461.56(Paterson)

Bona domna, tan vos ay fin coratje
non puesc mudar no·us cosselh vostre be,
e dic vos be que faytz gran vilanatje
car sel home c’anc tan non amet re
layssatz morir, e no sabetz per que.
Pero, si mor, vostre er lo dampnatje,
c’autra domna mas vos a grat no·l ve
ni en luy non a poder ni senhoratje.

II.

Na donzela, be·m deu esser salvatje
can el gaba ni·s [va] vanan de me:
tant a son cor fol e leu e volatje
que m’amistat en lunha re no·s te,
per que m’amor no·l tanh ni no·l cove.
E pus el eys s’a enques lo folatje,
no m’en reptetz si la foldat li·n ve,
c’ayso aug dir que dretz es [ses] ontatje.

III.

Bona domna, ardre·l podetz o pendre
o far tot so que·us vengua a talen,
que res non es qu’el vos puesca defendre,
aysi l’avetz ses tot retenemen.
E no·m par ges que·us sia d’avinen,
pus ab un bays li fes lo cor escendre
aysi co·l foc que·l mort carbon esen,
pueis, cant el mor, no vo·n cal merce penre.

IV.

Na donzela, no m’en podetz repenre
qu’ie·l dey m’amor ab aytal covinen
que el fos mieus per donar e per vendre
e que tos tems fos a mo mandamen.
Mays el a fag vas my tal falhimen
don jes no·s pot escondir ni defendre:
non o fas mal si m’amor li defen,
car ja per el no vuelh mo pretz dissendre.

Suau parlem, dona, c’om no·ns entenda!
Ara digatz que forfaytz es vas vos
mais que per far vostres plazers se renda
son cor humil contra·l vostr’ergulhos;
vuelh que digatz, dona, per cal razos
poyretz estar que merce no vo·n prenda,
que mil sospirs ne fa·l jorn engoysos:
dons per un sol no·l denhatz far emenda?

VI.

Si m’amor vol, Na donzela, que renda,
ben li er obs sia gais, [francx] e pros,
e vuelh c’ab nuls hom [es jes] no·s contenda
e a cascus sia de bel respos,
c’a mi non tanh hom fel ni ergulhos
per que mon pretz dechaya ni discenda,
mas francx e fis, selans e amor[o]s,
si el vol qu’ie·l don lezer qu’e mi entenda.

VII.

Aytal l’auretz, ja regart no vo·n prenda,
bona dona, que·l sieu cor avetz vos,
que el non a poder c’ad autra entenda.

VIII.

Bona·is la fin, donzel’, am que s’atenda;
e vos siatz garda entre nos dos
e que·us tenguatz ab aquel que tort prenda!

Text

Edition: Linda Paterson 2004-05; notes: Linda Paterson. – Rialto 2.vii.2009.

Mss.

R (35r) [blank staves above stanza I].

Critical Editions / Other Editions

Previous editions: Ludwig Selbach, Das Streitgedicht in der altprovenzalischen Lyrik und sein Verhältniss zu ähnlichen Dichtungen anderer Literaturen, Marburg 1886, p. 102; Oskar Schultz, Die provenzalischen Dichterinnen, in Einundachtzigsten Nachricht von dem Friedrichs-Gymnasium zu Altenburg, Altenburg 1888, p. 29; Jules Véran, Les Poétesses provençales du Moyen Age et de nos jours, Paris 1946, p. 107; Meg Bogin, The Women Troubadours, London - New York 1976, p. 152; Bernard Bonnarel, Las 194 cançons dialogadas dels trobadors, Paris 1981, p. 21; Deborah Perkal-Balinsky, The Minor Trobairitz. An edition with Translation and Commentary, unpublished doctoral dissertation, Northwestern University 1986, p. 138; Katharina Städtler, Altprovenzalische Frauendichtung (1150-1250): Historisch-soziologische Untersuchungen und Interpretationen, Heidelberg 1990, p. 243; Angelica Rieger, Trobairitz. Der Beitrag der Frau in der altokzitanischen höfischen Lyrik. Edition des Gesamtkorpus, Tübingen 1991, p. 174; Carol J. Nappholz, Unsung Women, The Anonymous Female Voice in Troubadour Poetry, New York 1994, p. 60; Pierre Bec, Chants d’amour des femmes-troubadours, Paris 1995, p. 127; Matilda T. Bruckner, Laurie Shepard, Sarah White, Songs of the Women Troubadours, New York - London 1995, p. 92; Pierre Bec, La Joute poétique. De la tenson médiévale aux débats chantés traditionnels, Paris 2000, p. 210; Linda M. Paterson, «Five trobairitz tensos and partimens: a new critical edition», Rivista di Studi testuali, 6-7, 2004-05, pp. 191-245, p. 233. — This edition was based on an unfinished version by John Marshall that formed part of the material which he handed over to Ruth Harvey and Linda Paterson in various stages of completion, and which has led to the edition of 160 tensos and partimens to be published by D. S. Brewer in 2009 (see «L’édition des poèmes dialogués», in Scène, évolution, sort de la langue et de la littérature d’oc. Actes du Septième Congrès International de l’Association Internationale d’Etudes Occitanes, Reggio Calabria - Messina, 7-13 juillet 2002, ed. Rossana Castano, Saverio Guida and Fortunata Latella, 2 vols, Rome 2003, pp. 593-608). BdT 461.56 was eventually excluded from this corpus since the editors were convinced that the piece was fictive.

Metrics and music

Versification: a10’ b10 a10’ b10 b10 a10’ b10 a10’, six coblas doblas and two three-line tornadas (Frank, 302:2). A religious song by Folquet de Lunel (BdT 154.7) has the same metrical shape and rhyme-scheme, but combined with different rhyme endings which are derivative throughout. However, the model for BdT 461.56 is an OF mala canso against love by Gilles de Viés Maisons, Chanter m’estuet, car pris m’en est corage (Alfred Jeanroy, Arthur Långfors, Chansons satiriques et bachiques du XIIIe siècle, Paris 1921, poem XI), a song whose popularity is attested by two OF contrafacta: see Stefano Asperti, «Contrafacta provenzali di modelli francesi», Messana, 8, 1991, pp. 5-49, p. 23-24.

General info

If the attribution to Gilles is correct, and this is by no means certain (Jeanroy-Långfors, Chansons satiriques, p. 95), and if he is the person named in a document of 1212 (p. vii), BdT 461.56 would postdate this. For discussion of the tenso’s status as fictive or otherwise, as well as its relation to the debate between Alamanda and Giraut de Borneil (BdT 242.69), see Rieger, Trobairitz, pp. 179-181 and Paterson, «Five trobairitz tensos», p. 237.

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