27 per [Dieu] no van] per no uan ms.

English translation [LP]

I. Throughout all the world the people are buzzing, to my delight, as the noble French king wants to wage war overseas against the Turks. It is fitting that he should be supported, for it he can manage to display his flowers there I believe we shall recover the heritage God promised us, as long as we carry out the crusade well, devoutly bearing the holy cross, and [then] we shall save our souls by crusading.
II. I think the holy father will, by means of cardinals, send his power and enormous treasure there where our faith is based, and in addition, I believe, devout confessors who will absolve sinners of all sins, so we all ought willingly to go. We shall see prelates making the passage, members of the religious orders who will go to preach to the Saracens, expounding God’s faith.
III. If our king intends to make the passage, let him summon his people: counts, dukes and marquises, and barons and other subjects, until he has enough of those he judges the best. And as for merchants, burghers and great lords who will not wish to make the voyage with him, let him confiscate resources with which to pay for the crusade, and let him have the treasure of the prelates who damn themselves through their pomp, if they do not go there for God’s sake.
IV. The valiant and worthy English king, ever improving, will do the same, since he is truly schooled in good deeds, for he wishes to resemble his good ancestors; and it seems that he does, because with his allies he has won the homage of the Scots. So he will, I believe, willingly make the passage and will strike the pagans over there with his sword, for they do nothing for God.
V. All I have previously said about the French king the Aragonese king will, I believe, do also, and even better if he can, for he is certainly one of the principal men in whom merit and worth are born. Then, all the kings who have loyal love towards Jesus Christ – who was given as a hostage for our sakes – will willingly go on the crusade together, though the first to begin to do battle there will be the brothers of St John (the Hospitallers).
VI. All those who remain here I advise to pray to God – who died for us – twice or three times a day, that He protect His soldiers, so that crusading thus we may give all our lineage for ever more the land of the treacherous pagans. All that I say, God would bring to pass (?) if the French king adopted the heart of Roland.
VII. I beg my Rose (probably the Virgin Mary) to support the host of Christians who will make the passage, so that with the help of Jesus Christ, the pagans who refuse to be baptised will die at their hands.

Italian translation [lb]

I. In tutto il mondo la gente mormora che il nobile re francese vuole fare la guerra contro i turchi oltremare, cosa di cui mi rallegro, ed è bene che lo si sostenga, perché se si riesce a far sì che egli mostri laggiù i suoi fiori penso che recupereremo l’eredità che Dio ci ha promesso, a patto che si faccia bene la crociata, portando devotamente la santa croce e così, facendo la traversata, salveremo le noste anime.
II. Penso che il Santo Padre invierà, per mezzo dei cardinali, il suo potere e il suo enorme tesoro là dove si fonda la nostra fede, e in più, credo, confessori devoti che assolveranno i peccatori da tutti i peccati, ragion per cui dovremmo tutti andarci volentieri. Vedremo prelati che faranno la crociata, religiosi che andranno laggiù a predicare ai saraceni, esponendo (loro) la fede di Dio.
III. Se il nostro re vuole fare la crociata, mandi la sua gente: conti, duchi e marchesi, baroni e altri sudditi, fino a quando non avrà un numero sufficiente di coloro che egli reputa i migliori. E per quanto riguarda i mercanti, i borghesi e i grandi signori che non vorranno fare il viaggio con lui, egli confischi loro i beni con cui pagare la crociata, e ai prelati, che si condannano (all’inferno) a causa del loro sfarzo, confischi il tesoro, se non vanno laggiù per amore di Dio.
IV. Il valoroso e prode re inglese, che continuamente migliora, farà lo stesso, dal momento che egli è veramente esperto di nobili gesta, perché vuole assomigliare ai suoi buoni antenati; e pare proprio vero (che lo farà), perché con i suoi alleati ha conquistato l’omaggio degli scozzesi. Perciò credo che farà la crociata di buon grado, e laggiù colpirà con la sua spada i pagani, che non fanno nulla per Dio.
V. Tutto ciò che ho detto prima a proposito del re francese lo farà anche il re aragonese, credo, e ancora meglio se può, perché egli è ceramente un grande personaggio da cui sgorgano merito e valore. Infine, tutti i re che hanno un amore leale verso Gesù Cristo – che si è offerto come riscatto per noi – andranno volentieri alla crociata tutti insieme, anche se i primi a cominciare a dare battaglia laggiù saranno i frati di San Giovanni [gli Ospedalieri].
VI. Consiglio a tutti coloro che rimarranno qui di pregare Dio – che è morto per noi – due o tre volte al giorno, affingé protegga i suoi soldati, cosicché, facendo questa crociata, possiamo dare per sempre a tutta la nostra stirpe la terra dei pagani traditori. Tutto quello che dico, Dio lo farebbe prima (oppure accadrebbe più in fretta?), se il re francese avesse il coraggio di Orlando.
VII. Prego la mia Rosa [la Vergine Maria?] affinché sostenga l’esercito dei cristiani che faranno la crociata, in modo che, con l’aiuto di Gesù Cristo, i pagani che rifiuteranno di battezzasi moriranno per mano loro.

Catalan translation [MN]

I. Per tot el món la gent va murmurant, de la qual cosa m’alegro, que el noble rei francès vol guerrejar amb els turcs a ultramar, i convé que hom li doni suport ja que si arribar a desplegar allí les seves flors, crec que nosaltres cobrarem l’herència que Déu ens va prometre, si fem bé la croada, portant devotament la santa creu, i així, anant a la croada, salvarem les nostres ànimes.
II. El pare sant enviarà, mitjançant cardenals, el seu poder i grandíssim tresor, em penso, allí on pren fonament la nostra fe, i encara més, crec que enviarà confessors devots que absoldran els pecadors de qualsevol pecat, per la qual cosa tots hi hem d’anar de grat. Veurem prelats que faran la croada, religiosos que aniran allí a predicar als sarraïns, mostrant-los la fe de Déu.
III. Si el nostre rei té intenció d’anar-hi, que enviï les seves gents: comtes, ducs i marquesos, i barons i altres súbdits fins que en tingui suficients dels que vegi millors. I als mercaders, burgesos i grans senyors que no vulguin fer el viatge amb ell, que els confisqui béns per pagar la croada, i dels prelats que es condemnen per l’ostentació que en prengui el tresor, si no hi van per amor de Déu.
IV. Així mateix ho farà, sempre millorant, el valent i coratjós rei anglès, que és verdaderament coneixedor de bones gestes, ja que es vol assemblar als seus bons avantpassats, i sembla que és així, perquè amb els seus aliats ha guanyat el domini sobre els escocesos, per la qual cosa crec que farà la croada de bon grat i allí atacarà amb la seva espasa els pagans, que no fan res per Déu.
V. Tot això que abans he dit del rei francès, ho farà, crec, el rei aragonès, i encara millor si pot, perquè ell certament és dels principals d’on neix el mèrit i el valor. Després, tots els reis que tenen amor lleial per Jesucrist – que es va oferir com a hostatge per nosaltres – faran tots junts i de cor la croada, però allí començaran a lluitar primerament els frares de Sant Joan.
VI. A tots aquells que romandran aquí els aconsello que preguin cada dia dues o tres vegades a Déu – el qual va morir per nosaltres –, per tal que protegeixi els seus soldats, de tal manera que fent aquesta croada puguem donar per sempre més a tot el nostre llinatge el país dels pagans mentiders. Tot això que dic es faria amb Déu davant si el rei francès encarnés el coratge de Rotllà.
VII. A la meva Rosa prego que mantingui la host dels cristians que faran la croada, de tal manera que, amb l’ajut de Jesucrist, els pagans que no es batejaran morin a les seves mans.

Text: Marina Navàs, Rialto 19.iv.2017.

Ms.: t1 37v (frayre Ramon de Cornet. Sirventes).

Critical edition: Jean-Baptiste Noulet, Camille Chabaneau, Deux ms. provençaux du XIVe siècle contenant des poésies de Raimon de Cornet, de Peire Ladils et d’autres poètes de l’École Toulousaine, Montpellier-Paris 1888 (Genève-Marseille 1973), pp. 82-83, n. A, XLI; review Oskar Schultz-Gora, Zeitschrift für romanische Philologie, 12, 1888, pp. 542-543.

Other editions: Jean-Baptiste Noulet, «Recherches sur l’état des lettres romanes, dans le Midi de la France, au XIVe siècle, suivies d’un choix de poésies inédites de cette époque», Mémoires de l’Académie royale (impériale, nationale) des sciences, inscriptions et belles-lettres de Toulouse, 5, 1860, p. 22; Alfred Jeanroy, «La poésie provençal dans le Sud-Ouest de la France et en Catalogne du début au milieu du XIVe siècle», Histoire littéraire de la France, 38, 1949, pp. 1-138 (pp. 39-40).

Versification: 10a 10b 10b 10c 10c 10d’ 10d’ 10a 10a (Frank 706:n.); -an, -es, -ors, -atge; six coblas caudadas unissonans of nine lines and one four-line tornada. Rhyme-word passatge at the seventh line of each stanza. Similar versification occurs in BdT 167.59 (Gaucelm Faidit) and BPP 558.5 (Raimon de Cornet).

Notes: The text indicates that at the time of its composition there was general excitement at the prospect of a new crusade (vv. 1-3), though preparations were yet to get under way (vv. 10-27), and that with his allies the English king (Edward III) had recently won the homage of the Scots (vv. 32-33). Philip VI of France took the cross in 1313, and by February 1329 rumours reached Venice that he was interested in going on crusade to Outremer. On 5 December 1331, at the request of the French, Pope John XXII instructed the French episcopate to preach the cross throughout the kingdom, to collect donations and to institute special weekly masses to be sung on behalf of the crusade, and between 1331 and 1336 Philip proclaimed the recovery of the Holy Land as his chief ambition. On 25 July 1332 repeated his intention of going on crusade himself, and 2 October 1332 he formally announced his determination to this effect in the Sainte Chapelle (Christopher J. Tyerman, «Philip VI and the Recovery of the Holy Land», The English Historical Review, 100, 1985, pp. 25-52, on pp. 25-29). Nothing in these details of Philip’s crusading intentions points conclusively to a date of composition, but the terminus ante quem is the summer of 1336 when he cancelled his crusade. The reference to the English king winning the homage of the Scots points to two possible dates. The first is after 11 August 1332, when Edward Balliol with Edward III’s connivance won the battle of Dupplin Moor to assume the throne of Scotland, and before 23 November of that year, when letters patent state that Balliol recognised that Scotland was held of the king of England and had already performed homage and sworn fealty (Ranald Nicholson, Edward III and the Scots, Oxford 1965, p. 97). Balliol and his supporters were expelled again in December 1332 (Tyerman, p. 31), but gained a second victory at the battle of Halidon Hill on 19 July 1333, and Balliol paid homage to Edward once again, nearly a year later, on 19 June 1334 (Nicholson, p. 162). Since the earlier date coincides with Philip’s formal announcement of his crusading intentions it seems most likely that the general buzzing of excitement to which Raimon de Cornet refers to the end of 1332 or early 1333 (LP). – Line 5, sas flors: the fleurs-de-lis of the arms of France. – Line 27: we adopt the Noulet-Chabaneau emendation of this hypometric line. As a secondary emendation they also proposed per[o] in a note. – Line 32-33: sos valedors are no doubt Edward Balliol (future King of Scotland from 1332 to 1336) and the Scottish ‘disinherited’ that helped Edward III to invade Scotland since 1332 and defeated King David II loyalists. – Line 38: Alfons IV, king of Aragon 1327-1336. – Line 42: alternatively, e·s mes, ‘and made himself’. – Lines 44-45: the Knights Hospitaller occupied the island of Rhodes in 1309, under Helion de Villeneuve’s command, and they were considered as the avant-garde of the proposed combined attack.

[MN, LP, lb]

BdT    Raimon de Cornet

Songs referring to the crusades