The Honeysuckle and the Hazel Tree "ch3"

3. The Two Lovers

(Les Deus Amanz)

Marie de France

	There came from Normandy an old
	Story that was often told
	Of how because two children tried
4	To win the right to love, they died.
	A Breton lai preserves their fame;
	The Two Lovers is its name.

	As proof of the story, you can see
8	In the country we call Normandy
	A mountain marvelously high
	On top of which the children lie.
	Close to the mountain, on one side,
12	There is a city, once the pride
	Of Pître—so was named that land
	By the king whose very wise command
	Had built it. Honoring his will
16	The city is called Pître still,
	And people even now are living
	In the dominions of that king.
	The valley of Pître that we know
20	Remains as it was so long ago.
	The king had just one child, a daughter
	Gentle and fair; he turned to her
	For comfort when her mother died,
24	And kept her always at his side.
	People did not approve of this;
	The king’s own household took it amiss.^[1]
	Hearing them openly complain
28	Caused him to suffer bitter pain.
	With craft to meet his need he planned
	How none should win his daughter’s hand
	Yet he himself be free from blame.
32	He ordered heralds to proclaim
	Near and far to everyone
	How the princess could be won.
	The king would let his child be married,
36	But first, she had to be carried
	Up the high mountain near the town
	Before her suitor set her down.
	As soon as they heard about the test,
40	Suitors hastened to request
	A chance to win the promised bride.
	Not one, no matter how he tried,
	Could ever get beyond half way
44	Before exhaustion made him lay
	His burden and his hopes to rest;
	All were defeated in their quest.
	The princess found herself a prize
48	To which no one dared lift his eyes.

	In that country lived a youth,
	The son of a count, and in all truth
	Noble, courteous, and fair.
52	To become the best knight anywhere
	Was what he wanted most to do.
	Living much at court, he knew
	And loved the princess. Eloquent,
56	He urged her many times to consent
	To his desire, trying to earn
	Her trust, have her love him in return.
	She knew his valor, his gentle ways,
60	And that he had won her father’s praise,
	And so she said that she would be
	His love, for which he thanked her humbly.
	Often they would talk together,
64	Taking great care, although they were
	So much in love, never to show
	Their feelings, and let no one know.
	But having to hide their love, they grieved.
68	The boy was prudent; he believed,
	Whatever the cost, they must refuse
	To venture all too soon and lose.
	But very great was his distress.
72	One day it drove him to confess
	How much he suffered to his friend,
	Pleading with her to put an end
	To their unhappiness and run
76	Away with him. That seemed the one
	Way possible—he could no longer
	Live in torment there with her.
	But surely, if he asked for her hand
80	In marriage, the king’s love would stand
	Between them: he would not agree
	To lose his daughter willingly,
	Unless the suitor, to win his bride,
84	Carried her up the mountainside.
	“I know too well,” she said, “dear friend,
	How that trial would have to end—
	You are not strong enough to win.
88	But there is no good either in
	Running away. I couldn’t forgive
	Myself if I should ever give
	My father such good cause to grieve.
92	I love him too much; I couldn’t leave
	Knowing his rage and suffering.
	I think there is only one thing
	To do: I have an aunt I know
96	Could help, but you would have to go
	To Salerno—she has lived there more^[2]
	Than thirty years. She’s famous for
	Her learning, and rich. For every kind
100	Of sickness she knows how to find
	Medicine in roots and plants;
	Surely this is our only chance.
	If you agree, I’ll write a letter
104	For you to take and give to her,
	And you can tell our story too.
	She will know how to counsel you
	And give you some kind of medicine
108	To make you strong enough to win.
	Then you can come back to this land
	And ask my father for my hand.
	He’ll say that you are young and foolish,
112	And he’ll consent to grant your wish
	According to his own decree:
	Only if you can carry me
	All the way up to the top
116	Of the mountain, and you do not stop.”
	For the prudent counsel he heard
	The boy gave joyful thanks, and answered
	That he would, that very day,
120	With her consent, be on his way.

	He went to his own home and hurried
	To assemble all that he would need—
	Money enough and fine clothing,
124	Packhorses, palfreys—summoning
	Those of his men he trusted most
	To travel with him to the coast.
	Once in Salerno, he visited
128	The princess’s aunt; when she had read
	The letter from beginning to end,
	She decided first to recommend
	He stay with her a while. And so
132	She learned all that there was to know.
	She gave him medicines to build
	His strength, and by her arts distilled
	A philter that would meet his need.
136	As soon as he drank it, however wearied
	He might be, no matter how great
	His burden, he’d not feel the weight
	Because of the power that had flown
140	From his lips to his veins and bone.
	She sent him back then to his trial;
	He carried the philter in a phial.

	When he reached his home, the boy,
144	Confident and full of joy,
	Wasted no time at all, but went
	To ask the king if he’d consent
	To give him the princess for his bride;
148	He’d carry her up the mountainside.
	The king had no reason to refuse;
	He thought the boy would surely lose,
	That it was madness to imagine
152	Someone of his age could win,
	When men who were among the best
	In valor had not passed the test.
	The king then willingly proclaimed
156	The contest would be held, and named
	A date. He summoned every friend,
	Every vassal to attend
	The ceremony. At his command
160	They gathered from throughout the land
	To see the youth put to the trial
	Of climbing up the mountain while
	Holding in his arms the princess.
164	She, by eating less and less,
	Prepared in the most useful way
	She could. On the appointed day,
	When no one had arrived as yet,
168	The boy was there. He didn’t forget
	To bring the potion with him. Then,
	In a meadow not far from the Seine,
	The king led his daughter through
172	The great crowd assembled to view
	The trial. The young princess wore
	Only a shift and nothing more.
	Taking her in his arms, the youth,
176	Trusting her as he should, in truth,
	Gave the maiden the little phial
	Which she would carry for a while.
	However sure the outcome seems,
180	I fear he’ll go to such extremes
	That the medicine will go to waste.
	He reached the halfway point in haste,
	Far too happy to remember
184	More than that he was close to her.
	She felt his strength would not allow
	Much more. “Please drink the philter now!”
	She said, “My love, you cannot hide
188	Your weariness!” The boy replied,
	“Dearest, my heart is very strong;
	I will not stop to drink as long
	As I can manage three steps more—
192	Nothing can change my mind before!
	We would be seen by all the crowd,
	And, if they should shout aloud,
	I’d be distracted. They’re too near;
196	I won’t take time to drink right here.”
	Two thirds of the way up to the top
	He stumbled and nearly let her drop.
	Time and again the girl would plead,
200	“Here is the medicine you need!”
	But trying, in pain, to reach the peak,
	He didn’t even hear her speak.
	Exhausted, he went on until
204	He fell at the top, and then lay still;
	His heart’s strength had come to an end.
	The maiden kneeled beside her friend.
	He had only fainted, she thought,
208	And urgently, yet again, she sought
	To help him, offering the philter.
	But now he could not answer her.
	Thus, as I have told, he died,
212	There upon the mountainside.
	Crying aloud her grief, the girl
	Picked up the phial again to hurl
	The philter down. And it was worth
216	Much to that well-watered earth
	And to the region all around,
	For afterward the people found
	Powerful herbs that flourished there.

220	The maiden, in her great despair,
	Lay down beside her love, alone
	With sorrow she had never known,
	Now that he was lost forever.
224	So she held him close to her,
	Tightly in her arms, and still
	Kissing his eyes and mouth until
	Her grief became a sword inside
228	Her heart. And so the maiden died
	Who was so lovely and so wise.
	Those waiting began to realize
	That the two should long since have returned.
232	When they climbed the peak and learned
	The truth, the king, in horror, fainted.
	When he could speak, he mourned the dead,
	And all the people shared his sorrow.
236	At last they let the children go;
	Three days had passed. A marble coffin
	Holding them both was buried in
	The place that would forever tell
240	Their story. Then they said farewell.

	Two Lovers is the name they gave
	The mountain that was now a grave.
	It all happened just this way
244	In truth and in a Breton lai.

Notes

1. Line 26 Robert Hanning and Joan Ferrante’s translation in The Lais of Marie de France (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1978) gives a note to this passage with additional lines from other manuscripts, which add that the princess had rich suitors, but her father loved her too much to agree to a marriage. Her excessively loving father calls to mind Philomena’s.

2. Line 97 Salerno was one of the earliest medical centers in Europe, and its women practitioners were often mentioned.