Arnaut Daniel

Occitan troubadour

Arnaut Daniel was a Provençal troubadour of the late 12th or early 13th century. He was a major influence on Dante.

Quotes

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  • E si tot venta'ill freg'aura,
    L'amor qu'ins el cor mi pleu
    Mi ten caut on plus iverna.
    • And even if the cold wind blows,
      The love that rains in my heart
      Keeps me the warmer the colder it is.
    • "Ab gai so cundet e leri", line 12; translation by Leonardo Malcovati [1]
  • Ieu sui Arnautz qu'amas l'aura
    E cas la lebre ab lo bueu
    E nadi contra suberna.
    • I am Arnaut who love the wind,
      And chase the hare with the ox,
      And swim against the torrent.
    • "Ab gai so cundet e leri", line 43; translation from Ezra Pound The Spirit of Romance (1910) p. 30.
  • En breu brizara'l temps braus
    E'l biza, e'l brus e'l blancx
    Qui s'entresenhon trastuig
    De sobre claus ram de fuelha.
    • Briefly bursteth season brisk,
      Blasty north breeze racketh branch,
      Branches rasp each branch on each
      Tearing twig and tearing leafage.
    • "En breu brizara'l temps braus", line 1; translation from Ezra Pound Instigations (1920) p. 309.

Criticism

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  • "O frate," disse, "chesti qu'io ti cerno
    col ditto," e additò un spirto innanzi,
    "fu miglior fabbro del parlar materno.
    Versi d'amore e prose di romanzi
    soverchiò tutti; e lascia dir li stolti
    che quel di Lemosì credon ch'avanzi.
    • "O brother," said he, "He who is singled by
      My finger (he pointed to a spirit in front)
      Wrought better in the mother-tongue than I.
      Whether in verses of love or prose romaunt
      He surpassed all; and let the fools contend
      Who make him of Limoges of more account.
    • Dante Purgatorio, canto 26, line 115; translation by Laurence Binyon, in Dante's Purgatorio (1938) p. 309.
  • Fra tutti il primo Arnaldo Danïello
    Gran maestro d'amor; ch'a la sua terra
    Ancor fa onor col suo dir strano e bello.
    • First of them all was Arnaut Daniel,
      Master in love; and he his native land
      Honors with the strange beauty of his verse.
    • Petrarch Il Trionfo d'Amore, capitolo IV, line 40; uncredited translation from petrarch.petersadlon.com [2]
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