For I don't know when I may
See her, the distance is so far.
See her, the distance is so far.
Troubador Verse
Happiness, gaiety have I seen
But our Lord bans what has been;
Will not suffer such ill scenes,
When so near my end I stand.
All have I left for love of Him,
Chivalry and pride grow dim;
And if God please, he'll gather me in,
And I pray keep me at his right hand.
I ask that my friends at my death
Come but to honour my last breath,
For I have had both joy and mirth
Near and far, and in palace grand.
So, I abandon joy and mirth,
Vair, sable, ermine: I'll naked stand.
Note: Fulk is Foulques V of Anjou (its capital Angers) also known as Foulques the Younger, Count of Anjou 1109-1129, and King of Jerusalem from 1131 to his death in 1143.
Jaufre Rudel (d. c. 1148)
The Castellan of Blaye, he flourished early to mid 12th century and probably died during the Second Crusade, 1147-9. His 13th century vida or biography claims he fell in love with the Countess of Tripoli without ever having seen her and after taking ship for Tripoli fell ill during the voyage, ultimately dying in the arms of his 'love afar'.
Lanquan li jorn son lonc e may
When the days are long, in May,
Sweet the songs of birds afar,
And when I choose from there to stray,
I bring to mind a love that's far.
I walk face lowered, and I glower,
And neither song nor hawthorn flower,
Can please me more than winter's ice.
I hold the Lord for truth always
By whom was formed this love afar,
But for each good that comes my way
Two ills I find, since she's so far.
Would I were a pilgrim at this hour,
So staff and cloak from her tower,
She'd gaze on with her lovely eyes!
What joy it will be to seek that day,
For love of God, that inn afar,
And, if she wishes, rest, I say,
Near her, though I come from afar,
For words fall in a pleasant shower
When distant lover has the power,
With gentle heart, joy to realise.
Sad, in pain, would I go away,
Should I not see that love afar.
For I don't know when I may
See her, the distance is so far.
So many the roads and ways lower,
That indeed I can say no more,
But let all things be as she likes.
The delights of love I never may
Enjoy, if not joy of my love afar,
No finer, nobler comes my way,
From any quarter: near or far.
So rich and high is her dower,
That there in the Saracen's tower
For her sake I would be their prize.
God that made all that goes or stays
And formed this love from afar
Grant me the power to hope one day
I'll see this love of mine afar,
Truly, and in a pleasant hour,
So that her chamber and her bower,
Might seem a palace to my eyes.
Who calls me covetous, truth to say,
Is right, I long for a love afar,
For no other joy pleases me today
Like the joy in my love from afar.
Yet what I wish is not in my power,
It is my godfather's curse, so sour,
That I love, yet love should be denied.
For what I wish is not in my power,
Cursed my godfather's word so sour,
Who has ruled my love should be denied.
Quan lo rius de la fontana
When the sweet fountain's stream
Runs clear, as it used to do,
And there the wild-roses blow,
And the nightingale, on the bough,
Turns and polishes, and makes gleam
His sweet song, and refines its flow,
It's time I polished mine, it would seem.
Oh my love, from a land afar,
My whole heart aches for you;
No cure can I find, for this no
Help but your call, I vow,
With love's pangs sweetest by far,
In a curtained room or meadow,
Where I and the loved companion are.
I shall lack that forever though,
So no wonder at my hunger now;
For never did Christian lady seem
Fairer - nor would God wish her to -
Nor Jewess nor Saracen below.
With manna he's fed as if in dream,
Who of her love should win a gleam!
No end to desire will my heart know
For her, whom I love most, I vow;
I fear lest my will should cheat me,
If lust were to steal her from me too.
For sharper than thorns this pain and woe
The sadness that joy heals swiftly,
For which I want no man's pity.
Without parchment brief, I bestow
On Filhol the verses I sing now,
In the plain Romance tongue, that he
May take them to Uc le Brun, anew.
They rejoice in it, I'm pleased to know,
In Poitou, and in Berry,
In Guyenne, and Brittany.
