author unknown
980 AD
trans RMBullard
Old French/Vulgar Latin
«La Vie de Saint Léger» est le reçit de la vie et du martyre de saint Léger (francisation du germanique Leudgari, de «leud» peuple, gens et «gari» lance - en latin Leodegarius), évêque d'Autun au septième siècle, composée par un auteur anonyme au cours de la deuxième moitié du dixième siècle, probablement dans la région wallone.
[The "Life of St. Leger" is an account of the life and martyrdom of St. Leger --the French name of the German Leudger, from "leud" meaning "people", and "gari" meaning "spear", or the Latinized Leodegarius, and who lived in the 7th c. AD, although his life was composed by an anonymous author in the 2nd half of the 10th c. AD, probably in the Walloon region of the country.]
Strophes d'hymne de 6 vers d'octosyllabes, assonancés 2 à 2, destinées à être chantées.
[The strophes of the hymn are 6 lines long --each line with 8 syllables--with a 2 by 2 rhyme scheme, intended to be sung.]
La Vie de Saint Léger
Martyre de saint Léger, vers 1200
I
Domine Deu devemps lauder,
Et a sos sancz honor porter.
[Praise the Lord God's presence, and bring him honor from your holy rites,]
In su' amor cantomps dels sanz,
Quœ por lui augrent granz aanz;
[In whose love belongs a song of blood, that extends the long years for him;]
5
Et or es temps et si est biens
Quœ nos cantumps de sant Lethgier.
[And now is the time, and it bodes so well, for our song of Saint Leger.]
II
Primes didrai vos dels honors
Quœ il awret ab duos seniors;
[I will grant you all the honors that one would hold from among the two most senior members of a community.]
Aprés ditrai vos dels aanz
10
Que li suos corps susting si granz,
[Before I tell you about the time this body became so famous,]
Et Ewruïns, cil Deu mentiz,
Que lui a grant torment occist.
[And Erwin, the profaner of God, who killed him after great torment.]
III
Quant infans fud, donc a ciels temps,
Al rei lo duistrent soi parent,
[When he was a child, from this time on, his parents gave him to the king,]
15
Qui donc regnevet a ciel di,
Cio fud Lothiers, fils Baldequi.
[and then after, he ruled undering the following two, one named Lothiers, the other his brother, Baldequi.]
I N F I N I T A
