"En la gaste forest de longue attente": a Melancholy Turn of Phrase from Alain Chartier to Antoine Vérard
2014
Abstrakt
The paper examines the introduction of the topos of the dreadful forest into French lyric poetry at the turn of the 14th century and traces the history of the phrase "En la gaste forest de longue attente" within the poetic canon of the 15th century. It concludes that after its adoption by Charles d'Orléans from Alain Chartier's prose, the verse became extremely productive, inspiring a number of occasional poets from Charles's milieu, evolving into a formula, but is again made productive at the end of the century by Olivier de La Marche in his Chevalier délibéré.