Rialto

174.10

 

Gavaudan

 

 

 

 

 

 

I.

Senhors, per los nostres peccatz
creys la forsa dels Sarrazis:
Jherusalem pres Saladis
et encaras non es cobratz;
5 per que manda·l reys de Marroc
qu’ab totz los reys de Crestias
se combatra ab sos trefas
Andolozitz et Arabitz
contra la fe de Crist garnitz.
 

 

 

II.

10 Totz los alcavis a mandatz:
masmutz, maurs, goitz e barbaris,
e no·y reman gras ni mesquis
que totz no·ls aya·n ajostatz:
anc pus menut ayga non ploc
15 cum elhs passon e prendo·ls plas;
la caraunhada dels milas
geta·ls paysser, coma berbitz,
e no·y reman brotz ni razitz.
 

 

 

III.

Tant an d’erguelh selh qu’a triatz
20 qu’els cujo·l mons lur si’aclis;
Marroquenas, Marabetis
pauzon a mons per mieg los pratz;
mest lor gabon: «Franc, faiz nos loc!
Nostr’es Proensa e Tolzas,
25 entro al Puey totz lo mejas!»
Anc tan fers gaps no fon auzitz
dels falses cas, ses ley, marritz.
 

 

 

IV.

Emperaire, vos o aujatz,
e·l reys de Frans’e sos cozis,
30 e·l reys engles, coms peitavis:
qu’al rey d’Espanha secorratz!
Que anc mais negus mielhs no poc
a servir Dieu esser propdas:
ab Luy venseretz totz los cas
35 cuy Bafometz a escarnitz
e·ls renegatz outrasalhitz.
 

 

 

V.

Jhezus Cristz, que·ns a prezicatz
per que fos bona nostra fis,
nos demostra qu’es dregz camis:
40 qu’ab penedens’er perdonatz
lo peccatz que d’Adam se moc.
E vol nos far ferms e certas,
si·l crezem, qu’ab los sobiras
nos metra, e sara·ns la guitz
45 sobre·ls fals fellos descauzitz.
 

 

 

VI.

Non laissem nostras heretatz,
pus qu’a la gran fe em assis,
a cas negres outramaris;
q’usquecx ne sia perpessatz
50 enans que·l dampnatge nos toc!
Portogals, Gallicx, Castellas,
Navars, Aragones, Serdas
lur avem en barra gequitz
qu’els an rahuzatz et aunitz.
 

 

 

VII.

55 Quan veyran los baros crozatz,
Alamans, Frances, Cambrezis,
Engles, Bretos et Angevis,
Biarns, Gascos, ab nos mesclatz,
e·ls Provensals, totz en un floc,
60 saber podetz qu’ab los Espas
romprem la preyss’e·l cap e·ls mas,
tro·ls ajam mortz totz e delitz;
pueys er mest nos totz l’aurs partitz.
 

 

 

VIII.

Profeta sera·n Gavaudas
65 que·l digz er faitz. E mortz als cas!
E Dieus er honratz e servitz
on Bafometz era grazitz.

 

 

English translation [LP]

I. Lords, because of our sins the Saracens’ strength increases: Saladin captured Jerusalem and it is still not reconquered. As a consequence the king of Morocco makes known that he will fight all the kings of Christendom, with his perfidious Andalusians and Arabs armed against the faith of Christ.
II. He has summoned all his lieutenants, Masmudes, Moors, Goths and Berbers, and there remains not one, fat or thin, which he will fail to line up in his army. Never was rainfall so dense as they are when they pass through and take the plains; he throws them carcasses to graze on that have been left for the vultures, as if they were sheep, and [when they have passed by] not a shoot or root remains.
III. Those he has hand-picked are so arrogant that they think the world is subject to them; masses of Moroccans and Marabouts take rest in the fields and boast among themselves: ‘Franks, make way for us! Provence and the Toulousain are ours, and all the land to Le Puy!’ You never heard a more terrifying threat than that of these false cursed pagan dogs.
IV. Emperor, hear this, and you, the King of France, and you, his cousin, and the English king, the Count of Poitou: come and assist the King of Spain! For never could anyone be more close at hand to serve God: with His assistance you will vanquish all the curs that Mohammed has deceived, and the renegades who have gone over to his side.
V. Jesus Christ, who has preached to us so that our end should be a good one, shows us which is the right path: for the sin that came from Adam will be pardoned with penitence. And He wants to make us sure and certain that if we believe in Him He will place us with the elect, and He will be our guide there against the false vile traitors.
VI. Let us not abandon our patrimony, since we are established in the great faith, to black dogs from overseas: let each man think on this before the damage touches us! Men of Portugal, Galicia, Castile, Navarre, Aragon and Cerdagne we have thrown against them as a barrier, but they have routed and humiliated them.
VII. When they see the barons who have taken the Cross, the Germans, French, Cambresians, English, Bretons and Angevins, men of Bearn and Gascony, united with us, and the Provençals, in a great multitude, then you can be certain that with the Spaniards we shall smash the rabble, and the head and hands [of the enemy], until we have killed and destroyed them all; then all the gold will be divided up among us.
VIII. Gavaudan will be a prophet: what he has said will be done. Death to the dogs! And God will be honoured and served where Mohammed used to be worshipped.
 

Italian translation [SG]

I. Signori, per i nostri peccati cresce la forza dei Saraceni: Saladino ha preso Gerusalemme ed essa non è stata ancora riconquistata; ed ecco che il re del Marocco fa sapere che si batterà contro tutti i re cristiani assieme ai suoi perfidi Andalusi e Arabi armati contro la fede di Cristo.
II. Ha mandato a chiamare tutti i suoi luogotenenti, masmudi, mori, goti e berberi, e non c’è nessuno, pingue o mingherlino, che non sia stato incluso nei ranghi: mai pioggia venne giù più fitta di quanto siano essi quando passano ricoprendo le pianure; egli (il re del Marocco ) spinge al pascolo come pecore queste orde, carogna per gli avvoltoi, e (dopo il loro passaggio) non resta filo d’erba né radice.
III. Sono cosi pieni d’albagia quelli che egli ha convocato che credono d’essere i padroni del mondo; Marocchini e Marabutti sostano a mucchi in mezzo ai prati e fra di loro dicono irridendo: «Franchi, fateci largo! Nostra è la Provenza e la regione attorno a Tolosa e tutta la terra che si estende fino a Puy!». Mai cosi terribile minaccia era stata udita da parte di questi perfidi cani, infedeli, degni di sprezzo.
IV. Ascoltate, imperatore, e voi, re di Francia, e voi, suo cugino, e voi, re d’Inghilterra, conte di Poitiers: correte in soccorso del re di Spagna! Nessuno ebbe mai migliore occasione di servire Dio: con la Sua assistenza vincerete tutti i cani che Maometto ha abbindolato e i rinnegati che son passati dalla loro parte.
V. Gesù Cristo, che ha voluto illuminarci con la Sua parola perché la nostra fine fosse buona, ci mostra qual è la giusta via: con la penitenza sarà perdonato il peccato che comincio da Adamo. E desidera assicurarci fermamente che, se abbiamo fede in Lui, ci collocherà tra gli eletti e sarà laggiù nostra guida contro i perfidi scellerati infedeli.
VI. Non lasciamo i nostri beni, dal momento che siamo sostenuti dalla grande fede, ai cani neri d’oltremare: che ciascuno ci rifletta, prima che il danno ci colpisca! Portoghesi, Galleghi, Castigliani, Navarrini, Aragonesi, Seritani, abbiamo loro opposto come barriera, ma essi li hanno respinti e umiliati.
VII. Quando vedranno i baroni crociati, Alemanni, Francesi, Cambresini, Inglesi, Bretoni, Angioini, Bearnesi, Guasconi, uniti a noi, coi Provenzali, tutti in un imponente stuolo, allora, potete essere certi, assieme agli Spagnoli, fenderemo la calca e la testa (degli invasori) e le mani, fino ad ucciderli tutti e a sterminarli; e poi sarà diviso tra noi tutto il loro oro.
VIII. Gavaudan sarà profeta: ciò che ha predetto si avvererà. E morte ai cani! E Dio sarà onorato e servito là dove Maometto era adorato.
 

 

 

Text: Guida 1979 (V). – Rialto 4.xii.2013.


Notes: Gavaudan’s song was composed immediately after the Christian defeat at Alarcos (July 1195), when the Almohad caliph Abu Yusuf Ya ’qub al-Mansur was pressing towards areas of northern Spain which had hitherto long been beyond the reach of the Arabs, traditionally considered to be an impregnable bastion of the western world, and from where he was threatening to move on towards Proensa e Tolzas. It is clear from stanza VII that Gavaudan created his crusade song in lands subject to the count of Toulouse, since the ethnic-political group to which the troubadour felt himself to belong, as he imagined the contingents of the other European regions ab nos mesclatz in common opposition to the Arabs, must be identified with Raimon VI’s subjects. Line 3: Jerusalem fell to Saladin on 2 October 1187. Line 5: the Almohad caliphs proclaimed themselves rulers not only of Morocco but of all Ifriqiya and al-Andalus. – Line 11: Masmudes were a Berber tribe of the Almohade dynasty. – Line 28: Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI (see Guida’s edition, pp. 51-52). – Line 29: King Philip Augustus and Count Raymond VI of Toulouse (see Guida’s edition, pp. 52-53). – Line 30: Richard the Lionheart. – Line 44: la indicates that Gavaudan was not in Spain when he composed this song.

[LP, lb]


BdT    Gavaudan    174.10

Songs referring to the crusades