9 MSS: A (29r) Marcabruns, C (174v–175v) Marcabru (C Reg. marc e bru), D (189r) no heading, but a iii written in the margin by the incipit indicates this is the third pièce in the Marcabruns section, I (117v) Marcabrus, K (103v) Marcabrus, M (142r-v) Raimbaud dorewia (marginalia at the beginning and end of the song attribute it to Marcabru; under ‘Malcabrun’ in the index), R (5v) with melody, marc e bru, a1 (309–310) Marcabruus, z (2 cols B-C) Marcabruns

Stanza order

The following schema shows the arrangement of the stanzas in A in the other MSS (for the arrangement of stanzas based on C, see below XVHIb):

a1 also contains, as its eleventh stanza (‘x’), material not transmitted by any of the other MSS, which we print below following the edition based on A.

Analysis of the manuscripts

This song is a pièce whose structure and nature lent themselves readily to adaptation, reordering and addition, whether by Marcabru or by others. As regards the amount and order of material transmitted, there clearly was an ADIKRz version in circulation, as well as versions in M and a1 which are linked with that of C. C, however, is isolated in much of its material and, although there is every likelihood that not al of this is ‘by Marcabru’, our edition reflects these two main strands of the tradition: we supply an edition of C (XVIIIb), which also takes account of material transmitted by M and a1.

As regards variant readings in the ‘common material’, there are suggestions of a defective archetype in 9, 67 and possibly 37. AIK predictably form a group, together with Dz (but see lines 8, 12, 15, 33, 35 and so on). In its isolated readings, A may he facilior in 13, is suspect in 67 and has simple errors in 3, 26 and 37, IK have rather more errors (see for example 5, 33, 53), whereas Dz are sometimes messier (errors in 13, 14, 15 and so on) and both derive from a faulty exemplar (haplography at lines 4-5 and lacuna at 9) which 8, 36, 51 and 73 suggest was loosely linked to the a1 tradition.