Medieval England - Anon., ca 1225 : Miri it is while sumer ilast

Ensemble Belladonna. Melodious Melancholye: The sweet sounds of medieval England - Les doux sons de l'Angleterre médiévale.

Worldes blis ne last no throwe; hit wit ant wend away a non. the lengir that hich hit i knowe, the lasse hic finde pris ther on. for al hit is imeynd wyd kare, mid sorewe ant wid uvel fare, ant at the laste povere ant bare hit let mon, wen hit ginnet a gon. AI the blisse this here ant there bi louketh at hende wop ant mon.

AI shal gon that her mon howet; al hit shal wenden to naut. the mon that her no god ne sowetwen other repen he worth bikert. thenc, mon, for thi, wil thu havest mykte, that thu thine gultus here arikte, ant withe god bi day an nikte ar then thu be of lisse ilakt. thu nost, wanne crist, ure drikte, the asket that he havet bitakt.

Mon, wi seestu love ant herte on worldesblisse, that nout ne last? Wy tholestu that te so ofte smerte for love that is so unstedefast? thu likest huni of thorn, iwis, that seest thi love on worldesblis, for ful of bitternis hit is. sore thu mikt ben of gast that despendes here heikte amis, wer thurthu ben, in to helle itakt.

Thenc, mon, war of crist the wroukte, ant do wey pride ant fulthe mod. thenc wou dere he the bokte on rode mit his swete blod. himself he gaf for the in pris, to buge the blis yf thu be wis;bi thenc the, mon, ant up aris of slovthe, an gin to worche god wil time to wor¬chen is, for elles thu art witles ant wod.

Ne wort ne god ther unforgulde ne non uvel ne worth unboukt; wanne thu list, mon, undur molde, thu shalt haven as tu havest wrokt. bi thenc the wei for thi, hie rede, ant clanse the of thine misdede, that he the helpe at thine nede that so dure hus hayed iboukt, ant to hevene blisse lede that evere lest ant failet nout.

English summary:

Man, why do you set mind and heart on worldly bliss that does not last? You lick honey from a thorn, indeed, who set your love on worldly bliss, for it is full of bitter¬ness. You may well be greatly terrified who mis-spend wealth here, thereby to be cast into hell. I advise you to cleanse yourself of each misdeed, so that He may may lead you to the bliss of heaven.

French summary:

Homme, pourquoi offres-tu ton amour et ta vie à la joie terrestre, qui ne dure pas? Pourquoi t'étonnes-tu de souffrir si souvent pour l'amour, qui est si volage? En vérité, tu te délectes de miel qui est sur des épines quand tu t'adonnes aux joies terrestres, car elles sont emplies d'amertume.

German summary:

Mann, warum schenkst du deine Liebe und dein Herz der weltlichen Freude, die nicht von Dauer ist? Warum wunderst du dich, daß du so oft leidest für die Liebe, die so unstet ist? In Wahrheit leckst du Honig von Dornen, wenn du dich weltlichen Freuden hingibst, weil sie voll von Bitterkeit sind.

Performers: Miriam Andersén (voice & harp), Rebecca Bain (voice & fiddle), Susanne Ansorg (fiddle & rebec)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Miri it is while sumer ilast
• Medieval England
• Ensemble Belladonna
• Melodious Melancholye
• Miriam Andersén
• Rebecca Bain
• Susanne Ansorg

[hengist85]

Mirie it is while sumer y-last

With fugheles son

Oc nu neheth windes blast

And weder strong.

Ei, ei! What this nicht is long

And ich with wel michel wrong

Soregh and murne and fast.

[KatyKatkin]

glorious.

[SuchAnImaginationX]

This is so beautiful.

[OstrogothRome]

An executive once had a desk toy that guests found disturbing; a box that when switched on did nothing but send an arm out to switch itself back off. I fear that capitalism, by promoting unsustainable consumption fed by consumers' fear, also by going for cheap labour that renders innovation in capital uneconomic, will prove to be this sort of machine. In which case, the survivors of humankind will indeed be in Wales, the remote Himalayas, Bolivia etc.

[MultiTrollHunter]

@OstrogothRome I'm afraid that's the price you pay for living in a free capitalist country.

[OstrogothRome]

@MultiTrollHunter Not quite 'evil', but what they represent (ever increasing consumption of unnecessary luxuries,e.g. beautification therapies to mention just one) is ever more unsustainable. The corporatocracy that has promoted this wild consumption of ultimately unsatisfying, insecuritising consumption, has also given us the sterility of the Docklands, so in a sense Docklands sums up much of what is wrong and how we may be heading for an eco-crash if no change in economy.

[MultiTrollHunter]

@OstrogothRome not quiet sure what point you're trying to make there? Cities are evil?

[newsatone]

Lovely..nice upload.

[metalhaesle]

the info text belongs obviously to the song "worldes blis".

[oweioweh]

Ilike this so much, are there notes for this? where can I find them?

[hengist85]

worolde lifes; wyrce se þe mote domes ær deaþe, 

[mrleedra]

@JanCMichael You are quite right. Mine was an embarrassing elementary error, and I am duly chastened ;). "Eac" is of course "also, too" rather than "each." Thus, "and his broþor eac" vs."ure æghwylc sceal ende gebidan."