Canso
Blaye
Lanquan li jorn son lonc en mai
Jaufre Rudel · c. 1113–1170
Lanquan li jorn son lonc en mai
m'es belhs dous chans d'auzelhs de lonh,
e quan mi soi partitz de lai
remembra·m d'un' amor de lonh;
When the days are long in May
I love sweet birdsong from afar,
and when I have departed from there
I remember a love from afar;
The amor de lonh — love from afar — became Rudel's defining obsession. Legend says he fell in love with the Countess of Tripoli from pilgrims' reports alone, and sailed to die in her arms.