Summary

Relatively little attention has been paid to the stories which the Dutch poet Dirc Potter (1370-1428) incorporated in his Der minnen loep (The Course of Love) and Blome der doechden (Flowers of Virtues). One of them is the history of Sabina and Floridamas, a tale of perfect faithful love between two lovers. The story occurs both in Der minnen loep and in Blome der doechden, but there are many small and big differences. This article analyzes and explains these differences. It also demonstrates that the source for this story must be looked for in the history of Damon and Phintias, a story (with the motif of going bail for a person) that was well-known in classical antiquity and widely spread in the Middle Ages. Potter, however, adapted the story in his own way. In doing so, he probably consulted, among other things, the version of this story as it occurred in the Italian Fiore di virtú.

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