Dante e le ambages cavalleresche

Aim of this paper is to reconsider the meaning of the expression Arturi regis ambages pulcerrime in Dante’s De vulgari eloquentia, I x 2. After reviewing the main interpretations proposed by critics, the article investigates the use of the word ambages in classical and mediaeval tradition, with special attention to poetics and rhetorics. The analysis shows that a narratological reading of the passage in Dante does not seem plausible. Rather than alluding to the narrative tecnique of entrelacement, the term seems to point to the complex vicissitudes of Arthurian heroes. It can be seen as a Latin translation of the aventures that were the universally acknowledged object of fascinating courtly narratives, as indicated in romance prologues.