GUILLAUME DE CABESTANY
Translated from the Provençal by Eloisa Bressan, July 2016.
I. - I K A B N
Guilhems de Cabestaing si fo us cavaliers de l'encontrada de Rossillon, que confina cum Cataloigna e cum Narbones. Molt fo avinenz e prezatz d'armas e de servir e de cortesia. Et avia en la soa encontrada una domna que avia nom madomna Seremonda, moiller d'en Ramon de Castel Rossillon, qu'era molt rics e gentils e mals e hraus e fers & orgoillos. E Guilhems de Cabestanh si amava la domna per amor e cantava de leis, e fazia sas chansos d'ella. E la domna, qu'era joves e gentils e bella e plasenz, sil volia be major que a re del mon. E fo dit a Ramon del Castel Rossillon, & el, com om iratz e gelos, enqueri lo fait, e saup que vers era, e fetz gardar la moiller fort. E quan venc un dia R. de Castel Rossillon troba passan Guillem senes gran compaignia, & aucis lo; e trais li lo cor del cors, e fetz lo portar a un escudier a son alberc; e fetz lo raustir e far pebrada, e fetz lo dar a manjar a la moiller. Et quant la dona l'ac manjat, en Ramons li dis a cui el fo, & ella, quant o auzi, perdet lo vezer el auzir. E quant ella revenc, si dis: “Senher, ben m'avetz dat si bon manjar que jamais non manjarai d'autre.” E quant el auzi so qu'ella dis, el corec a sa espaza e volc li dar sus la testa, & ella s'en anet al balcon es laisset cazer jos; e fo morta.
Ici s'arretent I K; mais A B N2 continuent :
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Guillaume de Cabestany was a knight from the district of Roussillon, which borders on the districts of Cataluña and of Narbonne. He was very handsome and praised in arms, and chivalry and knightly service. And in his district dwelt a woman named Milady Seremonda, wife of Lord Ramon of the castle of Roussillon, who was very rich and noble and cruel and brusque and haughty and proud. And Guillaume de Cabestany was in love with the woman and sang of her, and composed his songs about her. And the woman, who was young and noble and beautiful and pleasing, loved him more than any other thing in the world. And this was reported to Ramon of the castle of Roussillon and because he was a choleric and a jealous man he made some investigations and discovered that it was true, and he kept a strict watch on his wife. And it happened that one day R. of the castle of Roussillon found Guillaume hawking without many companions, and killed him; and he removed the heart from his body and asked a squire to bring it to his dwelling; and ordered to roast it and to season it with pepper, and to serve it to his wife for dinner. And when the wife ate it, Lord Ramon told her whose heart was that, and when she heard it, she lost the faculties of seeing and hearing. And when she recovered, she said: “Lord, you gave me so good a course that I will never eat anything else.” And when he heard what she said, he raised his sword and wanted to strike her on the head, and she ran to the balcony and let herself fall down; and so she died.
Here stop manuscripts I and K; but A B and N go on:
