John G. Cummins’s research while affiliated with University of Birmingham and other places

The poetic debates of Provençal have been described in detail by various authorities. With the exception of the numerically insignificant sirventes-tenso type, they normally take the form of a single poem composed by two poets in alternating stanzas, the replying poet being bound to imitate the verse-form and rhymes of his opponent. The two main types of debate, the tenso and joc-partit (or partimen), both employ this system; the principal difference is that in the tenso the discussion develops freely, whereas in the joc-partit the poet beginning the debate gives his opponent a choice between two conflicting hypotheses, and is then obliged to defend the one not selected. Other distinguishing factors are that the joc-partit almost invariably deals with some problem of courtly love, while the tenso enjoys a wider range of themes and often consists of bantering abuse, and that in the joc-partit the poets customarily appeal for judgement to specific people in their closing lines, a convention which is less usual in the tenso.