transemacabre | Sensual Medieval Poem of the Day: Bernart de Ventadorn

Bernart de Ventadorn is one of my personal favorite troubadours; his verses are sincere, sweet, and clean. He was one of the troubadours who paid court to Eleanor of Aquitaine, and several of his songs have surviving music. This poem was translated by Ezra Pound.

When I see a lark a-moving
For joy his wings against the sunlight,
Who forgets himself and lets himself fall
For the sweetness which goes into his heart;
Ai! What great envy comes unto me for him whom I see so rejoicing!

I marvel that my heart melts not for desiring.
Alas! I thought I knew so much
Of Love, and I know so little of it, for I cannot
Hold myself from loving
Her from whom I shall never have anything toward.
She hath all my heart from me, and she hath from me all my wit
And myself and all that is mine.
And when she took it from me she left me naught
Save desiring and a yearning heart.

When it comes to love, we are all amateurs (amator, from Latin, "a lover"). Who cannot relate to Bernart's longing for a love that he cannot have? In themes this poem is like an ancestor of Eric Clapton's famous song, "Layla".