GACE BRULE. Thirteenth Century.
The birds, the birds of mine own land
I heard in Brittany;
And as they sung, they seemed to me
The very same I heard with thee.
And if it were indeed a dream,
Such thoughts they taught my soul to frame
That straight a plaintive number came,
Which still shall be my song,
Till that reward is mine which love hath promised long.
—Tr. by Taylor.
RAOUL DE SOISSONS. Thirteenth Century.
Ah! beauteous maid,
Of form so fair!
Pearl of the world,
Beloved and dear!
How does my spirit eager pine
But once to press those lips of thine!—
Yes, beauteous maid,
Of form so fair!
Pearl of the world,
Beloved and dear!
And if the theft
Thine ire awake,
A hundred fold
I'd give it back,—
Thou beauteous maid,
Of form so fair!
Pearl of the world,
Beloved and dear!
—Tr. by Taylor.
LATER FRENCH LYRICS.
During the latter half of the thirteenth century several new and highly artificial forms of verse were developed. The chief of these were the Ballade and Chant Royal, the Rondel, Roudeau, Triolet, Virelay. These are all alike in being short poems, generally treating of love, and making special use of a refrain and the repetition of words and lines. They differ in the number of verses in a stanza, of stanzas In the poem, and the order and number of rhymes. Their poetic value is not great because the poet so easily lost sight of his subject in perfecting his verse form.