Egidius waer bestu bleven
The song Egidius waer bestu bleven (Translation: Egidius, where have you gone?) is an early rondeau from Dutch literature and a famous Middle Dutch song.
History
The song was found in the Gruuthuse manuscript, which dates from around 1400 and includes musical notation. It was first published in 1849 by Charles Carton (1802 - 1863), a Belgian catholic priest. In 1966 Klaas Hanzen Heeroma (1909 - 1972), a Dutch poet and linguist, published a new edition of the songs and poems from the Gruuthuse manuscript which reached a broad audience. In 2007 the manuscript was bought from its private owner by the Royal Library of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninklijke Bibliotheek) in The Hague.
The song was written in the late 14th century by an unknown author (possibly Jan Moritoen, but this is uncertain). Egidius was tentatively identified as Gillis Honin in 2007, who is known to have died suddenly on October 8, 1385. According to Professor Frits van Oostrom, this is the most anthological example of a Dutch poem.[1]
Content
Egidius waer bestu bleven is an elegy or lamentation. It is about the death of a friend called Egidius, a Latinised version of the Flemish name Gillis. The poet envies Egidius because he has ascended to the heavens whilst the poet is still suffering on earth. He begs Egidius to reserve a place next to him in heaven. One of the strong points of the elegy is that it doesn't just mention Egidius but calls out to him, which makes the poem more involved and emotional.
Music
The exact melody of the song is still unknown. Not only do we not know which words correspond to which notes, musicologists are also not clear how these notes have to be sung. Nevertheless, many interpretations can be found on the web.
Original text with translations
|
|
| |
1 (A1) |
|
| |
2 (B1) |
|
|
|
3 (A2) |
|
|
|
4 (A1) |
|
|
|
5 (A3) |
|
|
|
6 (B2) |
|
|
|
7 (A1) |
|
|
|
8 (B1) |
|
|
|
Publications
- C. CARTON (ed.), Oud-Vlaemsche liederen en andere gedichten der XIVe en XVe eeuwen, Gent, C. Annoot-Braeckman, 1849
- K. HEEROMA, with C. W. H. LINDENBURG, Liederen en gedichten uit het Gruuthusehandschrift, Leiden, 1966.
Literature
- Noël GEIRNAERT, Op zoek naar Egidius. Het laatmiddeleeuwse Brugge in het Gruuthusehandschrift, in: Frank WILLAERT (red.), Het Gruuthusehandschrift in woord en klank. Nieuwe inzichten, nieuwe vragen, 2010, Leuven.
- Paul CLAES, De sleutel, Nijmegen: Vantilt 2014, 16-20 (new interpetation).
References
- ^ Ilse Degryse, De waanzinnige 14de eeuw. De tijd vroeg om experimenten, in: Knack, 27 maart 2013
- ^ a b coors, from coren (cueren): "keuren, proeven, smaken, onderzoeken, beoordelen, kiezen, bepalen, beproeven, ondervinden". The line is interpreted as "Jij koos de dood, je liet mij het leven" (You chose death, you left life to me). 'Choose' however is more emphatic than the original coren or cueren, that might be translated here as 'ondervinden' (to experience). (Compare note 3) Another interpretation might be "You chose death" in the sense of "You preferred heaven over the existence on earth"
- ^ J. Verdam, Middelnederlandsch Handwoordenboek.
- ^ This line has an alternative interpretation as: "het scheen één moest sterven" ("apparently one had to die"), omitting the 't-' in front of 'een', meaning .
- ^ Or: "toch moet iedereen eens/ooit sterven" (However, everyone has to die sometime).
External links
- Page about the song at literatuurgeschiedenis.nl
- Royal Library of the Netherlands (Dutch: Koninklijke Bibliotheek): the Gruuthuse manuscript.
- Text of 'Egidius' with music (mp3)