Raimond de Miravals, Miraval, Miravalh

Raimond de Miravals.

I.

Dels quatre mestiers valens,
Per que cavalliers an pretz,
Es belh solatz avinens
Un dels melhors,
E selh cui mielhs acuelh amors;
Per qu' ieu m' esfors ab els et ab chantars,
Cum sobre totz fos grazitz mos affars;
Qu' homs malazautz, sitot s' es pros,
Non es guair' ad ops d' amar bos.

Per domnas desconoissens
Que per un' autra 'n son detz,
S' es alques camjatz mos sens,
Quar las pluzors
No sabon entendre lauzors;
Per qu' ieu non vuelh mos belhs digz plazens cars

Pauzar denan als lurs nescis cuidars,
Pus plazers non es cabalos,
Ans me vir vas autras razos.

Er dirai de mos talens
Qu' estat n' aurai mutz e quetz,
Mentre fui lur bevolens,
M' o tolc temors;
Gardatz s' es ben domneys errors,
Q' uns malapres, vilas, cobes, avars,
Outracuiatz parliers de mals parlars,
Es aculhitz enans que nos;
E quasquna vol n' aver dos.

No vuelh esser conoissens
Dels enjans que tug sabetz,
Don dizon donas que mens
N' es ma valors,
E dels autres domneyadors,
Quar per negun qu' els conogues tan clars
No 'ls agra mais aitan suffertz ni pars;
Mas ades hom n' es negligos
Vas selh que conoys aziros.

Si m' an menat malamens
Donas, e faitz lurs devetz,
Que falhitz m' es essiens
Chans et amors,
Voluntatz, arditz e temors,
Humilitatz e suffrirs e celars,
Parlar per ops, e quan m' es ops, calhars;
Aitals sui francs et amoros
Quar volc ma dona qu' aitals fos.

Ab aitals captenemens
Cum auziretz, si us voletz,
La sai, e sos cors qu' es gens,
E sa valors
Fina ab pauc de preyadors,
Valen e pros, lial ses totz trichars,
Guaya e prezan qu' a penas nulhs lauzars
Pot sos ricx pretz ni sas faisos
Dir en comtans ni ab chansos.

Lials, si m falh amors e domneyars,
Ieu ai chauzit de senhors part mos pars
Mon Audiart, que m' es tan bos
Qu' en sui fis als autres baros.

II.

A penas sai don m' aprenh
So qu' en chantan m' auzetz dir;
Com pieitz trac ni plus m' azir,
Miels en mon chan esdevenh;
Guardatz, quant er qui m n' ensenh,
Si sabrai esdevenir,
Sol ma bona domna m denh,
E nulh' autra no m destrenh,
Ni ses lieys no puesc guerir
De la dolor que sostenh.

Lo plus nescis hom del renh
Que la veya ni remir
Deuria esser al partir
Savis e de belh captenh;
E doncs ieu que l' am ses genh
Be m' en deuria jauzir,
Pos tan gran valor la senh;
E ges de saber no m fenh,
Ni nulh hom no pot falhir
Que de lieys aia sovenh.

Anc a nulh fin amador
No cug mais esdevengues,
Que de domnas no m ven bes,
Ni no m' aus clamar de lor;
Qu' una m tolh lo joy d' alhor
E del sieu no m dona ges,
Ni d' autra non ai sabor;
Pero per la su' amor
Soi plus guays e plus cortes,
E 'n port a totas honor.

Be sai que per sa ricor
Me tol so qu' anc no m promes,
Qu' ieu non soi ges tant apres
Que miey prec m' aian valor;
En aisso paus ma dolor,
Que lai se pausa merces
On falhon tuit validor;
Mas ilh a tan de lauzor
Qu' el bes i es grazis e pres,
E 'l mal en loc de doussor.

Dona, ben cortes jornal
Fa 'l jorn que vos va vezer,
Que ges pueis no s pot tener
Que no us port amor coral;
E non tug per cominal,
Qu' els fals no podon voler
So que volem nos leyal;
Per so viura desleyal
Selh qu' ab enjan no s' esper,
S' aillor non pren son ostal.

Tug li trobador engal,
Segon que an de saber,
Lauzon domnas per plazer,
E non guardon cui ni qual;
Mas qui trop mais que no val
Lauza si dons, fai parer
Qu' esquerns es e non ren al;
Mas ieu n' ai cauzida tal
Qu' om non pot dire mas ver,
Si doncs non dizia mal.

Per qu' ieu non pes de ren al
Mas de servir a plazer
Lieys de cui tenc Miraval.
Deus benediga 'l leyal:
Eu en cort volgra vezer
Cilh cui port amor coral.

III.

D' amor son totz mos cossiriers,
Per qu' ieu no cossir mas d' amor,
E diran li mal parlador
Que d' als deu pensar cavaliers;
Mas ieu dic que no fai mia
Que d' amor mov, qui qu' o dia,
So que val mais a foudat et a sen,
E tot quant hom fai per amor es gen.

Amors a tans de bos mestiers
Qu' a totz fai benestans socor,
Qu' ieu no vey nulh bon servidor
Que non cug esser parsoniers,
Qu' en luec bos pretz no s' abria
Leu, si non ve per amia;
Pueis dizon tug, quant hom fai falhimen,
Be m par d' aquest qu' en donas non enten.

Dona no pot aver estiers,
Si non ama, pretz e valor,
Qu' atressi com li amador
An mais de totz bos aips sobriers,
Selha que trop no s' en tria
En val mais, qui la 'n castia,
Adoncs fai mal, si 'n mielhs no s' en repen;
Mas creire deu adreg castiamen.

Qu' ieu sui mainhtas vetz lauzengiers,
Quar a dona ni a senhor
Non deu consentir deshonor
Negus sos fizels cosselliers;
Non laissarai qu' ieu non dia,
Qu' ieu tos temps non contradia
So que faran domnas contra joven,
Ni m semblara de mal captenemen.

E ja d' aquestz drutz messongiers
Que cuion aver gran lauzor,
Ni dona que s' aten a lor,
Uns per so no m sia guerriers;
Qu' enemics ni enemia
No m notz lo pretz d' una fia,
Sol que m' aia ma dona ferm talen,
E meinhs d' erguelh e mais de chauzimen.

De gaug li fora plazentiers,
Mas trop mi ten en gran error,
Pero per semblan de melhor
N' ai eu loguat cinc ans entiers;
Mas una dona mendia,
Falsa, que dieus la maldia,
Mes entre nos aquest destorbamen,
Don mainhtas vetz n' ai pueys plorat greumen.

Mais D' Amic, dieus benezia
Qui vol que m siatz amia,
E s' ie us ai fag plazer ni onramen
Enquer, si us platz, o farai per un cen.

Mantelh, qui aital n' abria,
Ben er cregutz, quals qu' o dia,
Qu' anc no 'l conques per aur ni per argen,
Mas per valor, e per pretz, e per sen.

Pastoret, no us lauzi mia,
Si dieus vos don joy d' amia,
Qu' a ma dona no mostretz cum l' es gen,
Si Miravalh sap tener franchamen.

Chansoneta, ves mi dons vai corren,
Qu' ilh mante pretz, e renha en joven.

//

Raimon de Miraval(h) (c. 1135/1160 – c. 1220) was a troubadour (fl. 1180–1220) and, according to his vida, "a poor knight from Carcassonne who owned less than a quarter of the castle of Miraval." Favoured by Raymond VI of Toulouse, he was also later associated with Peter II of Aragon and Alfonso VIII of Castile. His senhal for Raymond VI was Audiart.

Raimon has been identified with a person of the same name who undersigned a charter of 1151, which led some to place his birth date as early as c. 1135, while others reject the identification with the Raimon de Miraval of the charter and estimate his birth date at 1160 based on the height of his career c. 1200. That Raimon owned only a quarter of his family's ancestral castle is an indication either of partible inheritance or clan structure. Miraval was captured by Simon de Montfort during the Albigensian Crusade. After the Battle of Muret in 1213 Raimon probably fled to Spain, after swearing never to sing again until he had regained his castle.

At some point he separated from his wife, Gaudairença (or Caudairenga), herself the author of the (now lost) song Coblas e dansas, for uncourtly behaviour. Now a single man, he pursued, with little amatory success but great poetic inspiration, his muses, first Étiennette de Pennautier, wife of Jourdain de Cabaret, “la loba”, the she-wolf, who eventually settled with the Raymond-Roger, Count of Foix, and then with Azalaïs de Boissézon, another married lady, who used his graphic descriptions of her to lure Peter II of Aragon into her bed. 

Of Raimon's works 45 remain, of which 22 have melodies: one of the highest survival rates among troubadours. Most of these works are of the trobar leu style. Raimon addressed many works to one named "Pastoret", but the identification of this person has been problematic, though he is usually identified as Raymond Roger Trencavel. Raimon was admired by contemporaries and by most poets of later generations and he is famous for his handling of the subject of courtly love. Raimon represents a move away from the traditional cansos celebrating the jois d'amor ("joys of love") or amor de lonh ("love from afar"), but rather emphasizing courtliness, honor, and reputation. The highest virtue is faithfulness, but this hinges on courtliness (pretz e valor).Graham-Leigh, Elaine. The Southern French Nobility and the Albigensian Crusade. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2005. ISBN 1-84383-129-5

Taylor, Colin (2018). Lauragais: Steeped in History, Soaked in Blood. Troubador Publishing. ASIN 1789015839.

Topsfield, L. T. "Raimon de Miraval and the Art of Courtly Love." The Modern Language Review, Vol. 51, No. 1. (Jan., 1956), pp 33–41.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/3718257

Topsfield, L. T. (ed). Les Poésies du troubadour Raimon de Miraval. Paris: Les Classiques d'Oc IV, 1971.

http://cunnan.sca.org.au/wiki/Raimon_de_Miraval

http://trobar.org/troubadours/raimon_de_miravalh/