GUILHELM DE SAINT LEIDIER
Translated from the Provençal by Eloisa Bressan, July 2016.
A. B 4 I K E K P Gil.
Guillems de San Leidier fo us rics castelas de Veillac, de l'avescat del Puoi Santa Maria. E fo mot honratz hom e bons cavaliers d'armas, e larcx donaire d'aver, e molt gent ensenhatz e cortes, e molt fis amaire, e molt amatz e grazitz. Et entendet se en la marqueza de Polonhac, qu'era sor del Dalfin d'Alvernhe e de na Sail de Claustra, e moiller del vescomte de Polonhac, En Guillems si fazia sas cansos d'ella e l'amava per amor, & apellava se ab ella Bertran, & ab n'Ugo Marescalc dizia altresi Bertran, qu'era sos compaing e sabia totz los faitz d'en Guillem e de la marquesa: e tut trei si clamavon Bertran l'us l'autre. Esteron en mot gran alegrier lonc temps li trei Bertran; mas Guillems tornet en gran tristessa, car li dui Bertran feiron gran fellonia de lui e gran vilania, si com vos auziretz en la razo de las soas chansos.
1. -ERP.
Dig vos ai d'en Guillem qui fo ni don, e de sa dona, ni com duret lor amors de la marquesa e de lui; e molt l'avion menada avinenmen senes blasme e senes folor, car molt tenion cubert so que fazia a tener cubert & en crezensa. E molt s'alegravon totas las gens de l'amor de lor, per so que maint fait avinen s'en fazion e s'en dision per la lor amor. Et en aquela sazo si avia una dona mot beta e mot ensenhada en Vianes, so era la comtessa de Rossilho'; e tug li gran senhor e baro li portavon mot gran onor; & en Guillems mais que tug, car el la lauzava mot e la vezia voluntiers; e la amava e deleitava se en parlar de lieis, que totz hom crezia que fos sos cavalliers. Ela dona se agradava mot de lui.
Tan s'agradava en Guillems de lieis qu'el n'estava de vezer la marqueza, don ela n'ac gelozia e crezet cert que fos sos drutz, e tota la gens o crezia, mas non era. Tan que la marqueza mandet per n'Uc Marescalc, es clamet a lui d'en Guillem, e dis que vengar se volia d'en Guillem per sen d'en Uc : « Et en aisi qu'ieu vuelh far mon cavallier de vos, per so car sai qui etz, e car non trobaria cavallier quem convengues mais de vos, ni de cui en Guillems degues esser tan iratz com de vos; e vuelh anar en pelerinatge ab vos a Sant Antoni en Vianes; anarai a San Leidier, a maio d'en Guillem, jazer en sa cambra, & el seu leig vuelh que vos jaguatz ab mi.» E can n'Uc o auzi meravilhet se mot forte dis: «Dona, trop me dizetz d'amor, e veus me a tot vostre mandamen.»
La marqueza s'aparelhet gent e be, e mes se en la via ab sas donzelas e sos cavaliers; e venc s'en a San Leidier ei descavalquet. Mais Guillems non era el castel; pero la marqueza fo gent aculhida a sa voluntat; e can ven la nueg colquet ab si n'Uc el lieg d'en Guillem. E si fon saupuda la novela per la terra. E can Guillems o saup, fon trist e dolens, mas no lin volc mostrar brau semblan a la marqueza ni a n'Uc, ans fazia semblan que res non saupes. Mas esforset se fort de servir la comtessa de Rossilho e parti son cor de la marqueza. Et adonc el fetz aquesta chanso que ditz:
Pus tan mi fors' amors que mi fai entremetre.
2. - ERP.
Auzit avetz d'en Guillem de San Leidier qui fo, ni com amet la marquesa de Polonhac. Et ela not volia retener per cavalier, ni far negun plazer en dreg d'amor. Ans, can venc a la parfi, elal dis: «En Guillems, sit vescoms mos maritz nom comandava & nom pregava, nous tenria per mon cavalier ni per mon servidor.» E can Guillems auzi la resposta, fo tristz e marritz; e pesset en cal maneira poiria penre genh que fezes pregar la marqueza a son marit col retengues per son cavalier: & acordet se que fezes un vers en persona del marit, quel maritz pregues sa domna per lui. El vescoms se deleitava mot els cantars d'en Guillem e cantava mot ben e bel; e Guillems si fetz un vers que ditz:
Dona, ieu vos soi messatgiers `
Del vers, & entendrets de cui.
E quant l'ac fag, el lo mostret al vescomte, al marit de la domna, e comtet li la razo per qu'el l'avia fait: qu'una soa domna l'avia dit qu'ela no l'amaria, si non la fazia pregar a son marit. El vescoms fo molt alegres cant auzi lo vers, & apres lo voluntiers; e can be lo saup, cantet lo a sa molher. E la dona entendet lo tan tost, e recordet se de so c'avia promes an Guillem, e dis a si meteisa: «Ueimais nom puesc defendre ad aquest per razo'.» Et a cap de temps Guillems venc vezer sa dona, e dis li co el avia fag son comandamen, e com l'avia fag pregar a son marit e qu'ela, per merce degues obesir als seus preck & ad aquels de son marit. Et adonc la marqueza lo receup per cavalier e per servidor; e lor amors estet & anet si com ai dig en l'autra razo.
***
Guillaume of Saint Leidier
A B a I K E R P Gil.
Guillaume of San Leidier was a rich castellan from Veillac, in the diocese of Puy-Saint-Marie. And he was a very honorable man and a good knight at arms and very generous and he was very cultivated and a good lover, and he loved many times, and people loved him and enjoyed him a lot. And he loved the Marchioness of Polignac, who was the sister of the Dauphin of Auvergne and of Lady Sail of Claustra, and was the wife of the Viscount of Polignac. Lord Guillaume composed his songs about her and loved her truly, and he was called Bertran by her, and he was also called Bertran by Lord Hugh Marescalc, who was his companion and knew everything about him and the Marchioness: and the three of them called each other Bertran. And they spent a long joyful time together, the three Bertran; but Guillaume came to a great suffering, because the two other Bertrans committed a big offence against him, and insulted him much, as you will hear in the razo of his songs.
1. E R P
I already told you about Guillaume that he was a Lord, and I told you about his Lady, and about how the love between the Marchioness and him lasted; and for a long time they led their love story admirably, without faults nor folly, because they hid cautiously all there was to be hidden. And all the people rejoiced of their love, because many upright things were said and done because of their love. And at that time there was a very beautiful and learned Lady in Vienne, who was the Countess of Roussillon; and all the mighty Lords and Barons honored her much; and Lord Guillaume more than the others, because he praised her much and met her with pleasure; and he loved her and enjoyed talking about her, so that everybody thought he was her knight. And the woman much enjoyed his company.
Guillaume enjoyed her company so much that he failed to notice that the Marchioness became jealous of her and believed that he was her lover, and everybody thought he was, although he was not. So the Marchioness sent for Lord Hugh Marescalc and complained with him about Lord Guillaume, and said that she wanted to wreak revenge on Lord Guillaume with the help of Lord Hugh: “And so I want to make you my knight, because I know you well, and because I wouldn’t find a knight that would suit me best, nor whom Lord Guillaume would be so mad at; and I want to go on a pilgrimage with you to Saint Antonin in Vienne; I will go to Saint Leidier, in the house of Lord Guillem, and lie in his room, and I want you to lie with me on his bed.” And when Lord Hugh heard this, he was very surprised, and said: “Milady, you said too many words of love to me, and I vow to do anything you command.”
The Marchioness prepared herself carefully and elegantly and she proceeded with her maids and her knights; and arrived in San Leidier and she got off her horse. Guillaume was not in his castle; the Marchioness, however, was welcomed with courtesy; and when the night came, she lay with Hugh on the bed of Lord Guillaume. And the news spread out everywhere on earth. And when Guillaume knew that, he was sad and sorrowful, but he didn’t want to appear surly to the Marchioness, nor to Lord Hugh, so he pretended that he didn’t know what had happened. But he forced himself to serve the countess of Roussillon and took his distance from the Marchioness. And so he composed this song that says: “Pus tan mi fors’ amors que mi fai entremetre” (“For love forces me so much that he encourages me to try.”)
2. E R P
You heard of who Lord Guillaume of San Leidier was, and how he loved the Marchioness of Polignac. And she wouldn’t want to have him as a knight, nor did she want to give him any signs of love. So, when he came to her to that purpose, she told him: “Lord Guillaume, if the Viscount my husband commanded and requested me to do so, I would accept you as my knight and my servant.” And when Guillaume heard this answer, he was sad and lost; and thought about a trick he could find to make the husband pray the Marchioness to accept him as her knight: and he decided that he should compose a line in the persona of the husband, so that the husband prayed his woman for him. The Viscount greatly enjoyed Lord Guillaume’s singing, and he sang very elegantly himself; and Guillaume composed a line that said: “Dona, ieu vos soi messatgiers/ Del vers, & entendretz de cui” (“Milady, I am a messenger of the poetry, and you will understand of whom.”)
And when he had composed that, he showed it to the Viscount, the lady’s husband, and explained the reason why he had composed that: because a lady had told him she would not love him unless he made her husband plead with her to do so. And the Viscount was very amused when he heard the song, and he learnt it gladly; and when he had learnt it well, he sang that to his wife. And the Lady understood at once, and she remembered what she had asked to Lord Guillaume, and said to herself: “I will never be able to find a reason to oppose to this one.” And after some time, Guillaume came to see his Lady, and told her that he had done as she had commanded, and that he had made his husband entreat her, and that she should have mercy and obey to his and her husband’s prayers. And so the Marchioness accepted him as a knight and as a servant; and their love was and proceeded as I told you in the other razo.
Source
Chabaneau, Camille. Les Biographies des troubadours en langue provençale. Toulouse: Édouard Privat, 1885. 58-60.
