9 MSS: A (29r-v) Marcabruns, C (177v–178r) lo uers del iauador de rmxcahm (C Reg. marc e bru), I (117r–118r) Marcabrus, K (103v–104v) Marcabrus, R (5r). aisi comeraa so de marc e bru qe fo lo premier trobador qe fos, W(194) stanzas I and II only, with melody, no heading, a1 (293–294) Marchabrus, with an initial ‘semi- Gothic’ ‘M’ (see Bertonis Bernart Amoros (Càmpori), pp. xxiii—xxiv) crossed out and rewritten with a conventional ‘M’, and the following letter apparently a capital A, d (303v–304v) Marcabrus, z (2 col. H) no heading

Analysis of the manuscripts

In a1, AIKz and CR we see evidence of a sedimentary process in the poem’s transmission. In our view a1 preserves many archaic elements, albeit imperfectly; AIKz mark an intermediate stage; and CR iron out a number of problems with facilior readings that eliminate topical details to produce a text of blander import.

Archetype errors probably lie behind 18, 32-33 and 53. ACIKR(Wz) share common errors in 53 (fort contra fort), and probably 60 (aqest) and 69–70. The sedimentary process is visible in 31: a1 is the only MS to give corona, justified by the sense and biblical allusion, AIK’s conor represents a corruption of coron’, and CR’s honor no doubt embodies a correction to this, al also offers a better reading in 60 aqel. A number of its other individual readings are arguably best and are discussed in the notes and the special section on this MS, below, for example 16, 17, 49, 50, 53, 54, 55, 56, 61, 62, 65, 69-72. However, its extensive defects make it unsuitable as a base. Its interversion of stanzas III–IV breaks the pattern of alternating V and ‘ f rhymes. It starts 71–72 as a new stanza, disrupting the pattern of two groups of four stanzas and making VIII incomplete. It omits two lines (52, 67), and also contains a large number of transcription errors, including errors at the rhyme: see 1, 3, 3, 12, 13, 14, and so on. Given its value as a transmitter of archaic readings, we set the key ones out in a separate section below.

W shows affinity to a1 against the other MSS in 9 and especially 17.