Bels dous amics, ben vos posc en ver dir
que anc non fo qu’ieu estes ses desir
pos vos conven que.us tene per fin aman;
These words of love are nearly a thousand years old.
Bels Dous Amics uses the fragmented lyrics of the only surviving poem of the earliest known trobairitz, Tibors de Sarenom, 1130 – aft. 1198. She tells about her handsome lover, and how she has no desire but him.
A dear friend sent me Meg Bogin’s “The Women Troubadours” which arrived today in the mail. This is the first piece. My pronunciation of the medieval Occitan (the pronunciation of which is very similar to Spanish) is likely a bit historically sketchy. The modes are ancient, but the tune is ahistorical. That said, I can easily see this courtly lady in a large hall, a lyre or harp in her hand, singing or reciting these words with no one to hear– much as it was for me recording this work.
I decided to take the unfinished lyric and reverse it to complete my version. It takes the poetic segments A, B, C which, for my version, become A, B, C, B, A.
Learn more about Tibors here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tibors_de_Sarenom
Lyrics
Bels dous amics, ben vos posc en ver dir
que anc non fo qu’ieu estes ses desir
pos vos conven que.us tene per fin aman;
ni anc no fo qu’ieu non agues talan,
bels dous amics, qu’ieu soven no.us vezes;
ni anc no fo sazons que m’en pentis,
ni anc no fo, se vos n’anes iratz,
qu’ieu agues joi tro que fosetz tornatz;
ni anc no fo qu’ieu non agues talan,
bels dous amics, qu’ieu soven no.us vezes;
Bels dous amics, ben vos posc en ver dir
que anc non fo qu’ieu estes ses desir
pos vos conven que.us tene per fin aman.
Translation: Meg Bogin, 1976
Sweet handsome friend, I can tell you truly
that I’ve never been without desire
since it pleased you that I have you as my courtly lover;
nor did a time ever arrive, sweet handsome friend,
when I didn’t want to see you often;
nor did I ever feel regret,
nor did it ever come to pass, if you went off angry,
that I felt joy until you had come back;
nor did a time ever arrive, sweet handsome friend,
when I didn’t want to see you often;
Sweet handsome friend, I can tell you truly
that I’ve never been without desire
since it pleased you that I have you as my courtly lover;