Guillaume de Machaut: The Complete Poetry and Music, Volume 2: The Boethian Poems

Guillaume de Machaut, one of the most important cultural figures of fourteenth-century France, was a polymath—a poet, composer, and illuminator. The 13-volume Complete Poetry and Music is the only series to present Machaut’s multimodal oeuvre in its entirety, interpolating his Middle French texts (in facing translation), musical scores, and grisaille miniatures as they appear in BnF fr. 1584 with historical context and scholarly commentary. The Boethian Poems include the Remede de Fortune (Remedy for Fortune) and the Confort d’ami (Consolation from a Friend), two dits which adapt Boethian themes of worldly suffering, fickle Fortune, and divine justice into love poetry. The Remede follows a fearful male protagonist who is counseled by the allegorical Lady Esperence (Hope) in the art of love; their emotional expression is elevated by seven musical insertions. The Confort offers consolation and advice to Machaut’s patron Charles of Navarre, during his imprisonment by his political rivals, through classical and biblical exempla—many of which are highlighted with illustrations.

R. Barton Palmer is both Editor and Translator for this edition.