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“La fiance que j’ay en vous” “The trust that I have in you” La fiance que j’ay en vous The trust that I have in you Mon amy sans ung autre eslire my love, without wanting to choose anyone else, Me fait oublier le martire makes me forget the torture Que Jay et tout mon grant courroux that I suffer and all my great anguish. Car une foiz nous verrons nous For one day we will see each other Mais quest ce qui le me fait dire But what is it that tells me that? La fiance The trust Pardieu voire et maugre tous By God! Truly, despite all Ceulx qui ont voulu contredire those who wanted to deny it, Autre que dieu ne nous puet nuyre no one but God can do us harm Car a ce Jay tout mon recours because all my strength comes from this: La fiance The trust

Introduction to the Source

This song has been transcribed from the Chansonnier Nivelle de la Chausée (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Département de Musique, Res. Vmc MS 57), ff.25v-26r. The manuscript can be viewed here. Another version with minor variants and a different final line is contained in London British Library Lansdowne 380.

Introduction to the Text

This anonymous love song comes from a fifteenth-century chansonnier of polyphonic music (music where several voices sing different musical lines at the same time). It is somewhat unusual in that it is written from the perspective of a woman reflecting on the bond she shares with her distant lover.

Credits

Translated by Mae Velloso-Lyons, Transcribed by Mae Velloso-Lyons, Encoded in TEI P5 XML by Jordan Rose-Kaplan