25/10/2023
Marie de France, dont les protagonistes sont souvent des animaux, sur le travail de la glose!
Merci à travers les siècles qui nous séparent, Marie de France!
𝙒𝙊𝙏𝘿: 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘳, v., to explain, comment (upon), interpret.
"Es livres ke jadis feseient, Assez oscurement diseient Pur ceus ki a venir esteint E ki aprendre les deveient, K’i peussent gloser la lettre E de lur sen le surplus mettre" 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗶𝘀 Prologue 13-16
(𝘐𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘰𝘣𝘴𝘤𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦)
What a stunning 12th century definition of the work of lexicographers by Marie de France! Her passage beautifully captures how earlier scholars often wrote in metaphorical or obscure language, requiring future readers to decipher and interpret the meaning. But Marie is also remarkably prescient in recognizing this interpretive process as the essence of creating a gloss (or dictionary) elucidating the symbolic "letter" of a text by bridging context and definitions.
For all the dictionary-makers – and their forever unfinished yet deeply meaningful job: Happy Dictionary Day!
[Illustration: Marie de France writing, Paris, BnF, Français, 2173, f.93]
