The envoy : an independent art-form in the medieval lyrics

Abstract EN

In the fourteenth eentury the envoy, which is a short stanza addressed to the patron to whom a poem is dedicated, became an essential part of the metrical structure of the medieval ballade.

This stanza eventually emerged as an independent art-form and was classified as occasional poetry since it usually dispatched a messenger, a rose or a heart, to a lady to deliver a love letter accompanied by a gift or an emblem.

The contributions of the French poet C harles d* Orleans.

John Skelton, Humphrey Newton and other anonymous poets enriched the form with qualities of elegance and eloquence.