permission to leave”). Their example was followed in 1276 or 1277 by Adam de la Halle,
who was leaving his city in perfect health. The three poets borrowed the form of the Vers
de la Mort by Hélinant de Froidmont: octosyllabic twelve-line stanzas made up of two
sestets with an aabaab/bbabba rhyme pattern. All the themes of this new genre are
already to be found in Jehan Bodel’s Congés. But if the problem of salvation was
paramount in Bodel’s and Fastoul’s concerns, Adam de la Halle intended above all to
rebel against the injustice and scandalmongering that prevailed in Arras. The allegorical
entities (Cuer ‘Heart’; Pitié ‘Pity’; Anui ‘Pain’...) that his predecessors, taking their cue
from Hélinant, had called upon at the beginning of their stanzas, were now out of place in
a work that went beyond the bounds of the congé: a literary genre that was originally
lyrical had become, with Adam de la Halle, essentially satirical.
Annette Brasseur
[See also: ADAM DE LA HALLE; BAUDE FASTOUL; JEHAN BODEL]
Foulon, Charles. L’œuvre de Jehan Bodel. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1958, pp. 707–
66.
Dufournet, Jean. Adam de la Halle à la recherche de lui-même ou le jeu dramatique de la feuillée.
Paris: Société d’Edition d’Enseignement Supérieur, 1974, pp. 50–55.
Ruelle, Pierre, ed. Les congés d’Arras (Jean Bodel, Baude Fastoul, Adam de la Halle). Paris:
Presses Universitaires de France, 1965. [Based on MS. A (Arsenal 3142) and G (B.N. fr.
25566).
Zink, Michel. “Le ladre, de l’exil au royaume; comparaison entre les congés de Jean Bodel et ceux
de Baude Fastoul.” In Exclus et systèmes d’exclusion dans la littérature et la civilisation
médiévales. Aix-en-Provence: CUER MA, 1978, pp. 71–88.
Zumthor, Paul. “Entre deux esthétiques: Adam de la Halle.” In Mélanges de langue et de littérature
du moyen âge et de la Renaissance offerts à Jean Frappier. 2 vols. Geneva: Droz, 1970, Vol. 2,
pp. 1155–71.
CONON DE BÉTHUNE
(fl. ca. 1180–1219/20). Now remembered as one of the classic generation of trouvères
that included Gace Brulé and the Châtelain de Coucy, Conon, born into a noble family of
Artois, was better known during his lifetime as warrior, diplomat, and statesman. A
participant in the Third Crusade, he was a major figure in the Fourth, esteemed by the
French for his wisdom and eloquence in dealing with recalcitrant allies. After the capture
of Constantinople, he served the Latin (Flemish) emperors devotedly and was even
named regent of the empire in 1219.
Ten songs, all preserved with their melodies, may be attributed to Conon with
reasonable certainty. These include two crusade songs and a satirical love dialogue, along
with chansons d’amour of an unusually personal stamp. One poem is particularly
remarkable for evoking the difference between Conon’s dialect and that of the royal
court.
Samuel N.Rosenberg
[See also: CRUSADE SONGS/CHANSONS DE CROISADE; TROUVÈRE
POETRY]
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