I
Lorete, sister, in the name of love,
Do not conceal the truth from me!
Two knights, both worthy
And refined,
Of equal power and equal kindness,
Have both loved you dearly.
Each one wants you in marriage.
One hides it from you as best he can,
But has sought you through your friends,
And still does. The other, I tell you,
Lays bare his heart to you,
That he may hear your thoughts.
One of these two you must retain.
To which one do you prefer to consent?

II
— Sister, by the honor God grants me,
I shall not lie;
He feels love’s pleasures
And its sickness,
He whose heart is not so daring
As to seek well-being
In the very place he can find a cure.
Fear quiets his desire
And true love, which has taken hold of his heart.
To him do I consent, for he acts wisely
When he takes me with the assent of my friends:
Never will I be blamed for it.
He who loves honor knows how to sustain it:
He is the one a worthy lady should cherish.

III
— Sister, you defend the worse
By your choice.
Love kindles a man’s desire
And drives him to insanity.
Not one of them is rational:
They are all intoxicated by it,
Even the wisest cannot discern his situation.
Therefore, no one should reproach him
If good love has bound him in its chains,
For he seeks what can cure him
In the presence of the one he loves faithfully.
He surely must disclose his desire to her;
Since it is there that he wants to reap honor,
He must not hide his feelings from her.

IV
— Sister, you speak foolishly,
I simply do not agree.
I would be as black
As a cobbler
From shame and weakness
If a man who might love me
Solicited me; I tell you truthfully,
He should take up the matter with my friends.
But an idiot, an overzealous fool
Would not care who was dishonored for his sake,
As long as he could satisfy his desire.
For this reason, I refuse to consent
To bold men: no one should reward them with joy.
It can lead to no good end.

V
— Sister, you are mistaken,
I do not doubt it in the least.
When this one tenderly
Humbles himself before you
And requests your loyalty,
You feel contempt for him.
I would judge and say truthfully
That he is far more deserving of lofty love
Than the other: he is Renart the Fox,
Who pursues his intrigue until he has seized his prey.
And so, with your permission, I will call on
The worthy Countess of Linaige,
And Mahaut, her sister, to render judgment.
The truth will be fully acknowledged.

(Doss-Quimby, Trasker Grimbert, Pfeffer, Aubrey, Songs of the women Trouvères)