Order of stanzas
The transmission of the poem is characterised by a remarkable, and
at first sight chaotic, degree of variation in the sequence of stanzas. Taking
as our point of reference the line-order of BLh19 and
VAd43, which is probably that of the lost B-version ancestor,
we find the following variants.
A version:
-
BLh17: 1-24, 24.1-24.8, 29-32, 25-28, 57-60,
33-36,
45-48, 41-44, 49-56, 65-72, 61-64, 73-76
-
Od8/I: 1-16, 29-32, 17-24, 24.1-24.8
[marg.], 57-60, 49-56, 73-76, 61-64
-
Od8/2 (the "Additions"): 33-36, 36.1-36.4, 25-28,
28.1-28.32, 81-92, 92.1-92.4, 65-72, 41-44, 37-40, 40.1-40.4
-
OSe15-marg: 28.13-28.16.
B version:
-
BLh19: 1-92
-
Np42: 1-7, 12, 9-20, 25-28, 21-24, 29-92
[line
12 appears twice]
-
Of15: 1-56, 61-92
-
OSe15: 1-36, 41-72, 28.13-28.16 [marginal
in
second hand], 73-92[8]
-
Pt2: 1-32, 37-92
-
V90: 1-32, 37-40, 33-36, 41-48, 53-56, 49-52,
57-92
[both pairs of inverted stanzas reordered by marginal
numbers]
-
VAd43: 1-92
-
03: 1-32, 37-40, 33-36, 41-92
Apart from the striking variations between versions A and B and the two
texts of A, most of these differences arise from nothing more than the
scribe
skipping over a stanza, and either omitting it entirely or repairing the
damage by incorporating it after its incorrectly entered successor. The
whole-stanza eyeskip was an easy enough error in a poem composed of
four-line stanzas with a refrain, especially as it is only in the conclusion
that we encounter anything resembling a developing narrative. The lineation
variants suggest that some aspect of the scriptorium master copy led to
confusion over the correct position of the stanzas ll. 33-36 and ll.
37-40.
It should be remembered that the sources listed are the survivors of
many times that number. The fact that the term "signior" became accepted
as a euphemism for dildo indicates that knowledge of the 1673 version was
much more widespread than the one remaining pre-1690 transcript would
suggest.[9] Of course, this may have
happened through hearing the piece sung rather than reading it.
