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I. Do un consiglio all’imperatore, dal momento che dirige tutti i suoi affari su consiglio, e non farebbe altro che quello che i suoi consiglieri vogliono fargli dire e fare: e gli consiglio, se egli aspira all’eccellenza, di fare doni da ora in poi senza consiglio; e senza consigliarsi con i suoi baroni accetti il consiglio del più degno, perché questo è un consiglio adatto a un imperatore.
II. Dato che gli consiglio ciò che gli porterà onore, mi creda o no, come preferisce; e se il siniscalco e Conone del Consiglio Privato non se la prendono, sarò un buon consigliere, e consiglierò a entrambi, quando consiglieranno il loro signore, di consigliargli di distribuire ricchi doni; ma non so se quei due mi ascolteranno, e non posso costringerli a farlo.
III. Ma se non si sviluppa bene fin dal fiore, il frutto potrebbe rivelarsi marcio; e faccia attenzione a non rovinarsi con le sue mani, perché egli è assurto a grande onore, ed è bello e di buon lignaggio; e se è disposto ad ascoltare le mie parole non ne trarrà mai vergogna né danno; ne otterrà invece grande onore e profitto, perché se egli abbandona coloro che stanno con lui, questi saranno poco propensi ad appartenere alla sua casa.
IV. Non deve temere né il freddo né il caldo, né prendere bagni o riposarsi nel suo palazzo, dato che si è caricato un tale peso sulle spalle che senza grande valore sarà difficile portare a termine la cosa. I Valacchi e i Cumani e i Russi, i Turchi e i pagani e i Persiani saranno contro di lui, con i Greci; e se non sopporta l’onere per la gloria, può disfare tutto quello che ha fatto.
V. Perché noi e lui siamo tutti colpevoli per i monasteri e i palazzi bruciati, e di questo peccato vedo macchiarsi chierici e laici; e se non soccorre il Sepolcro, e se le nostre conquiste non fanno progressi, il nostro peccato contro Dio sarà maggiore, perché il perdono si trasformerà in peccato; ma se egli è liberale e coraggioso, può facilmente condurre il suo esercito a Babilonia e al Cairo.
VI. Egli ha bisogno di mostrare tutta la sua forza e il suo vigore ai Turchi al di là di Edessa, perché tutti i sultani e i cadì e gli emiri e i califfi lo stanno aspettando per scagliargli (contro) lance e proiettili; e la colpa cadrà su Névelon, e accuseranno i dodici elettori se il Sepolcro rimarrà prigioniero; e il Doge sarà accusato di inganno se cercherà di dissuaderlo dal portare questo aiuto.
VII. Vorrei far pervenire il mio consiglio al maresciallo, che è leale e buono; ma io me la prenderò con lui e con Milone di Brabante se l’Imperatore non si dimostra il più valoroso [...] e liberale e nobile.
I. I offer counsel to the emperor, since he conducts all his affairs by council, and would not do anything other than his councillors would have him say and do: and if he aspires to excellence I counsel him to make gifts from now on without counsel; and without consulting his barons’ council let him accept the counsel of the worthiest man; for this is counsel fit for an emperor.
II. Since I counsel him what will bring him honour, let him believe me or not as he pleases; and if the seneschal and Conon of the Privy Council are not vexed, I shall be a good counsellor, and I shall counsel both of them, when they counsel their lord, to counsel him to give rich gifts; but I do not know whether the two of them will heed me, and I am hardly forcing them to do so.
III. But if the fruit does not develop well in the flower it may prove rotten; and let him take heed not to decline to his own detriment, for he has risen to great honour, and is handsome and of good lineage; and if he is willing to heed my words there will never be shame or harm in them; instead there will be great honour and profit, for if he abandons those who stand by him they will be reluctant to belong to his house.
IV. Let him fear neither cold nor heat, or take baths and rest in his palace, as he has taken such a weight upon his shoulders that without great valour it will be hard for him to bring matters to a conclusion. The Vlachs and the Cumans and the Russians, the Turks and Pagans and Persians will be against him, with the Greeks; and if he does not suffer the burden for glory, he may undo everything he has done.
V. For he and we are all guilty of burning monasteries and palaces, and I see both clergy and laymen sin in this; and if he does not assist the Sepulchre, and if our conquest does not make progress, our sin against God will be all the greater, for the pardon will turn to sin; but if he is liberal and courageous, he can very easily take his armies to Babylon and Cairo.
VI. He needs to display all his might and strength to the Turks beyond Edessa, for all the sultans and cadis and emirs and caliphs are waiting for him to hurl lances and fire missiles; and Névelon will be accused, and they will blame the twelve electors, if the Sepulchre remains in captivity; and the Doge will be accused of deceit if he tries to divert him from bringing this assistance.
VII. I wish to make my counsel known to the marshal, who is loyal and good; but I shall blame him and Milon of Brabant if the Emperor is not most valiant [...] and liberal and noble.
13. The seneschal is Thierry of Loos, appointed to the office on the establishment of the new régime, and frequently mentioned by Villehardouin in his chronicle alongside Conon de Béthune, Milon of Brabant and the chronicler himself, «i.e. precisely those leading members of the court who are also mentioned in our poem» (Linskill, p. 230).
14. Conon de Béthune, trouvère, one of the leading diplomats of the crusade. Linskill (p. 230, n. 14) suggests that the cosseil major was probably the small Privy Council, consisting of the Emperor’s officials and intimate friends, as distinct from the general council of the barons.
30. I understand the sense to be essentially the one proposed by Crescini, «mal troverà chi si faccia di sua casa», though take the subject of venran to be cels q’ab lui estan of the previous line rather than to be indefinite, as he suggested: see Linskill’s note on p. 231. Linskill translates «men will be slow to become his servants».
36-37. For details of these groups see Linskill, p. 231.
41-43. For details of the pillaging of Constantinople «which outraged the Christian conscience of both West and East» see Linskill’s notes on p. 232, observing that Robert de Clari relates how the clerics successfully claimed the same rights as the knights to a share of the booty.
55. Linskill, «are hoping to wield lances and hurl missiles», presumably taking n’ to refer to the idea of vv. 51-52, which is also possible.
56-57. Bishop Névelon of Soissons was one of the leading churchmen of the Fourth Crusade, and one of the twelve representatives of the crusaders and the Venetians chosen to elect the first Latin emperor. For this and further details concerning the establishment of the text here and the logical mismatch in speaking of Névelon and the twelve electors, see Linskill’s note, p. 233.
59. The Doge of Venice, Enrico Dandolo, and the Venetians were widely suspected among the crusaders of being more concerned with their financial interests than furthering the crusading cause. For further details see Linskill, p. 234.
61. The marshal is the chronicler Geoffrey of Villehardouin, Marshal of Champagne and Romania, and a leading military and diplomatic figure of the Fourth Crusade.
63. Milon of Brabant was an influential member of Baldwin’s court: for further details see Linskill, p. 234, who notes that «Like the Marshal, he played a leading part in the events of the Crusade as diplomat and solider, and is constantly coupled with him (and frequently also with Conon of Béthune)».
Edition: Joseph Linskill 1964; english translation and notes: Linda Paterson; italian translation: Luca Barbieri. – Rialto 18.iii.2014.
a1 340 (Reambaut de vacheiras).
Critical editions: Vincenzo Crescini, «Rambaldo di Vaqueiras a Baldovino Imperatore», Atti del Reale Istituto Veneto, 60/2, 1900-1901, pp. 871-917, p. 873 (Italian translation); Joseph Linskill, The Poems of the Troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, The Hague 1964, p. 225 (English translation).
Other editions: Vincenzo De Bartholomaeis, Poesie provenzali storiche relative all’Italia, 2 voll., Rome 1931, vol. I, p. 109 (on Crescini, Italian translation).
Versification: a8 b8 b8 a8 c7’ d8 e8 d8 e8 c7’ (Frank 650:2), -or, -ais, -aire, -os, -an. Six coblas unissonans and one five-line (incomplete) tornada. The only other song with this versification is a tenso of Folquet de Marselha and Raimon de Miraval, BdT 155.24 = 444.1, which has the same rhymes and is no doubt the model for this piece.
The sirventes dates from June or July 1204, shortly after the conquest of Constantinople and the establishment of the Latin empire in May 1204, and before Boniface took over the kingdom of Salonika at the beginning of September. Raimbaut, expressing the point of view of his patron Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, was deeply disappointed that Baldwin of Flanders had been elected emperor instead of Boniface, and resented Baldwin’s delay in honouring his promise to the marquis concerning Salonika. At this point the negotiations over this were proving difficult, and «the Emperor’s councillors, a powerful body which could not be ignored, were urging him to break his promise to Boniface [...]. The settlement of the dispute in Boniface’s favour was apparently effected in precisely the way advocated by the poet» (Linskill, p. 229 and p. 230, n. 7-10).