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From “manuscrit de jongleur” to “aristocratic collection” : thoughts on the first French anthologies One of the main difficulties inhibiting the study of manuscripts prepared between the first quarter of the 13th and the beginning of the 14th century and designed to pass on evidence of vernacular literature of the time and of previous decades is the lack of any certainty as to the way they were received. How indeed can we understand the criteria behind their dissemination and especially interpret the often disconcerting organization of our oldest literary collections without the benefit of clues to enlighten us on their original purpose ? The notion that they were intended for the aristocracy or at least that they were linked to the highest strata of medieval society is the most frequent and most natural explanation of this production. But this does not mean we can explain the diversity and singularity that strike us about them. On the other hand, no doubt we must abandon the “classic” hypothesis of “manuscrits de jongleurs”, which is very problematic. Based on two examples well known to medievalists, collections BnF, fr. 837 and 1553, this paper attempts to further illuminate this question, in the light of both the physical reality and the content of these two specimens, and thanks to comparison with other copies, in particular from collections of the nobility, and of what they allow us to guess about the preferences of their owners.