Di lotta e di governo. Motivi, manipolazioni e interoperabilità satiriche alla corte plantageneta

This study reviews the role of the Plantagenet court as a center of cultural pro- duction and the circulation of satirical motifs. The first part examines the cultural context of the court and its authors, focusing on their models and ideas about satire’s social and political roles. The second part analyzes texts by Walter Map, Gerald of Wales, Peter of Blois, Roger of Howden, and Nigel Wireker. It presents a snapshot of the satirical authors and readers in 12th-13th century England and their motivations, identifying key references and manipulations. Court authors emphasized satire’s dual nature as a theoretical vehicle of truth and a practical means for political battles. By following satirical references and reconstructing textual spaces and communities, satire emerges as a tool for signaling political action. Alongside the intertextuality between the selected corpus of sources, the article considers their value as agents in the political space of English courts. This agency is termed the interoperability of satire, shown through the modification or reiteration of models, with De Nugis Curialium serving as a valuable testi- mony, being part of a closed circuit of readers and authors using and modifying the same narratives. The study shows how satirical inventions allowed authors and networks to exchange and modify information, advocating for specific group claims rather than generically commenting on society or politics. Analysis reveals court satire as a rhetorical tool adapted to particular conflicts. Clerics like Walter Map, Peter of Blois, and Gerald of Wales are presented as using politically char- ged satire to conduct struggles for institutions and within local political factions, such as the cathedral chapter of Lincoln.