Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 December 2024
IN THE NAME of God the Creator,
Who grants by his great beneficence
That we may give our souls back to him,
4 I would like to do my best to rhyme.
I, who did Ogier le Danois
And Berte, who was in the woods,
And Buevon de Conmarchis,
8 Have once again undertaken another book,
Most marvellous and most singular.
May God grant that each line, one and all, be such
That I will not be blamed and reproached!
12 The story is of very great value
And most gracious to hear.
It is so extraordinary and marvellous
That I believe never has anyone heard
16 So strange a one as this.
I am greatly concerned about bringing this project
To a satisfactory conclusion,
But it gives me comfort
20 That they have seen fit to ask me
To learn this story
And to undertake to put it into rhyme.
They are two ladies in which dwell the perfection
24 Of wisdom, beauty, and valour.
I do not want to say their names openly,
For I love their country and fear their anger
So that I know well that I would die
28 Of sorrow if I should say or do
Anything that they do not want or intend.
For that reason their names will be given,
If I can do so, so covertly
32 That people cannot identify
Their names, when they read them
If one does not show them where they are.
Look at the end of this book,
36 If you believe you know the names
Of the ladies of whom you hear me speaking.
They are there if you want to find them.
You can look for them there if you like.
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