(Mis)Quoting Dante: Early Epic Intertextuality in Huon d’Auvergne

Huon d’Auvergne, a Franco-Italian chanson de geste dated from 1341 to 1441 in its manuscripts, is the first text known to incorporate Dante’s Commedia into its plot. The manuscripts, present in the Gonzaga library inventory as well as others, demonstrate the intertextuality of the late romance epic: a wandering hero on a personal mission encounters trials calling for physical and psychological prowess. However, the visit to hell is not just an imitation of Dante; the trip contains citations from Dante subtly revised and collocated according the redactor’s interest, punishing specifically those who did badly by his hero and those who betray the chanson de geste value system in which he writes.