Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Bertran de Born: a Provencal troubadour who composed both love and political songs

The Lord of Oc and No

  • The Lord of Oc and No
  • The beautiful spring delights me well,
  •   When flowers and leaves are growing;
  • And it pleases my heart to hear the swell
  •   Of the birds’ sweet chorus flowing
  •           In the echoing wood;
  • And I love to see, all scattered around,
  • Pavilions, tents, on the martial ground;
  •           And my spirit finds it good
  • To see, on the level plains beyond,
  • Gay knights and steeds caparison’d.
  • It pleases me when the lancers bold
  •   Set men and armies flying;
  • And it pleases me to hear around 
  •   The voice of the solders crying;
  •           And joy is mine
  • When the castles strong, besieged, shake,
  • And walls, uprooted, totter and crack;
  •           And I see the foemen join,
  • On the moated shore all compassed round
  • With the palisade and guarded mound.—
  • Lances and swords, and stained helms,
  •   And shields dismantled and broken,
  • On the verge of the bloody battle scene,
  •   The field of wrath betoken;
  •           And the vassals are there,
  • And there fly the steeds of the dying and dead;
  • And, where the mingled strife is spread, 
  •           The noblest warrior’s care
  • Is to cleave the foeman’s limbs and head,
  • The conqueror less of the living than dead.
  • I tell you that nothing my soul can cheer,
  •   Or banqueting, or reposing,
  • Like the onset cry of “Charge them” rung
  •   From each side, as in battle closing,
  •           Where the horses neigh,
  • And the call to “aid” is echoing loud;
  • And there on the earth the lowly and proud
  •           In the foss together lie;
  • And yonder is piled the mangled heap
  • Of the brave that scaled the trench’s steep.
  • Barons! your castles in safety place,
  •   Your cities and villages too,
  • Before ye haste to the battle scene;
  •   And, Papiol! quickly go,
  • And tell the Lord of “Oc and No”
  • That peace already too long hath been!
Bertran de Born

Bertran de Born (c. 1140-1215) was a Provencal troubadour and baron from Limousin in France. He composed both love songs and political songs (the latter called sirventes). Because of his involvement in political rebellions at the time, Dante places him in hell as a sower of schism, where he is depicted carrying around his severed head like a lantern. In an attempt to resuscitate the poet’s reputation, 20th-century poet Ezra Pound both translated his work and wrote original poems based on de Born’s life and songs.

Sponsored
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

East San Diego County has only one bike lane

So you can get out of town – from Santee to Tierrasanta
  • The Lord of Oc and No
  • The beautiful spring delights me well,
  •   When flowers and leaves are growing;
  • And it pleases my heart to hear the swell
  •   Of the birds’ sweet chorus flowing
  •           In the echoing wood;
  • And I love to see, all scattered around,
  • Pavilions, tents, on the martial ground;
  •           And my spirit finds it good
  • To see, on the level plains beyond,
  • Gay knights and steeds caparison’d.
  • It pleases me when the lancers bold
  •   Set men and armies flying;
  • And it pleases me to hear around 
  •   The voice of the solders crying;
  •           And joy is mine
  • When the castles strong, besieged, shake,
  • And walls, uprooted, totter and crack;
  •           And I see the foemen join,
  • On the moated shore all compassed round
  • With the palisade and guarded mound.—
  • Lances and swords, and stained helms,
  •   And shields dismantled and broken,
  • On the verge of the bloody battle scene,
  •   The field of wrath betoken;
  •           And the vassals are there,
  • And there fly the steeds of the dying and dead;
  • And, where the mingled strife is spread, 
  •           The noblest warrior’s care
  • Is to cleave the foeman’s limbs and head,
  • The conqueror less of the living than dead.
  • I tell you that nothing my soul can cheer,
  •   Or banqueting, or reposing,
  • Like the onset cry of “Charge them” rung
  •   From each side, as in battle closing,
  •           Where the horses neigh,
  • And the call to “aid” is echoing loud;
  • And there on the earth the lowly and proud
  •           In the foss together lie;
  • And yonder is piled the mangled heap
  • Of the brave that scaled the trench’s steep.
  • Barons! your castles in safety place,
  •   Your cities and villages too,
  • Before ye haste to the battle scene;
  •   And, Papiol! quickly go,
  • And tell the Lord of “Oc and No”
  • That peace already too long hath been!
Bertran de Born

Bertran de Born (c. 1140-1215) was a Provencal troubadour and baron from Limousin in France. He composed both love songs and political songs (the latter called sirventes). Because of his involvement in political rebellions at the time, Dante places him in hell as a sower of schism, where he is depicted carrying around his severed head like a lantern. In an attempt to resuscitate the poet’s reputation, 20th-century poet Ezra Pound both translated his work and wrote original poems based on de Born’s life and songs.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

3 Tips for Creating a Cozy and Inviting Living Room in San Diego

Next Article

Hike off those holiday calories, Poinsettias are peaking

Winter Solstice is here and what is winter?
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader