The study has its origins in the discovery the fragment of a poem from the 'school' of Friedrich II of Hohenstaufen. It is the oldest extant written example of Sicilian lyric poetry. The volume is divided into three interconnected parts: the first presents and interprets the sources; the second is devoted to methodology, editions and commentaries; the third discusses the origins and written traditions of Italian lyric poetry, its relations to the courtly culture of the West, and its reception, the latter with special reference to Dante.