SOURCE: "Part V," in Sordello and Cunizza, J. M. Dent & Co., 1903, pp. 59-87.

In the following excerpt from his full-length study of the troubadour, Benson addresses the theory of two Sordellos: one a noble public figure and the other a reckless adventurer and lover. He suggests that Sordello's varied life might be understood as representative of one who abandons the passions of youth for the dignity of adulthood.

There are two brief and ancient Provençal documents concerning Sordello—the lives of the Provençal poets, transcribed in red, preceding the specimens of their poetry. One describes him as a Mantuan of the Castle of Goito, a courteous Captain, most attractive in his person, a great lover, but crafty and false to women, and to his hosts with whom he stayed—and states that he loved Cunizza, the sister of Ser Ezzelino and of Ser Alberico of Romano...