Thibaut de Champagne

Thibaut de Champagne Poems

Thibaut de Champagne Biography

Born in France in 1201, Thibaut IV was the Count of Champagne and King of Navarre. The countship was inherited from his father, but he had to defend it twice - first against his uncle, Count of Brienne in 1221 and later against his aunt, Alice, Queen of Cyprus. In 1234 he succeeded his childless uncle Sancho VII as King of Navarre. In 1239 Thibaut was the leader of the Christian crusade organized by Gregory IX, after sueveral unsuccessful battles he composed four Crusade Songs in order to arouse some fighting spirit. As well as this, he was a prolific poet and is regarded as one of the greatest lyrical poets of his generation. The Catholic Encyclopedia describe his style like this: "His rhythm are most harmonious, his combinations of metres show a real skill, while his expressions are full of refinement and true sentiment." Sixty six of his poems were published in the collection Poésies du Roi de Navarre in 1742. Little is known of Thibaut's life after he returned from the crusade in Palestine. It is thought that he died on 8th July 1253, although it is unknown where.)

The Best Poem Of Thibaut de Champagne

Lady, The Fates Command

Lady, the fates command, and I must go,---
Leaving the pleasant land so dear to me:
Here my heart suffered many a heavy woe:
But what is left to love, thus leaving thee?
Alas! that cruel land beyond the see!
Why thus dividing many a faithful heart,
Never again from pain and sorrow free,
Never again to meet, when thus they part?

I see not, when thy presence bright I leave,
How wealth, or joy, or peace can be my lot:
Ne'er yet my spirit found such cause to grieve
As now in leaving thee; and if thy thought
Of me in absence should be sorrow-fraught,
Oft will my heart repentant turn to thee,
Dwelling, in fruitless wishes, on this spot,
And all the gracious words here said to me.

O gracious God! to thee I bend my knee,
For thy sake yielding all I love and prize;
And O, how mighty must that influence be,
That steals me thus from all my cherished joys!
Here, ready, then, myself surrendering,
Prepared to serve thee, I submit; and ne'er
To one so faithful could I service bring,
So kind a master, so beloved and dear.

And strong my ties---my grief unspeakable!
Grief, all my choicest treasures to resign;
Yet stronger still the affections that impel
My heart toward Him, the God whose love is mine.
That holy love, how beautiful! how strong!
Even wisdom's favorite sons take refuge there;
'T is the redeeming gem that shines among
Men's darkest thoughts,---for ever bright and fair.

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