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How are the stanzas in Le Testament organized?

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François Villon Portrait of François Villon, woodcut from the first edition of Villon's works published by Pierre Levet, 1489; the ballade “Faulce beaulte” (“Fausse beaute”), printed below the portrait, is an acrostic, i.e., the initial letter of each line read top to bottom forms the poet's first name, Francoys.

Le Testament is composed of 2,023 octosyllabic lines organized into 185 huitains (eight-line stanzas). These huitains are interspersed with various fixed-form poems, primarily ballades and chansons.12

While the poem’s structure reflects a disciplined composition, modern critical analysis suggests the arrangement of these stanzas may follow a deliberate, determined order rather than random inspiration. For instance, some scholars, such as David Kuhn, have proposed that the stanzas are distributed according to a specific numerical pattern, potentially imbuing the work with cosmic significance. Other interpretations, such as those by critic Pierre Guiraud, suggest the poems may function as codes that reveal specific social or political satires.2