« La Chanson un peu particulière de Richard Cœur de Lion ». L’enjeu de la musique dans la définition du genre de la rotrouenge

«[...] et la chanson un peu particulière de Richard Cœur de Lion». With these words Pierre Bec ends his list of the songs that constitute the elusive genre of the rotrouenge. Indeed, the features of the rotrouenge are not clearly defined: the most authoritative scholar who established the corpus of Old French lyrics included in this genre is Friedrich Gennrich, who argued that the essence of the rotrouenge had to be found in its music. However, a fundamental characteristic of medieval music is variance, and errors may occur along the process of transmission. This essay will trace back the steps of Richard Lionheart’s Ja nus hons pris ne dira sa raison, from its manuscripts to its editions, and try to ascertain – if an error has been committed – who is to blame: the Ancients or the Moderns.