English translation [LP]

I. I lament and sigh, and weep and sing, but my song brings no consolation; instead the more I sing the more I feel sorrowful and make my heart and mind turn faint; and I do not wonder if a man saddened by song – which usually drives trouble and unhappiness away – is afraid to see his mind and his affairs taking a turn for the worse.
II. What man, however wise and intelligent he is, can endure without bitterness the wicked remaining alive with no need for help or support, and noble, courtly, valiant men who weigh the scales in favour of fair renown, dying as easily as my lord, Sir Aimar, who will be mourned throughout France?
III. And who can speak the grief and loss when a kind, noble, cultured lord departs from his people that he has long led, loved and nurtured, with no hope or prospect of ever returning? Indeed, if anyone had some assurance of seeing him again he would have less cause for bitterness. It is therefore right and fitting for us to grieve and mourn for him.
IV. I often reflect and call to mind how well fine folly suited him, and reputation and learning and nobility, each in its proper place; and I can find no-one to equal him in such delightful conversation, or in his many fine accomplishments. So joy now fades, and gracious jesting dwindles and declines.
V. From his welcome the most distant stranger would seem his intimate friend, and yet in the manner of the greeting you would clearly perceive the man’s worth; and if someone spoke to him angrily, however much it displeased him he would know how to pass over it light-heartedly as the words of a thoughtless fool, even though anger and quarrelling can make a wise man act like a child.
VI. I can assure you with no exaggeration that among the great rulers he was famed and praised for his worth and discernment, while with men of humble rank he knew how to appreciate honour and decorum. To the open and sincere he would speak freely, although he would be disdainful and reserved if someone was given to boasting.
VII. I desire nothing so much, and nothing would please me more, as to know he were esteemed the most highly by those who conducted themselves loyally, [being] more generous towards their failings; for a slight error does no real harm to a great undertaking if a man truly owns up to it and chides himself (takes appropriate responsibility). For this reason I believe his sin will be forgiven him, and I place my hope in God for this.
VIII. May He deign to hear those who beseech Him to grant rest and peace to his soul, and may the Holy Sepulchre in which He was laid – which I saw Aimar kiss most humbly – serve as his protector; for a more noble baron never bore lance or possessed all the qualities combined through which praise may be won, or which enhance reputation.
IX. And may God who formed him from nothing grant him among his bright angels a part in their blessedness.

Italian translation [lb]

I. Mi lamento e sospiro, e piango e canto, ma la mia canzone non porta consolazione; al contrario, più canto più mi sento triste e il cuore e la mente vengono meno; e non mi meraviglio se un uomo intristito dal canto – che di solito spazza via le preoccupazioni e l’infelicità – ha paura di vedere la sua mente ei suoi affari cambiare in peggio.
II. Chi, per quanto saggio e intelligente sia, può sopportare senza amarezza che i malvagi rimangano in vita, senza bisogno di aiuto o di sostegno, e i nobili, i cortesi, i valorosi che fanno pendere la bilancia verso la giusta fama, morire così facilmente come il mio signore, Messer Aimaro, che sarà pianto in tutta la Francia?
III. E chi può esprimere il dolore e la perdita, quando un gentile, nobile, colto signore abbandona i suoi, che ha a lungo guidato, amato e nutrito, senza alcuna speranza o prospettiva di tornare? Anzi, se qualcuno avesse qualche garanzia di rivederlo avrebbe meno motivo di amarezza. È quindi giusto e appropriato che noi ci affliggiamo e piangiamo per lui.
IV. Spesso considero e ricordo come gli si addicevano la bella follia, e la rispettabilità e la cultura e la nobiltà, ogni cosa al suo giusto posto, e non riesco a trovare nessuno che lo eguagli nella piacevole conversazione, o nelle sue molte pregevoli raffinatezze. Così la gioia ora viene meno, e il grazioso celiare si affievolisce e declina.
V. La sua capacità di accoglienza faceva sembrare che il più completo estraneo fosse un amico intimo, e persino dal suo modo di salutare avreste potuto chiaramente percepire il valore dell’uomo; e se qualcuno gli parlava in modo iroso, per quanto gli dispiacesse sapeva passarci sopra a cuor leggero, come per le parole di un pazzo sconsiderato, anche se l’ira e le liti possono far agire un saggio come un bambino.
VI. Vi posso assicurare, senza alcuna esagerazione, che tra i grandi sovrani era famoso e apprezzato per il suo valore e il suo discernimento, mentre negli uomini di umile rango sapeva apprezzare l’onore e decoro. Ai franchi e sinceri egli parlava in modo franco, mentre era sprezzante e chiuso se qualcuno si glorificava.
VII. Io non desidero niente così tanto, e niente mi farebbe più piacere, quanto sapere se egli fosse così tanto stimato da coloro che si sono comportati lealmente, [per il fatto di essere stato] il più generoso verso le loro mancanze; perché un piccolo errore nuoce poco a una grande impresa, per chi lo ammette e se ne accusa (ne assume la responsabilità). Per questo motivo credo che il suo peccato gli sarà perdonato, e ripongo la mia speranza in Dio per questo.
VIII. Che Egli si degni di ascoltare coloro che lo supplicano di concedere il riposo e la pace alla sua anima, e che il Santo Sepolcro in cui Egli fu deposto – che ho visto Aimaro baciare molto umilmente – gli faccia da buon garante; perché mai un barone più nobile di lui ha portato una lancia o posseduto tutte le qualità riunite attraverso le quali si possa guadagnare la lode, o con le quali si aumenti la reputazione.
IX. E che Dio, che dal nulla lo creò, gli conceda fra i suoi angeli luminosi una parte della loro beatitudine.

Text: Sharman 1989 (with a few modifications). – Rialto 29.x.2013.

Mss.: A 21v, N 165v, Sg 79r, Incipit N2 23v.

Critical editions: Adolf Kolsen, Sämtliche Lieder des Trobadors Giraut de Bornelh, 2 voll., Halle 1910 and 1935, vol. I, p. 426; Ruth V. Sharman, The Cansos and Sirventes of the Troubadour Giraut de Borneil, Cambridge 1989, p. 409 (LXII).

Other editions: Jean Audiau, René Lavaud, Nouvelle Anthologie des troubadours, Paris 1928, p. 221.

Versification: a4 b4 c8 c8 d8 d8 e4 f6’ d8 g8 f6’ (Frank 830:1); -ir, -an, -atz, -en, -ar, -ansa, -ars. Eight coblas unissonans and one three-line tornada. Unicum.

Notes: The planh (funeral lament) was composed in 1199 on the death of his patron Aimar V of Limoges whom he had accompanied, almost certainly not on the Third Crusade, but on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1179-1180: see John Gillingham and Ruth Harvey, «Le troubadour Giraut de Borneil et la troisème croisade», Rivista di studi testuali, 5, 2003, pp. 51-72, on pp. 56-58. – Lines 70-72: these lines have caused editors considerable difficulty. Sharman rightly rejects previous attempts to interpret what is in the mss., referring to Kolsen’s «die zu gleicher Zeit mit ihm [note ‘da, damals’] rechtmässig regierten» (though Levy records no intransitive use of menar meaning ‘to govern’), and Audiau’s Qu’e lor men eron leialmen / Plus franc contra lor falhimen, «de tous ceux qui en toute loyauté étaient en leur conscience les plus sévères pour leurs fautes». She emends lor in 71 to l’ost, translating «that among those who led the [army] in true faith he was the most deserving of praise and the most ready to acknowledge their failings», and argues that this «appears to provide a direct reference to the Third Crusade (cf. the gran afar of l. 73)». While this is paleographically not impossible, it is unconvincing, since it is unclear why the army leaders would value him for being «the most ready to acknowledge their failings» or why his own fault (tortz, sg., 76) should be forgiven as a consequence. It is preferable to see lor of the mss. as an example of the use of the personal pronoun lor instead of a reflexive se, si: see Frede Jensen, Syntaxe de l’ancien occitan, Tübingen 1994, § 262. I understand Giraut to be saying he would like Aimar to be especially praised by his loyal subjects, and since he had been particularly generous towards their faults, Giraut expresses the hope that God will in turn forgive his fault. Sharman may possibly be right in seeing the gran afar as an allusion to the Third Crusade: since Giraut appears to have a particular fault (the singular tortz) in mind, perhaps this is Aimar’s failure to go on that crusade, though this can only be a matter of speculation. – For the pleonastic use of non in 70 see Jensen, Syntaxe, §§ 666-672, though the precise nuance is unclear. – Line 85: Sharman’s translation «God’s lance» is a mistake arising from the belief that Aimar went on crusade: see above.

[LP, lb]

BdT    Giraut de Borneil

Songs referring to the crusades