Capital, Value, and Exchange in the Old Occitan and Old French Tenson - Including the Partimen and the Jeu-Parti

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by Callum

This dissertation examines lyric debate poetry in Old Occitan and Old French known as the tenson. It studies how tensons are created, performed, and transmitted through the lens of capital, including cultural, social, and economic capital. The work treats tensons as negotiations among poets over multiple kinds of capital, and it also briefly applies game theory to interpret certain tensons as formal games involving structured exchanges and rewards.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages399

Reading Time16 h 45 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Language and the terms of exchange in a tenson

The early partimen and jeu-parti, value, and capital

Overview of chapters

Chapter 1: Capital, Discourse, and Voice

Definition of the corpus and the genre

Tenson, Canso/chanson, and other genres of lyric

Historical origins and development

Previous scholarship on lyric and the tenson

Theoretical framework: capital, discourse, and voice

Poets and capital

Economic and social setting of troubadour and trouvère lyric

Lyric discourse and fin’amor

The practice of poetry and cultural capital

Voice and capital in the tenson

The compilation of tensons in the manuscript tradition

Chapter 2: Negotiation and Capital in the Tenson

Tensons concerning apprenticeship and cultural capital

Tensons between poets about patronage

Reputation, competition, and social capital: the case of Sordel

Tensons with patrons

Women speakers: patrons, joglaresas, and fictive voices

Chapter 3: Value, Evaluation, and Exchange in the Partimen and Jeu-parti

The nature of the game: exchange and the accumulation of capital

The partimen/jeu-parti as a game: chess and other contemporary models

Game theory, rewards, cake-cutting, and market exchange

The language of value and evaluation

Economic thinking and the jeu-parti

Marriage in the partimens and the jeux-partis

Conclusion

Index of Poets Cited

Works Cited

Appendix: Corpus of Tensons

Capital, Value, and Exchange in the Old Occitan and Old French Tenson (Including the Partimen and the Jeu-Parti) Eric Matheis Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2014 @2013 Eric Matheis All rights reserved ABSTRACT Capital, Value, and Exchange in the Old Occitan and Old French Tenson (Including the Partimen and the Jeu-Parti) Eric Matheis This dissertation examines the genre of lyric debate poetry in Old Occitan and Old French known as the tenson. It evaluates the creation, performance, and diffusion of tensons from the perspective of capital—cultural, social, and economic capital. It views tensons as negotiations between poets for various types of capital. It also briefly uses game theory to analyze certain types oftensons as formal games. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 1. Language and the terms of exchange in a tenson ................................................4 2. The early partimen and jeu-parti, value, and capital .........................................22 3. Overview of chapters .........................................................................................39 Chapter 1: Capital, Discourse, and Voice ..........................................................................47 1.1. Definition of the corpus and the genre............................................................50 1.2. Tenson, Canso/chanson, and other genres of lyric .........................................60 1.3. Historical origins and development ................................................................69 1.4. Previous scholarship on lyric and the tenson ..................................................76 1.5. Theoretical framework: capital, discourse, and voice ....................................83 1.6. Poets and capital .............................................................................................94 1.7. Economic and social setting of troubadour and trouvère lyric .....................110 1.8. Lyric discourse and fin’amor ........................................................................ 116 1.9. The practice of poetry and cultural capital ...................................................121 1.10. Voice and capital in the tenson ...................................................................125 1.11. The compilation of tensons in the manuscript tradition..............................136 Chapter 2: Negotiation and Capital in the Tenson ........................................................... 150 2.1. Tensons concerning apprenticeship and cultural capital...............................152 2.2. Tensons between poets about patronage .......................................................160 2.3. Reputation, competition, and social capital: the case of Sordel ...................169 2.4. Tensons with patrons..................................................................................... 184 2.5. Women speakers: patrons, joglaresas, and fictive voices ............................200 Chapter 3: Value, Evaluation, and Exchange in the Partimen and Jeu-parti .................................................................................................226 3.1. The nature of the game: exchange and the accumulation of capital .......................................................................................................228 3.2. The partimen/jeu-parti as a game: chess and other contemporary models ...................................................................................239 3.3. Game theory, rewards, cake-cutting, and market exchange .........................252 3.4. The language of value and evaluation ..........................................................264 3.5. E

FAQs

What genre does the dissertation focus on, and what is its central object of study?

It focuses on lyric debate poetry in Old Occitan and Old French called the tenson, including related forms such as the partimen and the jeu-parti.

How does the dissertation use the concept of capital to analyze tensons?

It evaluates creation, performance, and diffusion of tensons by treating them as negotiations between poets over cultural, social, and economic capital.

How is game theory used in the dissertation?

The dissertation briefly applies game theory to analyze certain tensons as formal games, including models that clarify exchange and accumulation of capital and related reward structures.

Sep 17, 2026

Uploaded by Callum