Ara pot hom conoisser e proar By: Raimbaut de Vaqeiras

Editions

Singable Translation PDF By: Carol Anne Perry Lagemann (CC BY SA 4.0)

Info

Number of Voices: 1
Voicings: S , A , T , B
Date: 12th century
Language: Occitan
Tags: translation religious trobar canso canso de crozada war song Chansonnier La Vallière

Lyrics

LyricsPoetic Translation
Ara pot hom conoisser e proarMighty the bounty that for a great feat
Que de bos faitz rend Dieus bon guizerdon,Comes from our God, it is proven and known:
C'al pro marques n'a faich esmend' e don,To the Marquis He gave honors to own,
Q'el fai son pretz sobre.ls meillors pojarHe who by merit the best would defeat.
Tant qe.il crozat de Frans' e de CampaignaFor the crusaders of France's foundation
L'an quist a Dieu per lo meillor de totzAnd of Champagne have asked God that he might
E per cobrar lo sepulcr' e la crotzWin back the cross and the sepulcher's site,
On Jhesus fon, q'el vol en sa compaignaWhere Jesus was; the Marquis's aspiration
L'onrat marques, et a.il Dieus dat poderIs to serve Jesus, and God him has brought
De bons vassals e de terr' e d'averVassals and riches and land by the lot
E de ric cor per far miels so que.il taigna.And a brave heart to meet this obligation.
Tant a d'onor e vol honratz estarSo great his honor, his faith so replete,
Q'el honra Dieu e pretz e messionValuing merit, largesse, and God's Throne,
E si mezeis, que s'eron mil baronAlso himself; if the barons were grown
Ensems ab lui, de totz si sap honrar,Thousands, them all he'd in honor defeat.
Q'el honra.ls sieus et honra gen estraigna,He treats the stranger as his own relation:
Per q'es desus qan l'autre son desotz;Praise him when all other men we indict.
C'a tal honor a levada la crotzHe wears the cross with such honor and right,
Que non par ges mais honors li sofraigna,He is of honor the right culmination;
C'ad honor vol est segl' e l'autr' aver,Since for this world and the next he has fought.
E Dieus a.l dat forssa, geing e saberStrength, wit, and learning by God he was taught
Co.ls ai' amdos, e tant qant pot s'en laigna.To win them both, and he strives in elation.
Cel qui fetz air' e cel e terr' e marHe Who made sky, earth, and sea, snow and sleet,
E freig e caut e ploi' e vent e tronCold, heat, and rain, wind and thunder, alone
Vol q'el sieu guit passon mar tuich li bon,Wants to lead good men to countries unknown
Si cum guidet Melchion e GasparAs He led magi to Bethlehem sweet,
En Bethleem, que.l plan e la montaignaSince the Turks hold from us most of creation,
Nos tolen Turc, e Dieus no.n vol dir motz.Meadows and mountains, in God's silent sight.
Mas a nos taing, per cui fo mes en crotz,God for us died; it befits us to smite
Que lai passem, e qui que sai remaignaHis foreign foes; he who feels hesitation,
Vol s'avol vid' e sa greu mort vezer,Pitiful life, sorry death are his lot,
Q'en laig pechat estam c'om deu temer,For in our filthiest sins we are caught,
Don qecs er soutz si.n flum Jordan si baigna.And in the Jordan is found our salvation.
Dieus si laisset vendre per nos salvar,For us, our God faced dishonor complete,
E.n soffri mort e.n receup passion,Suffered and died without murmur or groan,
E l'auniront per nos Juzeu fellon,Taunted by fiendish Jews all alone,
E.n fon batutz e liatz al pilar,Bound to a pillar and whipped in the street,
E.n fon levatz el trau q'er' en la faignaRaised on a beam in the mud's desolation,
E correjatz de correjas ab nozLashed with the scourge and its barbs that will bite,
E coronatz d'espinas en la crotz:And crowned with thorns on the cross for our plight:
Per q'a dur cor totz hom qe.l dan non plagnaHard-hearted he who feels no indignation
Qe.ns fant li Turc que volont retenerFor the Turks' keeping the land that God sought,
La terr' on Dieus volc mortz e vius jazer,Living and dying on that very spot.
Don nos n'eschai grans gerr' e grans mesclaigna.We must wage war in this great confrontation.
Mas tant nos fai nostre pechatz torbarSin thwarts us so we are dead on our feet:
Que mort vivem e non sai dire com,Dead, for no creature of muscle and bone
C'un non i a tant gaillart ni tant pro,Can be so brave that if joy he has known
Si a un gauch non ai' autre pesar,Somewhere in life, he no sorrows will meet,
Ni es honors q'ad anta no s'afraigna,And every honor becomes degradation;
Car contr'un gauch a.l plus rics mil corrotz.For every pleasure, a thousand griefs blight.
Mas Dieus es gaugz per c'om si seign' en crotz,But Him we worship is joy and delight;
Per que non pot perdre qui lui gazaigna!Gain him and never can loss bring frustration!
Per q'ieu am mais, s'a lui ven a plazer,So I would rather, if God think I ought,
De lai morir que sai vius remanerDie there than stay here, still living but caught,
En aventura, fos mi' Alamaigna.Even were Germany mine, in temptation.
Nostr' estol guit sains Nicholaus de Bar,Nicholas, Saint, lead the front of our fleet;
E.il Campanes dreisson lor gonfanon,Men of Champagne lift their brave gonfalon,
E.l marques crit Monferrat e.l leon,"Monferrat!" comes the Marquis's baritone,
E.l coms flamencs Flandres als grans colps dar,"Flanders!" the Flemish counts proudly repeat;
E fieira.i qecs d'espaz' e lansa.i fraigna,Let each with sword and with lance wreak damnation.
Que leu aurem los Turcs totz mortz e rotzSoon we'll have all the Turks dead or in flight
E cobrarem en camp la vera crotzAnd with the cross we once lost reunite!
C'avem perdut! e.il valen rei d'EspaignaLet the brave kings of Spain make preparation,
Fassant grans ostz sobre.ls Maurs conquerer,Gather their troops that the Moors may be fought,
Que.l marques vai ost e setge tenerSince the Marquis siege the Sultan has brought;
Sobre.l soudan e pass' en breu Romaigna.Now through Romagna he brings devastation.
Nostre Senher nos mand' e.ns ditz a totzOur Lord's commands and advice us invite
Qu'anem cobrar lo sepulcr' e la crotz!To win the cross and the sepulcher's light!
E qui volra esser de sa companhaIf you would serve in the holy formation,
Mueira per lui, si vol vius remanerDie for your Lord, for your life God has bought;
Em paradis, e fassa som poderParadise waits: cross the sea, kill the lot,
De passar mar e d'aucir la gen canha.And rid the world of the dogs' infestation.
Bels Cavalliers, per cui fatz sos e motz,Beautiful Knight, for whom verses I write,
Non sai si.m lais per vos o.m leu la crotz,Shall I remain here with you or go fight?
Ni sai cum an ni sai comen remigna,How to leave? How to stay? This vacillation
Que tant mi fai vostre bels cors plazerIs the effect of your form on my thought:
Q'ieu muor s'ie.us vei e, qand no.us puosc vezer,I die if I see you; I die if not;
Cuich morir sols ab tot' autra compaigna.Death far from you is my one tribulation.
Raimbaut de VaqueirasCarol Anne Perry Lagemann

Direct Translation

See Leonardo Malcovati's work at Trobar.org.