Tenso

OLD PROVENÇAL ESCARS I ESCAS: "POOR"? RECONSIDERING THE REPUTATION OF PONS DE CAPDOILL Undertheentryescarslescas, whichRaynouard (LR, III,p. 148) defined as "avare, mesquin, chiche", Levy (SW, ??, pp. 157-58) adds the expression escars de, which he translates as "arm an".1 He cites as evidence a curious sentence from the thirteenth-century vida for Pons de Capdoill, in which the troubadour, having just been praised for his numerous virtues, is described as beingfort escars d'aver: "Bons cavalliers fo d'armas ... e ben enseingnatze fort escarsd'aver, mas si s'en cobria ab gen acuillir et ab far honor de sa persona." Apparently persuaded by this instance of the word that one of the primary meanings ofescars is "poor", Levy lists "pauvre"—with no question mark—alongside "avare, chiche, avide de biens; econome, ménager" in the PetitDictionnaire. The expanded definition ofOPr escarslescas,proposedby Levy, has been generally accepted by both lexicographers (see FEW, III, pp. 270-71) and scholars of the vidas, forthe latterofwhom the authority tointerpretescars d'averas "poor in possessions" rather than as "stingy with money" has provided a welcome solution to the problem of Pons de Capdoill's flawed character.2 I suspect, however, that escars in the vida for Pons de Capdoillcannotmean"poor", indeedmustbeunderstood as"stingy", theexactoppositeoflares"generous". IfIamrightabout themeaning of escars in this text, then Levy's only example of escars as "poor" becomes invalid and the depiction of Pons' character becomes once again complicated. I challenge Levy on this point with some hesitation because at least two facts lend strong support to his claim. The first is that OFr (TL, III, p. 866) does offer a good example of escars with the indisputable meaning of "lacking": Qui d'onnour nefu mie escars. The second is that MPr contains such expressions as lou bon sens es escás, which Mistral (Trésor, I, p. 987) translates as "le bon sens est rare", and ma seiend so trobo escassas, rendered literally as "mon 38Elizabeth Wilson Poe savoir est en défaut", or, idiomatically, as "je l'ignore". Thus, Levy would appear to standon firm groundin maintaining that OPrescars/ escas can mean "poor". It certainly ought to, but does it in his only example and, if not here, where? Two arguments lead me to believe that when the biographer calls Pons de Capdoill fortescars d'aver, he means nothingmore nor less than"stingy". The firstis thatin theprevious sentence ofthevida he has described this same troubadour as a rics horn. Although rics can of course mean simply "powerful", without necessarily commenting on the amountofmoney that one has, the biographer always seems tohavefinancialwell-beingin mindwhenhe uses theterm. On two occasions he presents important patrons, namely Savane de Mauleon and Blacatz, as being rics, and, in both instances, he links this adjective with lares "generous": Savarics de Mauleon si fo uns rics baros de Peitieu.... BeIs cavaliersfo ecortesetenseingnatz elares sobretotz los lares (202). En Blacatz si fo de Proensa, gentils bars et autz e rics, lares et adreichs.... Et on plus vene de temps, plus cree de larguessa e de cortesia (489). Naturally, for a patron to be lares presupposes that he possesses the adequate means to give away food, clothing, equipment, horses and money without ruining himself. Rics, as applied to both Savane de Mauleon and Blacatz, refers to this wherewithal. In three other vidas the author makes it clear that in his book being rics is an essentially bourgeois goal synonymous with prosperity (and success). Folquet de Marseille became rics upon the death of his merchant father: Folquet de Marseilla si fo fillz d'un mercadier que fo de Genoaetac nom serAnfos. E quan lopairemuric, sii laisset molt rie d'aver (470). ESCARS I ESCAS AND PONS DE CAPDOILL39 Pistoleta,forhispart, becamericswhen he gaveupbeingatroubadour and himself became a merchant: Pistoleta si fo cantaire de N'Arnaut de Maruoill.... E pois vene trobaire.... E tole moillera Marseillee fez semercadier, e vene rics e laisset d'anar per cortz (491). Albertet de Sisteron, on the other hand, discovered that he could get rich without having to give up the jongleur's trade, especially if he limited his performances to the wealthy audiences of Aurenga: e ben fo bons...