商品簡介
There are three medieval French adaptations of the Song of Songs, each reflecting a distinct exegetical tradition. The latest of these three, here edited for the first time (from BNF fr. 14966), adopts the tropological interpretation according to which the song depicts the relationship of the individual soul with God. The mystical, contemplative approach owes much to Bernard of Clairvaux, William of St. Thierry, and Thomas the Cistercian, and this Cistercian tradition also has close links with the Beguines, a connection which receives detailed exploration in the editor's extensive Introduction. Writing in the late thirteenth century in north-eastern France, the author of the Cantiques is aware of such an association and not only engages in the familiar procedures of allegorization, but, more originally, inserts into his commentary eight lyrics which are modelled on known secular chansons which receive full attention from the editor.
