Analysis of Era.m conseillatz

Bernard de Ventadorn 1135 – 1194



Era.m cosselhatz, senhor,
vos c'avetz saber e sen:
una domna.m det s'amor,
c'ai amada lonjamen;
mas eras sai de vertat
qu'ilh a autr'amic privat,
ni anc de nul companho
companha tan greus no.m fo.

D'una re sui en error
e.n estau en pensamen:
que m'alonje ma dolor,
s'eu aquest plai li cossen,
e s'aissi.l dic mon pessat,
vei mon damnatge doblat.
Cal que.n fassa o cal que no,
re no posc far de mo pro.

E s'eu l'am a dezonor,
esquerns er a tota gen;
e tenran m'en li pluzor
per cornut e per sofren.
E s'aissi pert s'amistat,
be.m tenh per dezeretat
d'amor, e ja Deus no.m do
mais faire vers ni chanso.

Pois voutz sui en la folor,
be serai fols, s'eu no pren
d'aquestz dos mals lo menor;
que mais val, mo essien,
qu'eu ay' en leis la meitat
que.l tot perda per foldat,
car anc a nul drut felo
d'amor non vi far so pro.

Pois vol autre amador
ma domn', eu non lo.lh defen;
e lais m'en mais per paor
que per autre chauzimen;
e s'anc om dec aver grat
de nul servizi forsat,
be dei aver guizerdo
eu, que tan gran tort perdo.

De l'aiga que dels olhs plor,
escriu salutz mais de cen,
que tramet a la gensor
et a la plus avinen.
Mantas vetz m'es pois membrat
de so que.m fetz al comjat:
que.lh vi cobrir sa faisso,
c'anc no.m poc dir oc ni no.

Garsio, ara.m chantat
ma chanso, et la.m portat
a mo Messager, qu'i fo,
q'elh quer cosselh qu'el me do.

(Now give me counsel, Lords, you who are wise and intelligent. A lady, whom I long loved, gave me her love. But now I know for sure that she has another lover in secret, and never the company of another companion was so hard to bear.
One thing makes me out of sorts and pensive: that I prolong my suffering if I agree to this case. And if I say what I think, I see my injuries doubled. Whatever I do, or don't do, I can't accomplish for my own good.

And if I love her in dishonor, I shall be scorned by all; and the majority will consider me a passive cuckold. But if I lose her friendship, I hold myself disinherited by love, and may God never permit me again to compose verses and songs.

Since I am involved in madness, I should be mad if I did not chose the lesser of these two evils. for it is better, in my opinion, to have half of her than to loose everything through folly; for I have never seen an unfaithful lover win out for himself in love.

Since you want another lover, my lady, I shall not forbid it. And I agree more from fear than from anything else. And if ever someone should be grateful for forced labor, I should be rewarded, who have pardoned so great a wrong.

With the water that flows from my eyes, I send greetings, more than a hundred, that I transmit to the most fair and noble one. Often do I remember what she would do on parting -- how she would cover her face, so that she would be saying neither yes nor no.

Garsio, now go and sing my song, and bring it to my Messenger, who was there, and to whom I demand what counsel he [she] would give.)


Scheme ABABCCXD ABABCCEA ABABCCCF ABABCCXA ABABCCCC ABABCCFE CCDC AC F D X E D
Poetic Form
Metre 111 111011 1011110 1111 110111 1011 11111 11111 110110110 1111 1111 11111 11111 1111 1111111 1111111 111101 100101 111111 11111 1111 1111 11011111 11111 1110111 111111 111110 11111 111111 11111 110111 11011111 11110 111111 1111111 1111 1111101 1111 11101 111111 111111 11111 11011 10111 111111 111111 11111 1111111 111 11111 011111 1111111 11110111110010001011111101111111111010100100100100101001011111 11111110101101110011011110111111111100101011111110101111 011100010111111000100101010101111101011111101110011011011001 1110101011111111101011110111100101011110111101101111011010101110101 11101010110111011010111111101011011110111011101011101101 101011111111011010110110110101101101011111101111001111111010111 1110111011111001110111011101111
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 2,860
Words 592
Sentences 42
Stanzas 13
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 4, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
Lines Amount 59
Letters per line (avg) 37
Words per line (avg) 10
Letters per stanza (avg) 169
Words per stanza (avg) 44
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

3:06 min read
53

Bernard de Ventadorn

Bernart de Ventadorn, also known as Bernard de Ventadour or Bernat del Ventadorn, was a prominent troubadour of the classical age of troubadour poetry. He was born in 1135, and died in 1194. Now thought of as "the Master Singer" he developed the cançons into a more formalized style which allowed for sudden turns. He is remembered for his mastery as well as popularisation of the trobar leu style, and for his prolific cançons, which helped define the genre and establish the "classical" form of courtly love poetry, to be imitated and reproduced throughout the remaining century and a half of troubadour activity. Bernart was known for being able to portray his woman as a divine agent in one moment and then, in a sudden twist, as Eve – the cause of man's initial sin. This dichotomy in his work is portrayed in a "graceful, witty, and polished" medium. more…

All Bernard de Ventadorn poems | Bernard de Ventadorn Books

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