscript: late 9th century
Eulalie
View manuscript image
The first literary text in any Gallo-Romance variety, the short 29-line poem presents the
martyrdom of Saint Eulalia. It is preserved in the earliest manuscript containing a
Romance text.
- Abbreviation: Eulalie
- Title: Sequence of Saint Eulalia
- Form: verse, assonating couplets of irregular length
- Language: northern Gallo-Romance
- Date composed: 881..2
2. Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, lat. 9768
- Date of manuscript: c 1000
Serments
View manuscript image
The earliest text in any Gallo-Romance variety, the Strasbourg Oaths consist of
two short oaths sworn in both Romance and Germanic by Louis the German, Charles the Bald
and their followers in 842.
They are preserved within Nithard’s Latin chronicle Historiae filiorum Ludovici pii.
- Abbreviation: Serments
- Title: The Strasbourg Oaths
- Form: prose
- Language: northern Gallo-Romance, Latin, German
- Date composed: 842
- Provenance: disputed, possibly Poitou.
3. Clermont-Ferrand, Bibliothèque Municipale, ms. 240
- Provenance: possibly Saint-Martial de Limoges
- Date of manuscript: c 1000
Passion
This 516-line poem is the earliest Romance retelling of the Passion of Christ.
It is typically considered a northern Gallo-Romance text, although the language
shows significant mixing of northern and southern features which makes it difficult
to interpret as a coherent system. The manuscript also records a line of the melody
to which it was sung, and also contains SLéger.
- Abbreviation: Passion
- Title: Passion of Clermont
- Form: verse, octosyllabic rhyming couplets in 4-line stanzas
- Language: northern Gallo-Romance with many southern Gallo-Romance features
- Date composed: c 1000
- Provenance: possibly Poitou
SLeger
The 241-line poem narrates the life and martyrdom of Saint Léger. Like Passion
in the same manuscript, the influence of southern Gallo-Romance is clear, but the text is
more clearly of northern origin.
- Abbreviation: SLeger
- Title: Life of Saint Leger
- Form: verse, assonating octosyllables in 4-line stanzas.
- Language: northern Gallo-Romance with some southern Gallo-Romance forms
- Date composed: c 1000
- Provenance: possibly Picardy or Wallonia
4. Leiden, University Library, Vossiani lartini in-octavo 60
- Provenance: Fleury-sur-Loire
- Date of manuscript: c 1100
SFoi
The 593-line poem recounts the martyrdom of Saint Faith of Conques and the subsequent downfall
of the pagan emperors. The text is from the south-west of the Gallo-Romance area
and shows features similar to Catalan.
- Abbreviation: SFoi
- Title: The Song of Saint Faith
- Form: verse, assonating octosyllables in laisses of irregular length
- Language: southern Gallo-Romance
- Date composed: c 1060
- Provenance: south-west Languedoc
5. Orléans, Bibliothèque Municipale, no. 444
- Provenance: Saint-Benoît-sur-Loire
- Date of manuscript: c 1100..1115
Boeci
View manuscript image
The 258-line fragment is from a poem paraphrasing Boethius' De Consolatione philosophiae.
- Abbreviation: Boeci
- Title: Boeci fragment
- Form: verse, epic decasyllables in assonating laisses of irregular length
- Language: southern Gallo-Romance
- Date composed: c 1100..1115
- Provenance: Saint-Martial de Limoges
6. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, lat. 1139
All texts in this manuscript are sung and are written with the neumes showing
the melody.
- Provenance: Limoges
- Date of manuscript: late 11th or early 12th century
PrDieu
View manuscript image)
A short prayer in decasyllabic verse, titled Tu Autem in the manuscript.
- Abbreviation: PrDieu
- Title: Prayer to God in verse (Tu Autem)
- Form: decasyllabic verse, single eight-line stanza
- Language: southern Gallo-Romance
- Date composed: late 11th or early 12th century
- Provenance: Limousin
PrVierge2
View manuscript image
A prayer to the Virgin in verse narrating the Annunciation with alternating
Latin and Romance stanzas and a Latin refrain.
- Abbreviation: PrVierge2
- Title: Prayer to the Virgin in verse (Mei amic e mei fiel…)
- Form: stanzas of three rhyming heptasyllabic lines followed by a refrain
- Language: southern Gallo-Romance; Latin
- Date composed: late 11th or early 12th century
- Provenance: Limousin
PrVierge3
View manuscript image
A prayer to the Virgin in verse relating salvation to the original sin of
Adam and Eve, titled Versus Sancte Marie in the manuscript.
- Abbreviation: PrVierge3
- Title: Prayer to the Virgin in verse (Versus sancte Marie)
- Form: stanzas of four rhyming sextasyllabic lines in assonating couplets
- Language: southern Gallo-Romance
- Date composed: late 11th or early 12th century
- Provenance: Limousin
Spons
View manuscript image
A dramatic setting of the tale of the wise and foolish virgins in a mixture of
Latin and a southern Gallo-Romance variety with many northern features,
particularly at the rhyme.
- Abbreviation: Spons
- Title: Sponsus
- Form: verse, in character, stanzas in decasyllables and in Latin long-line
rhythmic verse
- Language: southern Gallo-Romance with northern features; Latin
- Date composed: before 1100
- Provenance: Poitou
7. Hildesheim, Sankt-Godehardi
- Provenance: England (manuscript)
- Date of manuscript: c 1120..1130
AlexisProl
View manuscript image
A short prose prologue to Alexis.
- Abbreviation: AlexisProl
- Title: Prologue to the Life of Saint Alexis
- Form: prose
- Language: northern Gallo-Romance
- Date composed: ca 1120..1130
- Provenance: England
Alexis
View manuscript image
The 625-line narrative poem recounts the life of Saint Alexis and is the longest text in
the corpus. This version of the text is preserved in full in three manuscripts but only the
oldest, transcribed here, dates from the first half of the 12th century.
- Abbreviation: Alexis
- Title: Life of Saint Alexis
- Form: verse, epic decasyllables in 5-line assonating stanzas
- Language: northern Gallo-Romance
- Date composed: end 11th c.
- Provenance: Normandy
SGregPaint
View manuscript image
A translation of an extract from a letter of Saint Gregory on the use of
religious images. It is copied directly below the Latin original (not included
in the corpus).
- Abbreviation: SGregPaint
- Title: Extract from Saint Gregory’s letter on religious images
- Form: prose
- Language: northern Gallo-Romance
- Date composed: ca 1120..1130
- Provenance: England