43r La Complainte dou conte Hue de Nevers

Count of Saint Pol, son of the good Hugh,^{1According to Zink, these named persons are Jean of Chantillon son of Hugh of Chatillon (Count of Blois), Guy of Chantillon (Count of Saint Pol), and Enguerrand IV of Coucy}
Since your bodies are still here before us,
how then will you seek the mercy of God
if death kills you in your beds?
You see, the Holy Land
in your time has been taken from us
which makes my heart sad and dismayed.
Death does not wait,
rather she weilds her club and strikes,
quickly making night of a clear day.

Tourneyers, what are you waiting for?
You who are not defending the Holy Land,
who is your Creator?
Your eyes are truly blindfolded
since you are neither defending yourself
nor have you prepared yourself to face God.
You scarcely fear the deep tower
from which prisonners have no escape
and into which you are descending through sloth.
There is no way to avoid it nor to turn back
when death is closing in on you.
You offer up your body and soul to God.

When the head is tipsy with wine,
around the fire, near the hearth,
then we leap with great verve.
And when the morning the comes
this journey ends.
Such is the habit of both the cleric and the laymen.
When he dies and writes his will^{2See line 1 of the Account-Inventory for an explanation of "lais"}
he leaves behind halls, houses, and palaces
in sadness, because of this cruel fate.
He goes there where there is no relief.
One is released from concern for posessions
when one lies dead on one's back.

Now let us pray to the glorious King
who by his precious blood
delivered us from destruction,
that we may make our home
in His exquisite kingdom,
so sweet and filled with grace.
And with great devotion
let us go to that land
where God suffered cruel death.
Whoever leaves the promised land
in such a state of disarray
has little regard for his soul.

The End.