Une œuvre ouverte en forme de diptyque : Le ‹Jugement du Roi de Bohême› et le ‹Jugement du Roi de Navarre› de Guillaume de Machaut

Abstract

Guillaume de Machaut's ‹The Judgement of the King of Bohemia› and ‹The Judgement of the King of Navarre› form a diptych built on a dialectical relationship of narrative and discourse. The staged debates are stuffed with narratives told by the characters who are second narrators; the inserted narratives serve as commented examples and counter-examples within the speakers' argumentation. The speeches advance the action, while the narratives give concrete form to the debate of ideas. The interaction between the two ‹Judgements› and the representation of contradictory points of view make this diptych an open work in which the figure of the author/narrator gradually but ambiguously asserts itself.