The French Balades
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Traitié selonc les auctours pour essampler les amantz marietz
- Introduction
- Text and Notes
- I Le creatour de toute creature / The Creator of every creature
- II De l’espirit l’amour quiert continence / From the spirit Love seeks continence
- III Au plus parfit dieus ne nous obligea / God does not compel us to be altogether perfect
- IV Ovesque amour qant loialté s’aqueinte / When Love acquaints itself with Loyalty
- V Grant mervaile est et trop contre reson / It is a great marvel and altogether against reason
- VI Nectanabus, qui vint en Macedoine / Nectanabus — who came into Macedonia
- VII El grant desert d’Ynde superiour / In the vast desert of India the Greater
- VIII Li prus Jason, q’en l’isle de Colchos / The noble Jason — he who on the isle of Colchos
- IX Cil avoltiers qui fait continuance / Those adulterers who persevere
- X La tresplus belle q’unqes fuist humeine / The most beautiful woman who ever was human
- XI Albins, q’estoit un prince bataillous / Albinus, who was a warlike prince
- XII Le noble roi d’Athenes Pandeon / The noble king of Athens, Pandion
- XIII Seint Abraham, chief de la viele loi / The blessed Abraham, head of the Old Law
- XIV Trop est humaine char frele et vileine / Human flesh is exceedingly frail and base
- XV Comunes sont la cronique et l’istoire / Common are the chronicle and the history
- XVI Om truist plusours es vieles escriptures / One finds often in ancient writings
- XVII Amour est dit sanz partir d’un et une / Love is said [to be] a man and a woman without parting
- XVIII En propreteé cil qui del or habonde / Proprietarily, he who by right has gold
- Cinkante Balades
- Introduction
- Text and Notes
- Dedication to King Henry the Fourth
- I Pité, prouesse, humblesse, honour roial / Mercy, prowess, humility, regal honor
- II A vous, mon liege Seignour natural / To you, my benevolent liege lord
Cinkante Balades - I . . . . . . esperance / . . . . . . hope
- II L’ivern s’en vait et l’estée vient flori / The winter goes and the flowery summer comes
- III D’ardant desir celle amorouse peigne / This loving punishment of burning desire
- IV D’entier voloir sanz jammes departir / With a whole desire, unswervingly
- IV* Sanz departir j’ai tout mon coer assis / Unswervingly I have taken you, my beloved
- V Pour une soule avoir et rejoïr / In order to have and give joy to one alone
- VI La fame et la treshalte renomée / The fame and highest renown
- VII De fin amour c’est le droit et nature / Of fin amour it is the law and the nature
- VIII D’estable coer, qui nullement se mue / From the committed heart, which changes not a jot
- IX Trop tart a ceo qe jeo desire et proie / Altogether too late from her whom I desire and petition
- X Mon tresdouls coer, mon coer avetz souleine / My sweetest heart, my heart remains single-minded
- XI Mes sens foreins se pourront bien movoir / My senses are able easily to move themselves far away
- XII La dame a la Chalandre comparer / My lady I can compare to the plover
- XIII Au mois de Marsz, u tant y ad muance / The month of March, where there is so much change
- XIV Pour penser de ma dame sovereine / When I think about my sovereign lady
- XV Com l’esperver qe vole par creance / Like the sparrow hawk that flies with a leash
- XVI Camelion est une beste fiere / The chameleon is a wild beast
- XVII Ne sai si de ma dame la durtée / I do not know if I blame the hardheartedness of my lady
- XVIII Les goutes d’eaue qe cheont menu / Little drops of water that fall
- XIX Om solt danter la beste plus salvage / Customarily one tames the most savage beast
- XX Fortune, om dist, de sa Roe vire ades / Fortune, they say, is always turning her wheel
- XXI Au solail, qe les herbes eslumine / To the sunshine that illumines the plants
- XXII J’ai bien sovent oï parler d’amour / I have often heard good things said about love
- XXIII Pour un regard au primere acqueintance / Thinking back on the first meeting
- XXIV Jeo quide qe ma dame de sa mein / I think that with her hand my lady
- XXV Ma dame, si ceo fuist a vo plesir / My lady, if it might please you
- XXVI Salutz honour et toute reverence / Salutations, honor, and all reverence
- XXVII Ma dame, quant jeo vi vostre oill [vair et] riant / My lady, when I saw your eye blue-gray and laughing
- XXVIII Dame, u est ore celle naturesce / Lady, where is now that gentle nature
- XXIX Par droite cause et par necessité / For a just cause and by necessity
- XXX Si com la Nief, quant le fort vent tempeste / Just as the ship, when the strong wind storms
- XXXI Ma belle dame, bone et graciouse / My beautiful lady, good and gracious
- XXXII Cest aun novell Janus, q’ad double face / It is a new Janus, who has a double face
- XXXIII Au comencer del aun present novell / At the beginning of the present new year
- XXXIV Saint Valentin l’amour et la nature / St. Valentine the love and the nature
- XXXV Saint Valentin plus qe null Emperour / St. Valentine, greater than any emperor
- XXXVI Pour comparer ce jolif temps de Maii / To liken the happy time of May
- XXXVII El Mois de Maii la plus joiouse chose / In the month of May the most joyous thing
- XXXVIII Sicom la fine piere Daiamand / Just as the pure lodestone
- XXXIX En vous, ma doulce dame sovereine / To call you to mind, my sweet, sovereign lady
- XL Om dist, promesses ne sont pas estables / Promises are not stable, it is said
- XLI Des fals amantz tantz sont au jour present / There are so many false lovers today —
- XLII Semblables sont la fortune et les dées / Fortune and dice are similar
- XLIII Plus tricherous qe Jason a Medée / More treacherous than Jason to Medea
- XLIV Vailant, courtois, gentil et renomée / Valiant, courteous, honorable and renowned
- XLV Ma dame, jeo vous doi bien comparer / My lady, I well ought to compare you
- XLVI En resemblance d’aigle, qui surmonte / In resemblance to the eagle, who surmounts
- XLVII Li corps se tient par manger et par boire / The body maintains itself by eating and drinking
- XLVIII Amour est une chose merveilouse / Love is a marvelous thing
- XLIX As bons est bon et a les mals malvois / Good to the good and to the evil, evil
- L De vrai honour est amour tout le chief / Of true honor wholly the chief is Love
- LI Amour de soi est bon en toute guise / Love in itself is good in every guise
- Appendix 1: A Translation of the Traitié (Quixley)
- Appendix 2: A Note on Gower's French
- Bibliography
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