Paraphrase:
Time keeps moving in its endless cycles—days, months, years passing—but I remain stuck in the same emotional state. I don’t even know how to explain it anymore: my desire has never changed. I have loved one woman, and only her, for a long time, yet I have never received any joy from that love.

Meanwhile, she remains cheerful and unaffected, while I suffer pain and loss. She has drawn me into a kind of “game” of love where I am the only one truly suffering, and suffering doubly at that. Love like this cannot succeed if it exists only on one side; it requires mutual agreement, otherwise it is effectively doomed.

I should blame myself for this situation. No one has ever been so devoted in a way that only harms himself. If she does not correct or discipline me, my foolishness will only grow worse, because a fool does not learn until he is hurt.

I even feel like giving up being a poet and singer altogether. My songs, my melodies, my craft—none of it seems to have value. Nothing I say or do benefits me, and I see no improvement in my condition.

Even when I appear outwardly joyful, inside I am full of anger and turmoil. Who has ever repented before committing the sin? I continue to pursue her, but the more I plead, the more distant and harsh she becomes. If this continues much longer, it will end in separation.

Yet at the same time, I accept that she has the right to dominate me entirely. Whether she is fair or unfair does not matter—eventually, I believe, she will show pity. Scripture suggests that a single moment of good fortune can outweigh long periods of suffering, so I cling to that hope.

I will never leave her, as long as I live. Only death could separate me from this love. Even if she has not yielded to me, I will not blame her—if only she might someday turn toward me with kindness.

Finally, I turn to her directly: hidden love, beautiful in form, radiant in appearance, shaped by God Himself. I have always desired you and no one else; nothing else gives me pleasure. I want no other love. You, perfectly formed being—may the one who created you grant me the joy I continue to hope for from you.

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Glossary
• alas (las) – An exclamation of sorrow or lament.
• talans – Desire, longing, inner inclination of the will.
• jauzimen – Joy, fulfillment, emotional reward in love.
• dans – Harm, damage, suffering (often emotional or reputational).
• joc – “Game,” referring to the structured, rule-bound nature of courtly love.
• acordamen – Agreement, mutual consent (essential for love to succeed).
• blasmaire – One who blames or reproaches.
• chastia – Corrects, disciplines, or restrains.
• folia / fols – Folly / fool; irrational devotion beyond reason.
• chantaire – Singer, poet (especially a lyric poet in the troubadour tradition).
• escola n’Eblo – The poetic tradition associated with Eble II of Ventadorn, an early troubadour patron.
• voutas – Poetic turns or variations in verse form.
• parvensa – Outward appearance or show.
• irat – Angered, internally disturbed.
• pechat – Sin or moral failing.
• partimen – Separation, parting of lovers.
• bistensa – Injustice, wrongdoing.
• escriptura – Scripture, authoritative teaching.
• saus ni sas – Healthy and whole (physically intact).
• cochada – Yielded, submitted (often with romantic or erotic implication).
• encobida – Hidden, secret (referring to concealed love).
• ensenhada – Refined, cultivated, well-trained in courtly manners.

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Historical note
This poem emerges from the 12th-century Occitan troubadour tradition in southern France, where poetry was composed for performance in aristocratic courts. Love here is not casual or domestic—it is stylized, ritualized, and often deliberately asymmetrical, with the male poet serving a usually unattainable noblewoman. The language of “service,” “game,” and “reward” reflects feudal structures transposed into emotional life. The poem also shows the fusion of courtly love with Christian moral vocabulary, especially in its references to sin, repentance, and Scripture.

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Author
Bernart de Ventadorn was one of the most celebrated troubadours of the 12th century. Likely of relatively humble origin, he rose to prominence through his poetic skill and association with noble courts, including that of Eleanor of Aquitaine. His work helped define the emotional intensity and lyrical refinement of courtly love poetry. His songs were meant to be performed, not merely read, and they circulated widely across medieval Europe, influencing later poets including Dante and Petrarch.

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Modern connection
Unrequited love, emotional imbalance, and the tendency to remain attached despite suffering are still deeply recognizable. The poem captures the experience of investing fully in a relationship that does not return that investment.

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Deeper significance:
At its core, the poem presents love not as mutual fulfillment but as discipline through suffering. Love is something that tests, refines, and even humiliates the lover. The speaker accepts domination, delay, and even injustice as part of the experience. This reflects an early troubadour ideal:

From: love as feudal service (the lover as servant, the lady as lord, emotional submission as virtue)
To: love as interior psychological experience (increasingly self-aware, conflicted, and introspective)

In this poem, we see a transitional moment. The speaker still accepts the older model—he insists she has the right to “conquer” him—but cracks are visible. He questions the imbalance (“love kept on one side is lost”), recognizes his own self-destructive behavior, and even contemplates abandoning poetry itself.

The deeper meaning of love here is paradoxical:

• It is absolute devotion, yet yields no reward.
• It is self-chosen suffering, yet cannot be escaped.
• It is irrational, yet treated as a moral discipline.

Ultimately, love becomes a kind of spiritual ordeal. The beloved is almost divine—beautiful, God-formed, the source of hoped-for grace. The lover waits not just for affection, but for something like redemption.

Over time, this tradition evolves. Later writers begin to shift:

• From submission → toward mutuality
• From external service → toward inner transformation
• From idealized distance → toward psychological realism

But here, in Bernart, we see the system in its pure, tense form: love as a beautiful imbalance that shapes the soul, even as it breaks it.