DE LIEFDE TRIUMPHEERT

DE LIEFDE TRIUMPHEERT

WONDER TROUW-GEVAL Tusschen eene Edele Kapiteyns-Dochter en eene gemeynen Soldaet.

Soldier, love, desertion.

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Den Haag KB: 11 A 47.  Nederlandse Liederenbank

Ik drink den nieuwen Most

Love triumphs,
Her powers are increased,
If God supports her, her paths are certain,
Who is the author of true love,
If love is sincere,
It is in vain, all which people do or say,
No one can withstand her,
That is clear in this young woman,
And a loyal young man.
   She was a young maid,
Who pleased everyone,
Her father was a lord of great estate,
A bold and noble captain,
Her beauty and sense,
Her equal was not in the Netherlands,
She was courted by great lords,
For her pure beauty,
But she always remained steadfast.
   But see a soldier,
For who a lot is too high,
In good understanding and by opportunity,
Had often courted this young woman,
And she from her side,
Gave him a diamond ring,
He kissed it with great honour,
And spoke, my beautiful lady,
I will be loyal to you.
   Oh what sad sorrows,
With a detachment,
He immediately had to go from Luxembourg, how sad,
Departing to Bergen in Henegouw,
He said, adieu my love,
I will send you a love-letter,
Be mindful of our loyalty,
She spoke with sweet words,
My love, be assured.
   I will never let you down,
But always stand by you loyally,
No nobleman or lord, how high of birth,
Indeed, even if the Roman emperor came,
You alone are my friend,
You have earned my loyalty and love in return,
Be then comforted on your voyage,
So he went on the journey,
With a lot of heavy pondering.
   When he stood guard,
In the middle of the night,
And in his heart love rules
 
Has, with bold courage, deserted,
And jumped from the fortress,
Swam through the water and at last,
Having come fifteen miles,
To Luxembourg very quickly,
Where his love was.
   As he came into the city,
He was instantly captured,
As deserter, he was quickly cuffed,
Oh what a sadness for a beautiful young woman,
When she learned of this,
She went to his captain,
She spoke: my lord, will you have mercy,
Because this is my friend,
Loved so much by me.
   No prayers or pleas,
As much as she may plea,
She fell upon her bare knees,
With tears upon her red cheeks,
The valiant captain,
He spoke: the scaffold is planted for him,
Which he will receive as his reward,
That I swear by the sun,
For him there is no pardon.
   She took her father’s best horse,
And has taken the journey,
And made it trot with great force,
Forty miles between day and night,
Until before the general,
Fell upon her knees a second time,
She spoke: great, powerful lord exalted,
I pray listen to me,
Because I am smothered in sadness.
   The general swiftly,
Spoke, well sweet child,
Tell me the cause of your sad pleas,
Stand up and wipe your salty tears away,
I swear to you by the crown,
That I will help you, beautiful woman,[1]
Tell me the cause and the reason,
Of all your sorrow,
You overly-beautiful young woman.
   She spoke, great, mighty lord,
This is all I desire,
That my beautiful love would have his pardon,
With whom I have begun the marital state,
He is a soldier;
Of good conduct who stands in my grace,
 
Because of me he came to desert,
And is condemned,
I pray pardon him.
   He spoke, it will happen,
Show them these letters,
Of his Pardon, and apart from this,
I even make him the highest captain,
She thanked him honourably,
And jumped again upon her father’s best horse,
A postillion who came across her,
He said in that self-same pass,
That he[2] had been sentenced.
   She called with sad tears,
Oh God will [you] support me,
Or else I may remain in this distress,
She spurred her horse on,
Crossed forests and fields all night,
Came into the city in the morning,
There stood her tender love,
Already upon the scaffold’s steps.
   She rode in full force,
In front of the justices and called powerfully;
Stop, stop with such happy language,
See here the letters of the general,
With seals for certainty,
When my love is free,
He must be above that,
Honoured by all of the ranks,
As the highest captain.
   When they saw the letters,
It seemed a thunderclap,
He was quickly freed from his cuffs,
And fell into the arms of his beautiful young woman,
And everyone rejoiced,
For his recovery and elevation,
They also saw them marry together,
A short time after that,
That sweet and dear pair.
   See here love’s power,
In the weaker female sex,
She exceeds the boldness of a man,
As one can find in this maiden,
Her love is captain,
And is honoured, beloved by big and small,
So they lived in prosperity and peace,
Their expressions in a state of joy,
Love triumphs.                                            End

[1] ‘vrouwspersoon’ literally translates to ‘woman-person.’
[2] i.e. her lover