FARAI UN VERS, POS MI SONELH ... |
WHILE DOZING I WILL WRITE A SONG ... | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William IX, Duke of Aquitaine | trans. James H. Donalson (from Provençal) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Farai un vers, pos mi sonelh e·m vauc e m'estauc al solelh. Domnas i a de mal conselh,
Domna fai gran pechat mortal que no ama cavalier leal; mas s'ama o monge o clergal,
En Alvernhe, part Lemozi, m'en aniey totz sols a tapi: trobei la moller d'en Guari
La una·m diz en son latin: "E Dieus vos salf, don pelerin; mout mi semblatz de bel aizin,
Ar auzires qu'ai respondut; and no li diz ni bat ni but, ni fer ni fust no ai mentagut,
So diz n'Agnes a n'Ermessen: "Trobat avem qu'anam queren. Sor, per amor Deu, l'alberguem,
La una·m pres sotz son mantel, menet m'en cambra, al fornel. Sapchatz qu'a mi fo bon e bel,
A manjar mi deron capos, e sapchatz ac i mais de dos, e no·i ac cog ni cogastros,
"Sor, aquest hom es enginhos, e laissa lo parler per nos: nos aportem nostre gat ros
N'Agnes anet per l'enujos, e fo granz et ab loncz guinhos: e ieu, can lo vi entre nos,
Quant aguem begut e manjat, eu mi despoillei a lor grat. Detras m'aporteron lo gat
Per la coa de mentenen tira·l gat et et escoissen: plajas mi feron mais de cen
"Sor, diz n'Agnes a n'Ermessen, mutz es, que ben es connoissen; Sor, del banh nos apareillem
Tant las fotei com auzirets: cen e quatre vint et ueit vetz, qu'a pauc no·i rompei mos corretz
Ges no·us sai dir lo malaveg,
|
While dozing I will write a song and ride in sunlight all day long, and there are ladies who are wrong;
A lady's risking being damned if she won't love a gentleman, for if she loves a clergyman -
While in Auvergne past Limousin I quietly went strolling in: I met the wives of Sir Garin
And one of them went on to say: "God save you, pilgrim, on your way; some court has sent you far away
Now, this is how I answered them, without a single dis or dem, nor speech of roses on a stem,
So Agnes said to Ermessen "We've found just what we wanted, then; come, sister, let us take him in,
One took me under her attire, into her bedroom, near the fire; and fit to please and to inspire
They served some capons, not too rare, and there were more than two to share; no cook or kitchen help was there:
"I think the man's a sneaking rat and doesn't speak because of that, so go and fetch the orange cat,
So Agnes brought the monster cat: long-whiskered he, and big and fat; and when I saw him where I sat
When we had drunk and dined like that they had me strip; then off the bat, behind me, they brought up the cat
She took his tail and pulled it then, his claws sunk in once and again! I had a hundred wounds, and when
Agnes to Ermessen now runs: "It's obvious he's really dumb; let's draw a bath and have some fun,
I fucked them often, I'll relate: a hundred eighty times plus eight; I nearly broke my struts and stays
No, I can't tell you what malaise
|
Click here 1 for another translation of this poem.
Trans. Copyright © James H. Donalson 2003