Pattison (R. d’Orange, p. 57 and p. 136) suggests that the common literary theme of the troubadours expressed in the poem, whereby humble resignation and patience are recommended to the lover, may well be parodied by Raimbaut d’Orange’s Assatz sai d’amor ben parlar (No. XX, pp. 134-5). In this poem, which is one of Raimbaut’s gaps, the troubadour satirises lightly the accepted code of love by offering advice exactly contrary to it.
6. em-patz. The hyphen is employed to denote that the n of the original en has been assimilated by the following labial (p). (cf. Anglade, p. 188.)
7. s’erguelha. Raynouard translates as ‘s’irrite’ (Lex. Rom., IV, 385). Levy, however, rejects this meaning in favour of ‘is proud, stubborn’ (S. W., V, 520) which seems preferable here.
9. sey. The strong form of the possessive adjective is normally accompanied by the definite article. The two exceptional cases are: (i) when it is used as a predicate pronoun (see IV, l. 55: mieus) and (ii) when it appears, as here, in the nominative masculine plural form ( cf. Altprov. Elem., p. 78).
12. dis. Appel adopts the reading of ER ( ditz), the more usual form of the present tense, which is required here before qu’a fait alhors. It seems reasonable, however, to retain dis, offered by all the other MSS except M, which is independent, as it is an acceptable alternative form of the third present indicative. ( Cf. Grandgent, p. 47; Prov. Chr., 105, l. 14.) Appel’s view of the word is not always consistent, however. He employs it as the present in VII, 12, and, on the other hand, regards it as a significant variant to ditz in some cases but not in others ( cf. IV, ll. 10, 36; V, l. 29).
13. si nonca. Appel chooses the reading si tot non offered by CR only. The equally acceptable version of the ABDIK group is, however, preferred here in view of the support given by EM, which are generally more inclined to CR (see ‘Classification’).
16. fuelh. The reading offered by all the MSS except R, which has an independent line. No other example has been found of this form of the adjective fol. It is used here to fit in with the rhyme scheme and it is interesting to note that it corresponds with the fuelh occurring two stanzas earlier, just as vuelh in l. 30 does with vuelh in l. 44.
Lavaud prefers the version of R (que afolan lur capduelh) the meaning of which, however, remains uncertain. He proposes two possible interpretations: ‘Who destroy their authority’ or ‘Who lose all possession of themselves.’ (Troub. Cant., p. 66.) We have disregarded this reading in view of its independence. It is also worth noting that the presence of afolan may suggest that the scribe has been influenced by fuelh, given by all the other MSS.
22. amors. The usual form of the nominative singular given by most of the MSS is chosen here. CE have the form amor, without the s, which is possibly a Latinism.
25. sostrays. Raynouard (Lex. rom., V, 405) translates the verb by ‘abaisser’. The meaning adopted by Levy (S. W., VII, 846) is, however, more suitable in this instance: ‘treats badly’. Levy comments at some length upon Appel’s reference in the notes to the Italian verb sottrarre (‘to belittle, defame’).
26. si’honors. We have followed DIK ω in eliding the a of sia in order to preserve the correct number of syllables in the line. Cf. note to II, ll. 7 and 10.
27. s’atura. ABDEIKM all have rancura, which was probably a tempting choice for the scribes in that it matches well with sap mal. However, the result is the introduction of a different subject for each verb, whereas s’atura, offered by C, and sap mal both serve the same subject. Although independent, the reading of C is retained in view of the support offered by the slight variations of Rcω.
The literal meaning of s’aturar is ‘to fix, support oneself’. Lines 26 and 27 could therefore be translated as follows: ‘May a small quarrel satisfy their honour (lit. ‘be honour to them’), for if it displeases her and persists she will immediately seek someone who will receive her kindly.’ This interpretation seems preferable to that of Lavaud, who keeps plagz as the subject of sap mal but makes the lady the subject of s’atura: ‘car si cela lui déplaît et qu’elle s’obstine ...’
28. querra. The reading of ABDIKMω is adopted, as it offers the more usual form of the third person future which the meaning demands (cf. Altprov. Elem., p. 104). CERc have queira, which exists as a much rarer form of the future (cf. Anglade, p. 343, note 1). It is primarily, however, the normal form of the third person present subjunctive (cf. Anglade, p. 342; Altprov. Elem., loc. cit.) and may possibly be intended as such in CERc as a result of the influence of the subjunctive acuelha, later in the line, and sia in l. 26.
29. Raynouard (op. cit., v, 195) translates this line as ‘Par ce sens je suis élevé’, taking sens to mean ‘direction’ and élevé to mean ‘brought up’. It seems preferable, however, to interpret it in the following way: ‘By this reasoning I am exalted’. This meaning of sors (past part. of sorzer) is borne out by Levy’s Supplement Wörterbuch (VII, 833), in which Kolsen’s translation of the word appears to be appropriate: ‘gehoben, in gehobener Stimmung’ (‘in high spirits’). Cf. G. de Born., 46, l. 73:
Pois, can fui d’aqui sors,
Tornei vas leis de cors
C’ab bos pretz me retrais
Mans bes que pois m’esfrais
. . .
and Ricketts, G. de Montanhagol, II, l. 11 (p. 49, translation and note, and pp. 52-3). It is also worth noting that Lavaud’s translation is fairly close to this interpretation of the line: ‘Grâce à cette sagesse, je suis placé au faîte’.
31. laidura. The reading offered by all the MSS except C, which is independent here (lidura).
39. The omission of the conjunction que, introducing a consecutive or comparative clause, is frequent in Old Provençal. ( Cf. Altprov. Elem., pp. 133-4.) See also III, l. 60; VII, l. 41; IX, l. 17.
44. vuelh. See note to l. 16.
47. gran. C is again independent (gen). All the other MSS have gran. There is perhaps evidence here of the practice of C’s scribe of attempting to improve on the reading available to him (see Vida). It is quite possible that he chose gen in order to avoid the repetition of gran, which appears in the previous line. It could well be, however, that the repetition of gran was intentional and was meant by the poet to produce an antithesis.
48. per aventura. The reading of the majority of the MSS has been chosen. CR have ab(de) nueg escura and M is independent. Per aventura (‘by chance’) is the standard reading which one would normally expect after such expressions as s’una vetz. The more imaginative version of CR is perhaps the work of the intelligent scribe of C, who would be eager to avoid a cliché of this sort. See note to l. 47.
50. Peir Rogier. The metre requires the whole name to amount to three syllables only. The reading of R is the only one with the correct number but is slightly defective (Peirotgier). All the other MSS have Peire, thus offering four syllables. A slightly amended version of R is therefore adopted. The spelling of Rogier without the s is retained in view of the support given by CM. Further justification for this spelling is provided by the MS readings in II, l. 64. (See note to this line.)
Appel prefers to adapt the reading of ABE (Peire Rotgiers) and DIK (Peire Rogiers) in order to retain the s of the more usual nominative form.
He states (p. 72) that the form Peir is found in St John’s Gospel as a nominative alongside Peire in the accusative. He compares the word to fraire, paire. These were in fact among words which, in certain dialects, particularly in the Haut Limousin and in Gascony, lost the need for the supporting vowel, perhaps as a result of their use as proclitics. The r also often disappeared, resulting in Pei (Pey, Pé), frai, pai, mai. Cf. the Gascon Sempé (< Sanctum Petrum). (Cf. Anglade, p. 123; Grandgent, p. 35.)
51. mals. The more usual nominative form offered by the majority of the MSS is adopted. CIK have mal. For the conversion of Latin neuter nouns to masculine cf. Altprov. Elem., p. 67, and Grandgent, p. 85.
52. rauguelha. For discussion on the etymology of this word, which we translate as ‘has the death rattle’, cf. Appel’s note (p. 73), Levy, S. W., VII, 48, and Meyer-Lübke, Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, p. 588. |
