The troubadours mainly sang of love. But they also sometimes wrote about war. Bertran de Born, whose poems date from the second half of the twelfth century, celebrated warfare. In “I love the joyful time of Easter,” he satirized the many poems that proclaimed springtime to be the moment for lovers.

I love the joyful time of Easter,

that makes the leaves and flowers come forth,

and it pleases me to hear the mirth

of the birds, who make their song

resound through the woods,

and it pleases me to see upon the meadows

tents and pavilions planted,

and I feel a great joy

when I see ranged along the field

knights and horses armed for war.

And it pleases me when the skirmishers

make the people and their baggage run away,

and it pleases me when I see behind them coming

a great mass of armed men together,

and I have pleasure in my heart

when I see strong castles besieged,

the broken ramparts caving in,

and I see the host [army] on the water’s edge,

closed in all around by ditches,

with palisades, strong stakes close together.

And I am as well pleased by a lord

when he is first in the attack,

armed, upon his horse, unafraid,

so he makes his men take heart

by his own brave lordliness.

Source: Frederick Goldin, ed. and trans., Lyrics of the Troubadours and Trouvères: An Anthology and a History (Garden City: Anchor Books, 1973), 243–45.

Question to Consider

In what ways was war like love for Bertran?