ABSTRACT
In northern France, lyric poetry took a very different turn from that in Italy. From the start the North French had a vital tradition of songs of the people: anonymous Spinning Songs, Workers’ Songs, Spring Dances, and Songs of the Ill-Married. This popular bent, with its emphasis upon things of this world, is an important element in North French literature from the early folk songs to the writings of François Villon. Unlike the Provencal poems, however, the North French lyrics tend to be devoid of metaphysical overtones. North French literature never produced a crowning achievement like Dante Alighieri’s Divine Comedy, but in its adherence to the human condition, it helped to prepare the way for the modern world. Unfortunately the worldliness of North French poetry tended to work against its development. Rutebeuf stands out for his vigorous, Marcabrunlike morality, but many of the poets around him, who are not represented, are jaded and effete.
