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"Douce Dame Jolie", sometimes referred to only as 'Douce Dame', is a song from the 14th century, by the French composer
Original French From
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Modern French translation
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English translation
:''Sweet, lovely lady
:''for God's sake do not think''
:''that any has sovereignty''
:''over my heart, but you alone.
For always, without treachery
Cherished
Have I you, and humbly
All the days of my life
Served
Without base thoughts.
Alas, I am left begging
For hope and relief;
For my joy is at its end
Without your compassion.
:''Sweet, lovely lady....
But your sweet mastery
Masters
My heart so harshly,
Tormenting it
And binding
In unbearable love,
So that y heartdesires nothing
but to be in your power.
And still, your own heart
renders it no relief.
:''Sweet, lovely lady....
And since my malady
Healed
Will never be
Without you, Sweet Enemy,
Who takes
Delight in my torment
With clasped hands I beseech
Your heart, that forgets me,
That it mercifully kill me
For too long have I languished.
:''Sweet, lovely lady....
"Douce Dame Jolie", sometimes referred to only as 'Douce Dame', is a song from the 14th century, by the French composer Guillaume de Machaut
Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to ...
. The song is a virelai
A ''virelai'' is a form of medieval French verse used often in poetry and music. It is one of the three ''formes fixes'' (the others were the ballade and the rondeau) and was one of the most common verse forms set to music in Europe from the lat ...
, belonging to the style ars nova, and is one of the most often heard medieval tunes today. Many modern recordings omit the lyrics, however.
One of the most famous musical pieces of the Middle Ages, 'Douce Dame' has been performed by a plethora of artists, mostly but not always in medieval style. Among others are Annwn
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(with lyrics), Ayragon (with lyrics), Theo Bleckmann
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Lyrics
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See also
*Courtly love
Courtly love ( oc, fin'amor ; french: amour courtois ) was a medieval European literary conception of love that emphasized nobility and chivalry. Medieval literature is filled with examples of knights setting out on adventures and performing vari ...
*Medieval music
Medieval music encompasses the sacred and secular music of Western Europe during the Middle Ages, from approximately the 6th to 15th centuries. It is the first and longest major era of Western classical music and followed by the Renaissance ...
*Guillaume de Machaut
Guillaume de Machaut (, ; also Machau and Machault; – April 1377) was a French composer and poet who was the central figure of the style in late medieval music. His dominance of the genre is such that modern musicologists use his death to ...
*List of compositions by Guillaume de Machaut
The French composer Guillaume de Machaut was the most prolific composer of his time, with surviving works many forms, the three ''formes fixes'' rondeaux, virelais, ballades, as well as motets, lais and a single representative of the complain ...
References