Jaume I, Rex Facetus: notes de filologia humorística

Abstract

In the Llibre del rei En Jaume the author lets his sense of humour show through. Comic effect is based on fortuitous incident, lively, impudent responses from the characters, on wordplay and errors of expression on the part of people who have a poor command of a language that is not their mother tongue, and on the whole we can observe the kings marked interest in linguistic diversity and expressiveness and in verbal humour. The analysis of these passages allows us to arrive at certain philological conclusions: further arguments against the existence of underlaying profificated epic songs, the stylistic basis of royal mixed language and the confirmation of the previously discovered meaning of the word barbuda.