La “Voie d’Enfer et de Paradis” di Pierre de l’Hôpital: tra canone e riscritture

Abstract

The early fourteenth-century Voie d’Enfer et de Paradis by Pierre de l’Hôpital (of which the first critical edition is currently being prepared) has drawn only passing interest from critics, in spite of its importance for the development of the genre of the allegorical voyage. This paper aims to locate the still unedited work attributed to Pierre de l’Hôpital within the oitanic literature, specifically highlighting the differences that distinguish it from other literary representatives of the journey through the Afterlife and suggesting a possible intertextual link between the text typology of the Voie d’Enfer et de Paradis and that of the Songe d’Enfer by Raoul de Houdenc. Besides, after confirming the date of composition and the vast Fortleben that concerned the Voie, as well as the dynamics of reception that have influenced its fruition and subsequent theatrical re-writings, we will offer first precise account of all the four manuscript witnesses conserving the text. Moreover, we will also try to shed more light on the possible social identity and the origin of the author, whose figure has been richly miniated in some illuminations decorating a witness of the first re-adaptation of the text.