Éléments narratifs communs entre la tradition des ›Tournoiements de dames‹ français et la ›Caccia di Diana‹ de Boccace

Abstract

Starting from the consideration of the role that the presence of lists of famous women has played in the complex question of attributing the ‹Caccia di Diana› to Giovanni Boccaccio, this article investigates the possibility that the author was inspired by the French tradition of women's tournaments for the construction of these catalogical sections. In fact, the examination of the few contemporary Italian examples suggests turning the attention to Gallo-Romance models (texts in which the poet, as in the ‹Caccia›, is a witness who gives an account, through poetry, of what he has personally seen): in the last part of this essay is discussed the probability that Boccaccio may actually have known and read these French texts during the years of his stay in Naples.