Old French

21/11/2018 The Linguistics Research Center
Old French Online

Series Introduction
Brigitte L.M. Bauer and Jonathan Slocum
Like the other Romance languages, French is a daughter-language of Latin. Its standard variety
traces back to one of the dialects of Old French, that is, the dialect spoken in the Ile de France,
which has been for centuries the geographical and political center of what is France today.
Old French is one of the earliest attested Romance languages and offers a fascinating eld for
research in historical linguistics: not only are many of its changes attested in texts, but its
linguistic ancestor, Latin, is richly documented as well.
1. Emergence of a New Language

When Rome expanded under Caesar and the Roman emperors, Latin became the dominant
language in much of the Roman Empire. In many of the occupied territories Latin eventually
ousted the vernacular languages, but ultimately split up in what are the Romance languages
today. The Romance languages include Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, Occitan, French,
Sardinian, Rhaeto-Romance, Rumanian, and Romance Creoles.
Among these, (Old) French is the result of language contact between several languages
representing different language groups: Celtic (Gaulish), Italic (Latin), and Germanic (e.g.
Frankish, the language of the Franks).
Julius Caesar conquered Gaul between 58 and 51 B.C., but the southern parts of the country
had already been occupied by the Romans since 121 B.C. and therefore had already been
colonized and Romanized. After Caesar's conquest, the Gauls -- speaking a variety of Gaulish
dialects -- came in touch with Latin through contact with colonists, the military, tradesmen, and
administrators. Even before the Roman conquest, Gaul had towns and a well-developed road
system; its Romanization resulted in Latin becoming the predominant language -- a process that
took several centuries.
Without going too much into detail, we mention here two aspects of the process of
Romanization that were very important for the spread of Latin: education, and administration.
State o cials were sent to Gaul to take care of various administrative tasks, among them the
tax system. At rst these state o cials came from Rome and therefore spoke Latin: Latin
became the o cial language of administration. Soon however it became possible for the
https://lrc.la.utexas.edu/eieol_printable/ofrol 1/260
indigenous population to make a career in Roman administration as well, provided they spoke
Latin. Latin therefore became an important means to achieve socio-economic success. In
addition, because of the Roman school system, young generations of Gauls acquired a
systematic knowledge of Latin. Moreover Latin had its own writing system, a rich written
tradition, and represented a civilization that was politically, militarily, culturally, admininstratively,
and economically the most advanced of its time. The socio-economic advantages Latin offered
to those who knew it, and the fundamental willingness of the Gauls to accept it, explain why not
only the Romanization but also the Latinization of Gaul was a success.
As noted, Latin gradually ousted Gaulish, which in fact left relatively few traces in the new
language, mainly lexical: approximately seventy or so Gaulish words survive in French today,
among them lieue 'mile', chemin 'road', charrue 'plow', mouton 'sheep', and others. Most of these
words refer to agriculture and everyday life.
The invasion of the Germanic tribes in the 5th century A.D. marks the end of the Roman Empire
in Western Europe and the beginning of the Frankish rule in the northern part of Gaul (up to the
Loire). Although the Franks were in power, their language did not oust Gallo-Romance. The
Franks did, however, leave a few traces in French, such as words starting with h-aspiré, as in
haricot 'bean', which traces back to a Germanic word. Compare the h-muet in homme 'man'.
Homme goes back to Latin hominem, which lost its initial h sound before the Frankish tribes
occupied Gaul. Another Germanic feature is the existence and predominance of place names in
northern regions France of the type Neuville, Neufchateau, Francheville, and others. In these
formations the adjective precedes the noun, as they do in Germanic today. These structures are
not attested in the south, where place names are found with the reverse order, noun + adjective:
Villeneuve, Chateauneuf, Villefranche, and others.
The Frankish kings made important contributions to the development of France: with the
conversion of Clovis to the Church of Rome (ca. 496 A.D.), the Church became important. The
countryside was christianized; monasteries were founded, and soon became centers of activity
and education. In the 8th century, Charlemagne wanted to re-create the Roman Empire, but in a
Christian version. His reign marks a Renaissance: the civilization of Antiquity and its language
were ideals one set out to realize. It is in the early 9th century that two events mark an important
linguistic phenomenon. In 813 it was decided at the Concily of Tours that sermons would no
longer be delivered in Latin, but rather in the vernacular language. Then in 842 two of
Charlemagne's grandsons, Louis le Germanique and Charles le Chauve, took an oath in French
and German, respectively, in front of their troops in Strassbourg; this proclamation of mutual
support resulted in a written agreement, Les Serments de Strassbourg. These two events re ect
the awareness of the speakers of the day that (1) the Gallo-Romance they spoke was a
language separate and different from Latin, and (2) Gallo-Romance was a language different
from German. The earliest text in French, therefore, is the Serments de Strassbourg; it marks, in
fact, the political disintegration of centralized power that started at Charlemagne's death.
During the early Middle Ages, contacts among people were rather local in nature and therefore
"vertical": most people lived and died in the region where they were born, and communicated
with others living in the same region independently of their social background. The seigneur, for
example, would communicate with his farmers and soldiers, and so forth. This phenomenon
contributed greatly to the emergence of dialects.
Only later -- starting in the 12th century -- when pilgrimages, crusades, and universities came up
and towns became more important, did contacts become "horizontal," cutting through
geographical boundaries rather than social classes. Gradually the king once again became a
central power. At that point one sees that the dialect of the Ile de France, where the kings
established a xed court, became increasingly important and in fact started the journey that
eventually would lead to its standardisation. The historical background accounts for the fact
that Old French had many local dialects.
2. Dialects
Although this course in Old French is too short to make dialect variation a topic of special
interest, students should know that "Old French" in fact refers to a collection of dialects. Since
some of these dialects share more characteristics than others, it is possible to divide them in
two groups: the dialects spoken in the northern parts of France, to which one refers as language
d'oïl and those spoken in the Southern parts, referred to as langue d'oc. Oc and oïl were markers
of a rmation ('yes') in the respective dialect groups.
La language d'oïl includes the following dialects: the dialects of Picardie (le Picard), Normandy
(le Normand), Ile de France (le Francien), Lorraine (le Lorrain), Anjou (l'Angevin), Poitou (le
Poitevin), Bourgundy (le Bourguignon), and Berry (le Berrichon).
La langue d'oc includes the dialects of the following regions: Provence (le provenc/al), Auvergne
(l'auvergnat), Gascony (le gascon), and Languedoc (le languedocien).
The differences between the dialects are primarily phonological. Lexical differences are also
found, some of which may have grammatical effects. In Old French, negation is expressed with
the negating particle ne, which may be reinforced by an element of nominal origin. The modern
French ne ... pas negation traces back to this situation. Yet in Old French there were many other
elements used as reinforcer in this context, for example mie 'crumb', point 'dot', goutte 'drop',
and many others. In some regions pas predominated, in others e.g. mie. Eventually pas
supplanted all other varieties and became the unique non-emphatic negating marker.
3. Grammatical Characteristics of Old French

Linguistically, Old French represents an intermediate stage between Latin and the modern
language. A case in point is the case system: whereas Latin had a full- edged case system with
six cases, and modern French has none (except on pronouns), Old French had two cases, a
subject and an oblique case.
Similarly, in the history of word order, an important change occurred in the transition from Latin
to French: Latin was a verb- nal language (Subject-Object-Verb, henceforth SOV); in French the
verb from the earliest documents precedes the object (SVO). Old French therefore is an SVO
language but its subordinate clauses are often still verb- nal. In addition, word order in Old
French allows for more variation and it is only later that sequences such as Complement + Verb
+ Subject disappear. The word order patterns observed in Old French remind us of those in
today's German or Dutch. These languages, as well, are shifting from an earlier SOV to an SVO
system.
As noted, Old French had a system of two cases: a subject case (nominative), and an object
case (oblique). Yet the case distinction in nouns is formally marked in masculine nouns only.
Case is more manifest in pronouns where, for the third person singular for example, there is a
distinction between the direct object le/la and the indirect object li.
With a few exceptions, all nouns have number marking (singular vs. plural); and they are either
masculine or feminine.
Case, number, and gender are also manifest in adjectival elements, such as adjectives and
participles. The adjective, for example, agrees with the noun in case, number, and gender.
Another important characteristic of Old French, and an innovation with respect to Latin, is the
use of de nite articles. Old French de nite articles trace back to Latin demonstratives, which in
the history of Latin became more and more frequent and gradually lost their demonstrative
value. The de nite article in Old French primarily had a de ning function. In contrast to modern
uses, the de nite article in Old French is not automatic. Like other nominal elements, de nite
articles are marked for gender, case, and number.
When the demonstratives lost their demonstrative value, new demonstratives developed: an
element ecce 'behold' was added to the old demonstrative forms, iste and ille. As a result, Old
French had two demonstratives (instead of three in Latin):
cist < ecce + iste 'this'
cil < ecce + ille 'that'
Most morphological processes are attested in the verb, which is marked for person, tense,
mood, voice, and aspect:
Person: 1st sg. 2nd sg. 3rd sg.
1st pl. 2nd pl. 3rd pl.

Tense: Present
Preterite Imperfect
Future

Mood: Indicative Subjunctive Imperative Conditional

Voice: Active Passive

Aspect: Imperfective Perfective
Some of the forms mentioned in this table are analytic (including an auxiliary and a main verb),
while others are "synthetic." In synthetic forms, one verb form embodies the lexical element and
all grammatical categories; cf.:
Analytic: ai chanté 'I have sung'
Synthetic: chantai 'I sang'
An important difference between Old French and later varieties is that the subject pronoun is not
yet compulsory. In fact, it is rather infrequent.
In syntax, word order is predominantly SVO. Other sequences are motivated: SOV, for example, is
typically attested in subordinate clauses; in commands, the imperative verb comes rst.
Subject inversion is very common in Old French: it is triggered when a complement (direct,
indirect, adverbial) is in clause-initial position, creating sequences such as Complement + Verb +
Subject or Complement + Verb + Subject + Object.
In line with the predominance of SVO, other elements follow speci c patterns as well: the
genitive, for example, typically follows the head noun, with or without preposition, cf. e.g.
l'ost des Franceis

'the army of the French'

la fille le roi
'the daughter of the king'
Negation in Old French was characterized by one negating element ne, which precedes the verb.
In addition there are many attestations of so-called "double" negation, as in:
autrement ne m'amerat il mie

'otherwise he will not love me'
In this example, negation includes an element ne and an element mie. In this construction the
part ne + verb has been inherited from Latin. Adding a second element (mie) was a later
development and not yet compulsory in Old French.
Compared to the modern language, nominal forms of the Old French verb played an important
role: in nitive, participles, and gerunds. Yet, compared to Latin, these elements just play a minor
role. In Old French, absolute constructions -- widespread in Latin -- are limited to speci c verbs
and typically specify the circumstances in which the action of the main verb is carried out, cf.:
juntes ses mains est alet a sa fin
'his hands joined he went to his death'
The in nitive in Old French may be nominalized, in which case a de nite article generally is
added; it may function as subject or complement, for example cf.:
li porters dou rainsel

'the fact of carrying the small branch'

tens est del hebergier

'it is time to encamp'
The use of an in nitive as complement of a nite verb is less strongly developed than in the
modern language. In modern French the in nitive is automatically used when the subject of the
nite verb and the in nitive are identical. In Old French this is not yet the case. Often a
subjunctive, for example, is used instead, cf.:
Modern French:
je ne sais quoi faire
'I do not know what to do'

Old French:
ne sai que face [very common]

'I do not know what to do' (with subjunctive)

ne sai que faire [very rare]

4. Documents
A rich literature in Old French, along with many other documents, provide a wealth of texts
covering the period from the 9th century until the end of the 13th century. From the end of the
13th century on, the case system disappears and the dialect of the Ile de France becomes
increasingly important. That is why one no longer speaks of Old French, but rather of Middle
French. Consequently the language of the 14th and 15th centuries is typically referred to as
Middle French.
The texts selected for this course represent the various genres: the Chansons de geste, relating
the exploits of Charlemagne and his nephew Roland; a hagiography, presenting the life of St.
Alexis; a hymn written to praise the virtues of St. Eulalie; two examples of (early) littérature
courtoise, Tristan and Yvain; an historical account of the Fourth Crusade; two texts
representing the littérature bourgeoise, a fable and part of a play; and nally a translation of the
well-known Latin text about St. Brendan, who set out to discover what may have been North
America.
A striking characteristic of Old French texts is their international, European character. Some
texts are based on foreign or international traditions or are translations or revisions of foreign
texts. Moreover, the veneration of some saints is an international phenomenon, and the
component of Irish culture, for example, is strong.
5. Abbreviations
In the Grammar points, several abbreviations have been used; these refer to the following
grammatical concepts:
abl. = ablative acc. = accusative adj. = adjective art. = article
comp. = comparative dir. = direct fem. = feminine gen. = genitive
impf. = imperfective indef. = inde nite indir. = indirect inf. = in nitive
masc. = masculine nom. = nominative obj. = object obl. = oblique
part. = participle pers. = person pf. = perfective pl. = plural
pres. = present pret. = preterite sg. = singular subj. = subject
subju. = subjunctive La(t). = Latin OF = Old French
Related Language Courses at UT
Most but not all language courses taught at The University of Texas concern modern languages;
sometimes courses are offered in ancient languages, though more often at the graduate level.
French language courses are taught in the Department of French & Italian
(http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/frenchitalian/) (link opens in a new browser window). Other
online language courses for college credit are offered through the University Extension
(http://www.utexas.edu/ce/uex/online/) (new window).
Italic Resources Elsewhere
Our Web Links (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/extras/links.php) page includes pointers to

Italic resources elsewhere (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/extras/links.php#Italic).
Old French Online

Lesson 1
La Chanson de Roland (The Song of Roland) is a so-called Chanson de Geste, one of the major
genres of French medieval literature in the 12th and 13th centuries. In the Chansons de Geste
the deeds (Latin gesta) of the great heroes of Christian lineage are described. As the oldest
Chanson de Geste, the Chanson de Roland is generally dated in the early 12th century (ca. 1100-
1120) and traces back to an historical event.
In 778, when Charlemagne crossed the Pyrenees returning from a campaign in Spain, the
rearguard of his army was attacked and massacred by the local population. Toward the end of
the 11th century, leading up to the First Crusade (1096-1099), this event developed legendary
characteristics and the historical gures were interpreted as Christian heroes whose faith,
loyalty, and courage in the battle against the pagan Saracens is continually praised, as in the
Chanson de Roland.
In this epic two characters stand out: Charlemagne, king of the Franks, and Roland, his nephew
and most prominent adviser and knight, who is the epitome of Christian heroism and sacri ce
and who accepts martyrdom on the battle eld against the enemies of Christianity. The poem
relates the events that lead to the betrayal and massacre as well as the battle itself; it describes
not only the battle, in great detail, but also the deliberations that precede the decisions made by
the main characters.
Reading and Textual Analysis
The text is divided into laisses, stanzas of varying length. For this lesson two laisses have been
selected, numbers I (lines 1-9) and VIII (lines 96-121), which present Charlemagne as one of the
main characters of the work and show his military strength.
Carles li reis, nostre emperere magnes

set anz tuz pleins ad estet en Espaigne:
Tresqu'en la mer cunquist la tere altaigne.
Carles -- proper name; nominative singular <Charles> Charles, Charlemagne -- Charles

li -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the -- the
reis -- noun; nominative singular <roi> king -- king
nostre -- possessive; rst person plural nominative singular masculine <nostre> our --
our
emperere -- noun; nominative singular <empereor> emperor -- emperor
magnes -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <magne> great -- great
set -- numeral; <set> seven -- seven
anz -- noun; oblique plural <an> year -- years
tuz -- adjective; oblique plural masculine <tot> all, every, completely -- ...
pleins -- adjective; oblique plural masculine <plein, plain> full -- full
ad -- verb; third person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- has
estet -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <ester> stand, remain,
be -- been
en -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- in
Espaigne -- proper name; oblique singular <Espaigne> Spain -- Spain
tresqu'en -- preposition; <tresqu', trusqu'> up to, until + preposition; <en> in, into, on,
on top of -- up to
la -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the -- the
mer -- noun; oblique singular <mer> sea -- sea
cunquist -- verb; third person singular preterite <conquerre, cunquerre> conquer,
capture -- he conquered
tere -- noun; oblique singular <terre> land, country, earth -- land
altaigne -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <altain> high, deep -- high
N'i ad castel ki devant lui remaigne;

Mur ne citet n'i est remés a fraindre
Fors Saraguce, ki est en une muntaigne.
n'i -- negation; <ne, nen> not + particle; <i> there -- there... no

ad -- verb; third person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- is
castel -- noun; oblique singular <chastel, castel> castle -- castle
ki -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> that -- that
devant -- preposition; <devant> before, in front of, in the presence of -- ...
lui -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he -- him
remaigne -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <remanoir> stay, remain,
resist -- resists
mur -- noun; nominative singular <mur> wall -- wall
ne -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not -- or
citet -- noun; nominative singular <cit, citet> city, town -- town
n'i -- negation; <ne, nen> not + particle; <i> there -- no... there
est -- verb; third person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- is
remés -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <remanoir> stay,
remain, resist -- left
a -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on -- to
fraindre -- verb; in nitive <freindre, fraindre> break -- conquer
fors -- preposition; <fors> except -- except
Saraguce -- proper name; oblique singular <Saraguce> Saragossa -- Saragossa
ki -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> that -- which
est -- verb; third person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- is located
en -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- on top of
une -- inde nite article; oblique singular feminine <un> a -- a
muntaigne -- noun; oblique singular <montaigne> mountain -- mountain
Li reis Marsilie la tient, ki Deu nen amet,

Mahumet sert e Apollin recleimet:
Nes poet guarder que mals ne l'i ateignet. AOI.
li -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the -- ...

Marsilie -- proper name; nominative singular <Marsilie> Marsilie -- Marsilie
la -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object feminine <il> he -- it
tient -- verb; third person singular present <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider -- holds
ki -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- he who
Deu -- proper name; oblique singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- God
nen -- negation; <ne, nen> not -- not
amet -- verb; third person singular present <amer> love -- does... love
Mahumet -- proper name; oblique singular <Mahumez, Mahun> Mahomet -- Mahomet
sert -- verb; third person singular present <servir> serve -- serves
e -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and -- and
Apollin -- proper name; oblique singular <Apollin> Apollo, Satan -- Satan
recleimet -- verb; third person singular present <reclamer> call upon, invoke, beg --
invokes
nes -- negation; <ne, nen> not -- not
poet -- verb; third person singular present <pooir, poeir, poier> can, be able -- can
guarder -- verb; in nitive <garder> watch over, guard -- prevent
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- that
mals -- noun; nominative singular <mal> evil, disaster, illness -- disaster
ne -- negation; <ne, nen> not -- ...
l'i -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object singular masculine <il> he +
particle; <i> there -- him...there
ateignet -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <ataindre> reach, regain, catch
-- reaches
AOI -- interjection; <AOI> ... -- ... # unknown element, possibly a war cry, typical of the
Chanson de Roland
Li empereres se fait e balz e liez:

Cordres ad prise e les murs peceiez,
Od ses cadables les turs en abatied;

empereres -- noun; nominative singular <empereor> emperor -- emperor
se fait -- verb; third person singular present <se faire> be -- is
e -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and -- ...
balz -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <balt> happy, full of fervor -- ebullient
e -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and -- as well as
liez -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <lié, liet> happy, joyful -- joyful
Cordres -- proper name; oblique singular <Cordres> Cordres -- Cordres
ad -- verb; third person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- he has
prise -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular feminine <prendre> take, take hold of,
seize -- taken
les -- de nite article; oblique plural masculine <li> the -- the
murs -- noun; oblique plural <mur> wall -- walls
peceiez -- verb; perfective participle oblique plural masculine <pecier> smash to pieces --
smashed to pieces
od -- preposition; <ot, od, of, o> with -- with
ses -- possessive; third person singular oblique plural masculine <son> his -- his
cadables -- noun; oblique plural <cadable> catapult -- catapults
les -- de nite article; oblique plural feminine <li> the -- ...
turs -- noun; oblique plural <tor> tower -- towers
en -- pronoun; inanimate <en> of it -- its
abatied -- verb; third person singular preterite <abatre> knock down, destroy -- he
destroyed
Mult grant eschech en unt si chevaler

D'or e d'argent e de guarnemenz chers.
mult -- adverb, adjective; <molt, mult, mout> many, much, very -- ...
grant -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <grant> great, large, tall -- ...
eschech -- noun; oblique singular <eschec> booty, loot -- booty
en -- pronoun; inanimate <en> of it -- its
unt -- verb; third person plural present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- are laden with
si -- possessive; third person singular nominative plural masculine <son> his -- his
chevaler -- noun; nominative plural <chevalier> knight -- knights
d'or -- preposition; <de> of, from + noun; oblique singular <or> gold -- gold
d'argent -- preposition; <de> of, from + noun; oblique singular <argent> silver, money,
riches -- silver
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- ...
guarnemenz -- noun; oblique plural <garnement> decorative object -- objects
chers -- adjective; oblique plural masculine <cher> beloved, expensive -- precious
En la citet nen ad remés paien

Ne seit ocis u devient chrestien.

citet -- noun; nominative singular <cit, citet> city, town -- town
nen -- negation; <ne, nen> not -- no
remés -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <remanoir> stay, remain,
resist -- left
paien -- noun; oblique singular <paien, pagien> pagan, heathen -- pagan
ne -- negation; <ne, nen> not -- not
seit -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- has
been
ocis -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <ocire> kill -- killed
u -- conjunction; <o, u> or -- or
devient -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <devenir> become -- become
chrestien -- noun; nominative singular <chrestien> christian -- christian
Li empereres est en un grant verger,

Ensembl'od lui Rollant e Oliver,
Sansun li dux e Anseis li fiers,
Gefreid d'Anjou, le rei gunfanuner,
E si i furent e Gerin e Gerers;

empereres -- noun; nominative singular <empereor> emperor -- emperor
un -- inde nite article; oblique singular masculine <un> a -- a
grant -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <grant> great, large, tall -- large
verger -- noun; oblique singular <vergier> orchard, garden -- orchard
ensembl'od -- preposition; <ensemble od> together with -- together with... (are)
Rollant -- proper name; nominative singular <Rollant> Roland -- Roland
Oliver -- proper name; nominative singular <Oliver> Oliver -- Oliver
Sansun -- proper name; nominative singular <Sansun> Sansun -- Sansun
dux -- noun; nominative singular <duc> duke -- duke
Anseis -- proper name; nominative singular <Anseis> Anseis -- Anseis
fiers -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <fier> erce, strong, proud -- proud one
Gefreid -- proper name; nominative singular <Gefreid> Gefreid -- Gefreid
d'Anjou -- preposition; <de> of, from + proper name; oblique singular <Anjou> Anjou --
of Anjou
le -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the -- the
rei -- noun; oblique singular <roi> king -- king
gunfanuner -- noun; nominative singular <gunfanuner> standard bearer -- standard
bearer
e si -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and + particle; <si> so, and moreover -- and also
i -- particle; <i> there -- there
furent -- verb; third person plural preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- were
Gerin -- proper name; nominative singular <Gerin> Gerin -- Gerin
e -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and -- as well as
Gerers -- proper name; nominative singular <Gerer> Gerer -- Gerer
La u cist furent, des altres i out bien:

De dulce France i ad quinze milliers.
la -- adverb; <la> there -- ...

u -- relative pronoun; <ou, u> where -- where
cist -- demonstrative pronoun; nominative plural masculine <cest, cist> this -- these
furent -- verb; third person plural preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- were
des -- preposition; <de> of, from + de nite article; oblique plural masculine <li> the -- ...
altres -- inde nite adjective; oblique plural masculine <altre> other -- others
out -- verb; third person singular preterite <avoir, aveir> have, be -- were
bien -- adverb; <bien> well, many, much, really -- many
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- from
dulce -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <dolz, dous> sweet, gentle -- our beloved
France -- proper name; oblique singular <France> France -- France
ad -- verb; third person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- are
quinze -- numeral; <quinze> fteen -- fteen
milliers -- numeral; oblique plural <millier> thousand -- thousand men
Sur palies blancs siedent cil cevaler,

As tables juent pur els esbaneier
E as eschecs li plus saive e li veill,
E escremissent cil bacheler leger.
sur -- preposition; <seur, soure, sur, sor> on, over, to, above -- on
palies -- noun; oblique plural <paile> precious cloth -- precious clothes
blancs -- adjective; oblique plural masculine <blanc> white -- white
siedent -- verb; third person plural present <seoir> sit, be seated -- are seated
cil -- demonstrative; nominative plural masculine <cil> that -- the
cevaler -- noun; nominative plural <chevalier> knight -- knights
as -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on + de nite article; oblique plural feminine
<li> the -- ...
tables -- noun; oblique plural <table> game -- games
juent -- verb; third person plural present <joer> play -- play
pur -- preposition; <por> for -- to
els -- personal pronoun; third person plural direct object masculine <il> they -- themselves
esbaneier -- verb; in nitive <esbanir> amuse -- amuse
as -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on + de nite article; oblique plural feminine
<li> the -- ...
eschecs -- noun; oblique plural <eschecs> chess -- chess
li -- de nite article; nominative plural masculine <li> the -- the
plus -- adverb; <plus> more -- most
saive -- adjective; nominative plural masculine <saige, saive> clever, educated -- clever
men
veill -- adjective; nominative plural masculine <vieil, veil> old -- old men
escremissent -- verb; third person plural present <escremir, escrimer> fence -- are
fencing
cil -- demonstrative; nominative plural masculine <cil> that -- the
bacheler -- noun; nominative plural <bacheler, bachelor> young man, young knight
aspirant, page -- pages
leger -- adjective; nominative plural masculine <legier, ligier, loigier> light, supple, light-
hearted -- athletic
Desuz un pin, delez un eglentier,

Un faldestoed i unt, fait tut d'or mer:
La siet li reis ki dulce France tient.
desuz -- preposition; <desos, desous> under -- under

pin -- noun; oblique singular <pin> pine tree -- pine tree
delez -- preposition; <deles, delé, deleiz> next to; beside -- next to
eglentier -- noun; oblique singular <aiglent> wild rose -- wild rose
faldestoed -- noun; oblique singular <faldestuel, faldestuef, faldestoed> folding chair
for important person, throne -- throne
i -- particle; <i> there -- ...
unt -- verb; third person plural present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- they have
fait -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <faire> make -- made
tut -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <tot> all, every, completely -- entirely
d'or -- preposition; <de> of, from + noun; oblique singular <or> gold -- of gold
mer -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <mer, mier> pure -- pure
la -- adverb; <la> there -- there
siet -- verb; third person singular present <seoir> sit, be seated -- is seated
ki -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- who
dulce -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <dolz, dous> sweet, gentle -- our beloved
France -- proper name; oblique singular <France> France -- France
tient -- verb; third person singular present <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider -- holds
Blanche ad la barbe e tut flurit le chef,

Gent ad le cors e le cuntenant fier:
S'est kil demandet, ne l'estoet enseigner.
blanche -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <blanc> white -- white

la -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the -- a
barbe -- noun; oblique singular <barbe> beard -- beard
tut -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <tot> all, every, completely -- entirely
flurit -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <florir> ower -- greyish
white
chef -- noun; oblique singular <chief> head -- head
gent -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <gent> fair, handsome, beautiful -- fair
le -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the -- a
cors -- noun; oblique singular <cors> body -- body
le -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the -- a
cuntenant -- noun; oblique singular <contenant> demeanour, expression, appearance --
appearance
fier -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <fier> erce, strong, proud -- strong
s'est -- conjunction; <si> and, and thus + verb third person singular present;
<estre, iestre, aistre> be -- and if... were
kil -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who + personal pronoun; third person singular direct
object masculine <il> he -- someone... him
demandet -- verb; third person singular present <demander> ask, ask for -- to ask for
l'estoet -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object masculine <il> he +
verb; third person singular imperfective <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- him... it is necessary
enseigner -- verb; in nitive <enseignier> teach, inform, point out -- point out
E li message descendirent a pied,

Sil saluerent par amur e par bien.

message -- noun; nominative plural <message> messenger -- messengers
descendirent -- verb; third person plural preterite <descendre> descend, dismount --
came down
a -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on -- ...
pied -- noun; oblique singular <pié> foot -- ...
sil -- conjunction; <si> and, and thus + personal pronoun; third person singular direct
object masculine <il> he -- and... him
saluerent -- verb; third person plural preterite <saluer> salute, greet -- greeted
par -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of -- out of
amur -- noun; oblique singular <amor> love -- love
par -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of -- out of
bien -- noun; oblique singular <bien, ben> good, good fortune, well-being -- respect
Lesson Text
Carles li reis, nostre emperere magnes

set anz tuz pleins ad estet en Espaigne:
Tresqu'en la mer cunquist la tere altaigne. N'i ad castel ki devant lui remaigne;
Mur ne citet n'i est remés a fraindre
Fors Saraguce, ki est en une muntaigne. Li reis Marsilie la tient, ki Deu nen amet,
Mahumet sert e Apollin recleimet:
Nes poet guarder que mals ne l'i ateignet. AOI. Li empereres se fait e balz e liez:
Cordres ad prise e les murs peceiez,
Od ses cadables les turs en abatied; Mult grant eschech en unt si chevaler
D'or e d'argent e de guarnemenz chers. En la citet nen ad remés paien
Ne seit ocis u devient chrestien. Li empereres est en un grant verger,
Ensembl'od lui Rollant e Oliver,
Sansun li dux e Anseis li fiers,
Gefreid d'Anjou, le rei gunfanuner,
E si i furent e Gerin e Gerers; La u cist furent, des altres i out bien:
De dulce France i ad quinze milliers. Sur palies blancs siedent cil cevaler,
As tables juent pur els esbaneier
E as eschecs li plus saive e li veill,
E escremissent cil bacheler leger. Desuz un pin, delez un eglentier,
Un faldestoed i unt, fait tut d'or mer:
La siet li reis ki dulce France tient. Blanche ad la barbe e tut flurit le chef,
Gent ad le cors e le cuntenant fier:
S'est kil demandet, ne l'estoet enseigner. E li message descendirent a pied,
Sil saluerent par amur e par bien.
Translation
Charles the king, our great emperor,

has been in Spain a full seven years:
he conquered the high land up to the sea.
There is no castle that resists him;
there is no wall or town left to conquer,
except Saragossa, which is located on top of a mountain.
King Marsilie holds it, he who does not love God,
serves Mahomet and invokes Satan;
he cannot prevent that disaster reaches him there.
The emperor is ebullient as well as joyful:

he has taken Cordres and smashed the walls to pieces,
with his catapults he destroyed its towers;
his knights are laden with its booty
gold and silver and precious objects.
In the town no pagan is left
who has not been killed or become Christian.
The emperor is in a large orchard,
together with him are Roland and Oliver,
Sansun the duke and Anseis the proud one,
Gefreid of Anjou, the standard bearer of the king,
and Gerin as well as Gerer were there also;
Where these men were, there were many others:
from our beloved France there are fteen thousand men.
The knights are seated on white precious cloths
to amuse themselves the most clever men and
the old men play games and chess,
and the pages, athletic, are fencing.
Under a pine tree, next to a wild rose,
they have a throne, entirely made of pure gold:
there the king is seated, who holds our beloved France.
He has a white beard and the head entirely greyish-white,
he has a fair body and a strong appearance:
if someone were to ask for him, it is not necessary to point him out.
And the messengers came down
and greeted him out of love and out of respect.
Grammar
1 Gender
Whereas the transition from Latin to French is characterized by the loss of the neuter, gender
distribution itself is not fundamentally different in Old French: natural gender prevails for
animate nouns, as in li uem vs. la feme ('the man' - 'the wife'), le filz - la fille ('the son' - 'the
daughter), li tors 'the bull', la vache 'the cow', la jument 'the mare', and so forth. Inanimate
nouns are either masculine or feminine and this so-called grammatical gender is unpredictable,
with a few exceptions. Nouns in -or, for example tend to be feminine (e.g. la dolor 'the pain').
Because of wide-spread agreement patterns, gender marking is found in articles,
demonstratives, possessives, adjectives, and participles.
2 Case: Nominal Declensions, Class I and Class II

Old French differs from all other stages of the language in that is still has declension of nouns.
In the declension system of Old French, number and case are closely connected. The very large
majority of nouns have a singular and a plural form. A limited number of nouns have a so-called
collective singular: the singular refers to a single referent and to a group of persons or objects,
as in fruit 'fruit' and 'fruits', or feuille 'leaf' and 'foliage'.
In Old French only two cases survive of the rich Latin nominal in ection. With Old Occitan, Old
French differs fundamentally in this respect from from most other early Romance languages,
which no longer have case marking on nouns; an important and well-known exception is
Rumanian, where even today two nominal cases survive, a nominative-accusative and a genitive-
dative.
The two cases that are found in Old French are the nominative and the so-called oblique case.
The Old French nominative goes back to the Latin nominative, whereas the oblique case traces
back to the Latin accusative, which assumed many functions from the other cases when they
gradually disappeared in the development from Latin to Romance. Although Old French still
distinguishes between the nominative and the oblique, these cases are not explicitly marked on
all nouns. The majority of masculine nouns have distinct case forms; for feminine nouns the
distinctions are primarily limited to number. It is possible to distinguish various classes.
Nominal Declensions, Class I
Sg. Pl.
Nom. fame 'woman' fames
Obl. fame fames
The majority of these nouns are feminine and go back to the Latin rst declension in -a; they
therefore end in -e in Old French, by regular phonological development. The class includes
nominalized adjectives and participles as well, cf. force 'strength' from the Latin neuter plural
fortia 'strong things'.
Note that for these nouns there is no formal distinction between cases, because the nominative
is formally identical to the oblique case. The only formal distinction is between singular and
plural.
The majority of Class II nouns are masculine and they have formal marking, represented by the
ending -s, which follows the stem in the nominative singular and the oblique plural.
Nominal Declensions, Class II
Sg. Pl.
Nom. murs (from La. murus) 'wall' mur (from La. muri)
reis 'king' rei
Obl. mur (from La. murum) murs (from La. muros)
rei reis
Most of these nouns go back to nouns of the second declension in Latin, which were primarily
masculine nouns as well. When the fourth declension disappeared, these nouns in -us became
second declension nouns. This class of nouns further includes nominalized in nitives (li
mangiers 'the meal') and nominalized participles and adjectives (Latin adj. diurnus 'daily'
became Old French li jorz 'day').
3 Case: Hybrid Declensions

While not all feminine nouns end in -e, some masculine nouns do. This is the basis of what
some scholars call "hybrid" declensions. Nouns in these classes have a declension pattern that
does not correspond to what one might expect on the basis of the gender of the noun.
In practice this means that the case ending -s is used for feminine nouns that do not end in -e
and that it lacks in some masculine nouns that do end in -e:
Nominal Declensions, Class Ia (feminine nouns)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. flors ' ower' flors

Obl. flor flors
Words in this class most often in origin belonged to the third declension in Latin, such as amor
'love', mer 'sea', color 'color', dolor 'sorrow', loi 'religion', gent 'people', fin 'end', honor 'honor',
main 'hand', valor 'worth', and others.
In the next class of nouns, the ending -s may or may not follow the stem.
Nominal Declensions, Class IIa (masculine nouns ending in ustressed -e)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. pere(s) 'father' pere

Obl. pere peres
This declension includes nouns such as frere 'brother', gendre 'son-in-law', mestre 'master',
arbre 'tree', ventre 'belly', livre 'book', archevesque 'archbishop', ermite 'hermit', and others.
Hybrid declensions are the result of the on-going breakdown of the case system, which started
in early Latin. The development resulted not only in the loss of cases (compare the six cases of
Latin to the two cases in Old French), but also in the disappearance of entire declensions (see
the ve declensions in Latin). Many nouns therefore moved from one declension to another on
the basis of form or gender. Sometimes form and gender characteristics did not parallel, which
led to declensional inconsistencies. In time the irregularities of declensions Ia and IIa
disappeared, for example when the ending -s of the masculine singular spread, as in livre:
Nominal Declensions, Spread of -s
Sg. Pl.
Nom. livres 'book' (earlier: livre) livres

Obl. livre livres
4 Case Marking: De nite Articles and Adjectives

Case marking is also found in de nite articles and adjectival elements, among them adjectives
and participles.
4.1 De nite article declension

Case Marking, De nite Article
Masculine Sg. Pl.
Nom. li 'the' li
li murs 'the wall' li mur
Obl. le les
le mur les murs
Case Marking, De nite Article
Feminine Sg. Pl.
Nom. la 'the' les

la fame 'the woman' les fames
Obl. la les
la fame les fames
4.2 Adjectival declension

Like articles, adjectival elements agree with the noun in gender, number, and case. Adjectival
in ection shows different patterns according to gender and to the declension the adjectives
belong to.
Latin adjectives were divided into two groups or declensions. One included adjectives that
distinguished a masculine, feminine, and neuter form (La. bonus, bona, bonum 'good') and the
other declension -- the oldest one -- included those adjectives that distinguish between a
masculine/feminine and a neuter form (La. fortis [masc./fem.] and forte [neuter] 'strong'). In Old
French the rst type of adjective follows the pattern of nominal Declension I when the adjective
is feminine, and the pattern of nominal Declension II when the adjective is masculine. Past
participles typically follow these patterns as well.
Adjectival Declension, Class I (feminine)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. bone 'good' bones

dure 'hard' dures
entree 'enter' (Pf. Part.) entrees
Obl. bone bones
dure dures
entree entrees
Adjectival Declension, Class II (masculine)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. bons bon

durs dur
entrez entré
Obl. bon bons
dur durs
entré entrez
Adjectives that follow these patterns include, e.g., sains 'holy', bruns 'brown', clers 'clear', fiers
'proud', legiers 'light, souple', tot 'all'.
Adjectives in -e follow the declension patterns of Class I feminine nouns when they are
feminine and those of the Class II masculine nouns when they are masculine.
Adjectival Declension, Adjectives in -e (feminine)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. sage 'wise' sages

Obl. sage sages
Adjectival Declension, Adjectives in -e (masculine)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. sages sage

Obl. sage sages
Examples of adjectives of this category include e.g. amable 'amiable', foible 'feeble', riche 'rich'.
Adjectives in -re (e.g. povre 'poor') form a special group. The declension for feminine
adjectives is regular, that of masculine adjectives lacks the -s su x in the nominative singular.
Adjectival Declension, Adjectives in -re (feminine)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. povre povres

Obl. povre povres
Adjectival Declension, Adjectives in -re (masculine)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. povre povre

Obl. povre povres
Adjectives that follow this pattern include, among others: autre 'other', maigre 'thin', tendre
'tender'.
The archaic adjectival declension in Latin that originally distinguished animate (masc. or fem.,
e.g. fortis 'strong') vs. inanimate (neuter, e.g. forte ) survives in Old French in a declension
pattern that does not include a su x -e for feminine forms:
Adjectival Declension, Class III (feminine)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. fort (forz) 'strong' forz

Obl. fort forz
Adjectival Declension, Class III (masculine)
Sg. Pl.
Nom. forz fort

Obl. fort forz
Adjectives that are included are: brief 'short', cruel 'cruel', grant 'great', prod 'bold', vert 'green',
fol 'foolish', and others.
5 Case Functions
The nominative primarily is the subject case and is used when addressing people, as in:
li reis tient la citet 'the king (Nom. Sg.) holds the town';
li empereres se fait balz (CdR 96, this lesson) 'the emperor (Nom. Sg.) is happy';
respunt li reis 'the king (Nom. Sg.) replies';
Deus, fet il 'God (Nom. Sg.), he said'.
The oblique case is used for all other functions, among them:
direct object of transitive verbs, as in

gent ad le cors (CdR 118, this lesson) 'he has a handsome body (Obl. Sg.)';
indirect object, as in
li nums Joiuse l'espee fut dunet (CdR 2508) 'the sword (Indir. Obj.) was given the name
Joyeuse',
se Deu plet 'if it pleases (to) God (Indir. Obj.)';
genitive in combination with another noun, as in
la fille le rei 'the daughter of the king (Obl. Sg.)',
le rei gunfanuner (CdR 106, this lesson) 'the standard bearer of the king (Obl. Sg.)';
object of prepositions, as in
e dist al rei (CdR 27) 'and he sayd to the king (Obl. Sg.)';
li empereres est en un grant verger (CdR 103, this lesson) 'the king is in a large orchard
(Obl. Sg.)';
adverbial expressions (e.g. space, time, direction), as in
set anz ad estet en Espaigne (CdR 2, this lesson) 'he has spent seven years (Obl. Pl.) in
Spain'.
Old French Online

Lesson 2
When Charlemagne's army reaches France and the troops prepare themselves mentally to see
their loved ones again, the rearguard under the command of Roland is attacked at Roncevaux.
Despite the wise and urgent advice of his friend Oliver, Roland in his vanity refuses at rst to
blow the horn for military support. Only when Roland sees that many of his troops have died
does he decide to call for Charlemagne's help. The physical effort of blowing the horn in icts a
fatal injury, and as a result Roland dies.
The Chanson describes in detail the last moments of Roland's life and his passing. When
Charlemagne hears the signal, he returns to Spain to nd that most of his men there have been
killed, including Oliver and Roland. He prepares his revenge, which leads to the eventual victory
of Christianity: the traitor is brought to justice, and Sarragossa eventually is taken.

The fragments below describe the most dramatic moments of the Chanson de Roland: Roland's
blowing the horn, his injury, and his death. They also describe Charlemagne's arrival at the scene
of the battle, and his emotions at seeing the disastrous effects of the attack (lines 1753-1758,
1785-1795, 2355-2365, 2396-2402, and 2412-2416).
The reader will notice that the fragments tend to be repetitive, which may be explained by the
oral tradition that the Chanson de Geste was part of. The repetitive nature of the text also
underscores the strong emotions that the events trigger in the characters. From a linguistic
perspective, the reader will also notice that in many instances the case markers are not used, or
are used incorrectly, illustrating the gradual disappearance of the case system.
Rollant ad mis l'olifan a sa buche,

Empeint le ben, par grant vertut le sunet.

mis -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <metre, mectre, mettre>
put -- put
l'olifan -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the + noun; oblique singular
<olifant> ivory horn -- the horn
a -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on -- at
sa -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his -- his
buche -- noun; oblique singular <bouche, buche> mouth -- mouth
empeint -- verb; third person singular present <empeindre> blow, protrude -- he places
le -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he -- it
ben -- adverb; <bien> well, many, much, really -- solidly
par -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of -- with
grant -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <grant> great, large, tall -- great
vertut -- noun; oblique singular <vertu> might, power, strength -- force
sunet -- verb; third person singular present <suner, soner> sound, utter -- he blows
Halt sunt li pui e la voiz est mult lunge,

Granz .XXX. liwes l'oïrent il respundre.
halt -- adjective; nominative plural masculine <alt, aut, halt> high, strong, important --
high
sunt -- verb; third person plural present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- are
pui -- noun; nominative plural <pui> mountain, hill -- mountains
la -- de nite article; nominative singular feminine <li> the -- the
voiz -- noun; nominative singular <vois, voiz> noise, word, voice -- sound
est -- verb; third person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- carries
mult -- adverb, adjective; <molt, mult, mout> many, much, very -- very
lunge -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <lonc, long, loing> long, far -- far
granz -- adjective; oblique plural feminine <grant> great, large, tall -- long
.XXX. -- number; <.XXX.> thirty -- thirty # in Old French, numbers were preceded and
followed by a dot
liwes -- noun; oblique plural <liue, live> mile -- miles away
l'oïrent -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he + verb;
third person plural preterite <oir, odir> hear -- they heard...
il -- personal pronoun; third person singular nominative masculine <il> he -- it
respundre -- verb; in nitive <respondre> answer -- resonate
Karles l'oït e ses cumpaignes tutes.

Ço dist li reis: "Bataille funt nostre hume!"
Karles -- proper name; nominative singular <Charles> Charles, Charlemagne -- Charles

l'oït -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he + verb; third
person singular preterite <oir, odir> hear -- heard it
ses -- possessive; third person singular nominative plural feminine <son> his -- his
cumpaignes -- noun; nominative plural <compaigne> troops -- troops
tutes -- adjective; nominative plural feminine <tot> all, every, completely -- all
ço -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <ço, ceo, ce, ceu> this, that, it -- these words
dist -- verb; third person singular preterite <dire> say, tell -- spoke
bataille -- noun; oblique singular <bataille> battle -- battle
funt -- verb; third person plural present <faire> make -- ght
nostre -- possessive; rst person plural nominative plural masculine <nostre> our -- our
hume -- noun; nominative plural <home, ome> man -- troops
Li quens Rollant ad la buche sanglente.

De sun cervel rumput en est li temples.
li -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the -- ...

quens -- noun; nominative singular <conte> count -- count
la -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the -- his
buche -- noun; oblique singular <bouche, buche> mouth -- mouth
sanglente -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <sanglent> bloody -- full of blood
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- of
sun -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular masculine <son> his -- his
cervel -- noun; oblique singular <cervel> brains -- brains
rumput -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <rompre> break,
burst -- burst open
en -- pronoun; inanimate <en> of it -- ...
est -- verb; third person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- has
temples -- noun; nominative singular <temple> temple, forehead -- temple
L'olifan sunet a dulor e a peine.

Karles l'oït e ses Franceis l'entendent.
sunet -- verb; third person singular present <suner, soner> sound, utter -- he blows
a -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on -- in
dulor -- noun; oblique singular <dolor> pain, suffering -- suffering
peine -- noun; oblique singular <peine, paine> torment, suffering -- pain
Karles -- proper name; nominative singular <Charles> Charles, Charlemagne -- Charles
l'oït -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he + verb; third
person singular preterite <oir, odir> hear -- heard him
ses -- possessive; third person singular nominative plural masculine <son> his -- his
Franceis -- proper name; nominative plural <Franceis> free, noble, subject of the king of
France -- subjects
l'entendent -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he +
verb; third person plural present <entendre> try, pay attention, understand, hear -- hear
him
Ço dist li reis: "Cel corn ad lunge aleine!"
ço -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <ço, ceo, ce, ceu> this, that, it -- these words
dist -- verb; third person singular preterite <dire> say, tell -- spoke
cel -- demonstrative; nominative singular masculine <cil> that -- that
corn -- noun; nominative singular <corn, cor> horn -- horn
lunge -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <lonc, long, loing> long, far -- long
aleine -- noun; oblique singular <aleine, alaine> blast, breath -- a breath
Respont dux Neimes: "Baron i fait la peine!

Bataille i ad, par le men escïentre.
Cil l'at traït ki vos en roevet feindre.
respont -- verb; third person singular present <respondre> answer -- answers

dux -- noun; nominative singular <duc> duke -- duke
Neimes -- proper name; nominative singular <Neimes> Naimes -- Naimes
baron -- noun; nominative singular <baron> brave warrior, brave knight -- a brave knight
fait la peine -- verb; third person singular present <faire> make + de nite article; oblique
singular feminine <li> the + noun; oblique singular <peine, paine> torment, suffering --
is in distress
bataille -- noun; oblique singular <bataille> battle -- battle
par le men escïentre -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of + de nite article;
oblique singular masculine <li> the + possessive; rst person singular oblique singular
masculine <mon> my + noun; oblique singular <escïent> knowledge -- to my knowledge
cil -- demonstrative; nominative singular masculine <cil> that -- he who
l'at -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he + verb; third
person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- has... him...
traït -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <trair> betray -- betrayed
vos -- personal pronoun; second person plural direct object <vos> you -- you
roevet -- verb; third person singular present <rover> ask, call upon, order -- orders
feindre -- verb; in nitive <feindre> do nothing, shy away -- to do nothing
Adubez vos, si criez vostre enseigne,

Si sucurez vostre maisnee gente:
Asez oez que Rollant se dementet!"
adubez vos -- verb; second person plural imperative <adober> arm oneself + personal
pronoun; second person plural direct object <vos> you -- arm yourself
si -- conjunction; <si> and, and thus -- and
criez -- verb; second person plural imperative <crier> shout -- shout
vostre -- possessive; second person plural oblique singular feminine <vostre> your -- your
enseigne -- noun; oblique singular <enseigne> war cry -- war cry
sucurez -- verb; second person plural imperative <secorer> go to the help of -- go to the
help of
maisnee -- noun; oblique singular <maisniee, maisnie> household, army -- army
gente -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <gent> fair, handsome, beautiful -- fair
asez -- adverb; <asez, assés> many, much, very well -- very well
oez -- verb; second person plural present <oir, odir> hear -- you hear
se dementet -- verb; third person singular present <se dementer> lament -- is lamenting
Ço sent Rollant que la mort le tresprent,

Devers la teste sur le quer li descent.
ço -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <ço, ceo, ce, ceu> this, that, it -- ...
sent -- verb; third person singular present <sentir> smell, feel -- feels
la -- de nite article; nominative singular feminine <li> the -- ...
mort -- noun; nominative singular <mort> death -- death
le -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he -- him
tresprent -- verb; third person singular present <tresprendre> overcome completely --
overcomes completely
devers -- preposition; <devers, de vers> in the direction of, from the direction of -- from
la -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the -- his
teste -- noun; oblique singular <teste> head -- head
sur -- preposition; <seur, soure, sur, sor> on, over, to, above -- to
le -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the -- his
quer -- noun; oblique singular <cuer, coer, cor> heart -- heart
li -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object masculine <il> he -- ...
descent -- verb; third person singular present <descendre> descend, dismount -- it
descends
Desuz un pin i est alet curant,

Sur l'erbe verte s'i est culchet adenz,
Desuz lui met s'espee e l'olifan,
Turnat sa teste vers la paiene gent:

pin -- noun; oblique singular <pin> pine tree -- pine tree
est -- verb; third person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- he has
alet -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <aler> go -- gone
curant -- verb; participle present nominative singular masculine <corre> run -- running
sur -- preposition; <seur, soure, sur, sor> on, over, to, above -- on top of
l'erbe -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the + noun; oblique singular
<erbre> grass -- the grass
verte -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <vert> green -- green
s'i est culchet -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object <se> he + particle;
<i> there + verb; third person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be + verb;
perfective participle nominative singular masculine <couchier> lie down -- there he has
lain down
adenz -- adverb; <adenz> face downwards -- face downwards
met -- verb; third person singular present <metre, mectre, mettre> put -- he puts
s'espee -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his + noun;
oblique singular <espee> sword -- his sword
turnat -- verb; third person singular preterite <torner> turn, return -- he turned
teste -- noun; oblique singular <teste> head -- head
vers -- preposition; <vers> towards -- towards
paiene -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <paien> pagan, heathen -- pagan
gent -- noun; oblique singular <gent> race, people -- people
Pur ço l'ad fait que il voelt veirement

Que Carles diet e trestute sa gent,
Li gentilz quens, qu'il fut mort cunquerant.
pur -- preposition; <por> for -- for

ço -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <ço, ceo, ce, ceu> this, that, it -- the reason
l'ad -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he + verb; third
person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- he has... this
fait -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <faire> make -- done
il -- personal pronoun; third person singular nominative masculine <il> he -- he
voelt -- verb; third person singular present <voloir> want -- wants
veirement -- adverb; <voirement> really -- really
diet -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <dire> say, tell -- say
trestute -- reinforcing element; <tres> ... + adjective; nominative singular feminine <tot>
all, every, completely -- entire
sa -- possessive; third person singular nominative singular feminine <son> his -- his
gent -- noun; nominative singular <gent> race, people -- people
gentilz -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <gentil> noble, brave -- brave
quens -- noun; nominative singular <conte> count -- count
qu'il -- conjunction; <que> that + personal pronoun; third person singular nominative
masculine <il> he -- that he
fut -- verb; third person singular preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- has
mort -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <morir> kill, die -- died
cunquerant -- verb; present participle nominative singular masculine
<conquerre, cunquerre> conquer, capture -- as a conqueror
Cleimet sa culpe e menut e suvent,

Pur ses pecchez Deu en puroffrid lo guant. AOI
cleimet -- verb; third person singular present <clamer> call, proclaim, confess -- he
confesses aloud
culpe -- noun; oblique singular <colpe, corpe, cope> sin, mistake -- sins
menut e suvent -- adverb; <menu, menut> quickly + conjunction; <e, et, ed> and +
adverb; <sovent> frequently, often -- tapping his chest quickly and frequently
pecchez -- noun; oblique plural <pechié> sin, mistake -- sins
Deu -- proper name; oblique singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- to God
puroffrid -- verb; third person singular preterite <porofrir> present -- offered
lo -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the -- his
guant -- noun; oblique singular <gant> glove -- glove
AOI -- interjection; <AOI> ... -- ... # unknown element, possibly a war cry, typical of the
Chanson de Roland
Morz est Rollant, Deus en ad l'anme es cels.

Li emperere en Rencesvals parvient.
morz -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <morir> kill, die -- died
est -- verb; third person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- has
Deus -- proper name; nominative singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- God
l'anme -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the + noun; oblique singular
<anme, alme, arme, ame> soul, somebody -- his soul
es -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of + de nite article; oblique plural masculine
<li> the -- in...
cels -- noun; oblique plural <ciel> heaven -- heaven
emperere -- noun; nominative singular <empereor> emperor -- emperor
Rencesvals -- proper name; oblique singular <Rencesvals> Roncevaux -- Roncevaux
parvient -- verb; third person singular present <parvenir> arrive -- arrives
Il nen i ad ne veie ne senter,

Ne voide tere, ne alne ne plein pied,
Que il n'i ait o Franceis o paien.
il -- personal pronoun; third person singular nominative masculine <il> he -- ...

nen -- negation; <ne, nen> not -- ...
ne -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not -- no
veie -- noun; oblique singular <veie> road -- road
ne -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not -- nor
senter -- noun; oblique singular <sentier> path -- path
voide -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <vuit, vuide> empty -- empty
tere -- noun; oblique singular <terre> land, country, earth -- any piece of ground
alne -- noun; oblique singular <alne> ell -- any ell
plein -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <plein, plain> full -- full
pied -- noun; oblique singular <pié> foot -- foot
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- where
il -- personal pronoun; third person singular nominative masculine <il> he -- ...
n'i -- negation; <ne, nen> not + particle; <i> there -- there... no
ait -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- is
o -- conjunction; <o, u> or -- ...
Franceis -- proper name; oblique singular <Franceis> free, noble, subject of the king of
France -- Frenchman
o -- conjunction; <o, u> or -- or
paien -- noun; oblique singular <paien, pagien> pagan, heathen -- heathen
Carles escriet: "U estes vos, bels niés?"

...

escriet -- verb; third person singular present <escrier> cry out, shout -- cries out
u -- interrogative adverb; <ou> where -- where
estes -- verb; second person plural present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- are
vos -- personal pronoun; second person plural nominative <vos> you -- you
bels -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <bel> dear, beloved, handsome -- beloved
niés -- noun; nominative singular <nevot, neveu> grandson, nephew -- my nephew
"Deus! dist li reis, tant me pois esmaier

Que jo ne fui a l'estur cumencer!"

dist -- verb; third person singular preterite <dire> say, tell -- said
tant -- adverb; <tant> so, so much -- so much
me -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- myself
pois -- verb; rst person singular present <pooir, poeir, poier> can, be able -- I can
esmaier -- verb; in nitive <esmaier> be dismayed -- torment
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- for
jo -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I -- ...
fui -- verb; rst person singular preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- having been
l'estur -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the + noun; oblique singular
<estor, estorm> noise, tumult, battle -- of the battle
cumencer -- verb; in nitive <comencier> begin, start -- the beginning
Tiret sa barbe cum hom ki est iret;

Plurent des oilz si baron chevaler;
Encontre tere se pasment .XX. millers.
tiret -- verb; third person singular present <tirer> pull -- he pulls

barbe -- noun; oblique singular <barbe> beard -- beard
cum -- conjunction; <com, comme> as -- like
hom -- noun; nominative singular <home, ome> man -- a man
iret -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <iré, irié> angry, distressed, furious --
distressed
plurent -- verb; third person plural present <plorer> cry, shed tears -- shed tears
des -- preposition; <de> of, from + de nite article; oblique plural masculine <li> the --
from their
oilz -- noun; oblique plural <oeuil, oil> eye -- eyes
baron -- noun; nominative plural <baron> brave warrior, brave knight -- warrior
chevaler -- noun; nominative plural <chevalier> knight -- knights
encontre -- preposition; <encontre> to, towards, against -- on top of
tere -- noun; oblique singular <terre> land, country, earth -- earth
se pasment -- verb; third person plural present <se pasmer> faint, swoon -- faint
.XX. -- number; <.XX.> twenty -- twenty # in Old French, numbers were preceded and
followed by a dot
millers -- numeral; nominative plural <millier> thousand -- thousand men
Lesson Text
Rollant ad mis l'olifan a sa buche,

Empeint le ben, par grant vertut le sunet. Halt sunt li pui e la voiz est mult lunge,
Granz .XXX. liwes l'oïrent il respundre. Karles l'oït e ses cumpaignes tutes.
Ço dist li reis: "Bataille funt nostre hume!" Li quens Rollant ad la buche sanglente.
De sun cervel rumput en est li temples. L'olifan sunet a dulor e a peine.
Karles l'oït e ses Franceis l'entendent. Ço dist li reis: "Cel corn ad lunge aleine!"
Respont dux Neimes: "Baron i fait la peine!
Bataille i ad, par le men escïentre.
Cil l'at traït ki vos en roevet feindre. Adubez vos, si criez vostre enseigne,
Si sucurez vostre maisnee gente:
Asez oez que Rollant se dementet!" Ço sent Rollant que la mort le tresprent,
Devers la teste sur le quer li descent. Desuz un pin i est alet curant,
Sur l'erbe verte s'i est culchet adenz,
Desuz lui met s'espee e l'olifan,
Turnat sa teste vers la paiene gent: Pur ço l'ad fait que il voelt veirement
Que Carles diet e trestute sa gent,
Li gentilz quens, qu'il fut mort cunquerant. Cleimet sa culpe e menut e suvent,
Pur ses pecchez Deu en puroffrid lo guant. AOI Morz est Rollant, Deus en ad
l'anme es cels.
Li emperere en Rencesvals parvient. Il nen i ad ne veie ne senter,
Ne voide tere, ne alne ne plein pied,
Que il n'i ait o Franceis o paien. Carles escriet: "U estes vos, bels niés?"
... "Deus! dist li reis, tant me pois esmaier
Que jo ne fui a l'estur cumencer!" Tiret sa barbe cum hom ki est iret;
Plurent des oilz si baron chevaler;
Encontre tere se pasment .XX. millers.
Translation
Roland has put the horn at his mouth,

He places it solidly, with great force he blows it.
The mountains are high and the sound carries very far,
Thirty long miles away they heard it resonate.
Charles heard it, and all his troops.
The king spoke these words: "Our troops ght a battle!"
Count Roland has his mouth full of blood.

The temple of his brains has burst open.
He blows the horn in suffering and in pain.
Charles heard him and his subjects hear him.
The king spoke these words: "That horn has a long breath!"
Duke Naimes answers: "A brave knight is in distress!
There is a battle, to my knowledge.
He who has betrayed him, orders you to do nothing.
Arm yourself, and shout your war cry,
And go to the help of your fair army:
You hear very well that Roland is lamenting."
Roland feels that death overcomes him completely,

it descends from his head to his heart.
He has gone, running, under a pine tree,
there he has lain down on top of the green grass, face downwards,
he puts his sword and the horn under him,
he turned his head towards the pagan people:
He has done this for the reason that he really wants
that Charles and his entire people say
that he the brave count has died as a conqueror.
He confesses his sins aloud, tapping his chest quickly and frequently
For his sins he offered his glove to God.
Roland has died, God has his soul in heaven.

The emperor arrives in Roncevaux.
There is no road nor path,
nor any empty piece of ground, nor any ell or full foot,
where there is no Frenchman or heathen.
Charles cries out: "Where are you, my beloved nephew?"
...
"God!" the king said, "I can torment myself so much

for not having been there at the beginning of the battle!"
He pulls his beard like a man who is distressed;
His warrior knights shed tears from their eyes;
twenty thousand men faint on top of the earth.
Grammar
6 Case: Nominal Declension, Class III
In addition to the two declension classes discussed in Lesson 1, there is a third group of nouns
in Old French, which is characterized by a varying number of syllables in the individual
paradigms (the so-called imparisyllabic declension). This group of nouns traces back to the
third declension in Latin (e.g. lex, legis), which included imparasyllabic nouns as well. Since the
nominative singular had a number of syllables different from the other cases (e.g. La. imperator
'emperor-Nom.' vs. imperatorem 'emperor-Acc.'), the paradigm is characterized by a shift of
accentuation, which affects the subsequent phonological changes. The following table presents
the Latin forms and their Old French equivalents:
Nominal Declension, Latin vs. Old French
Nom. Sg. Nom. Pl.
Latin: imperator 'emperor' imperatores
Old French: emperedre emperedor
Acc./Obl. Sg. Acc./Obl. Pl.
Latin: imperatorem imperatores
Old French: emperedor emperedors
Nominal Declension, Class III
Sg. Pl.
Nom. emperedre 'emperor' emperedor

chantere 'singer' chanteor
Obl. emperedor emperedors
chanteor chanteors
Nouns included in this class are, for example: cuens, conte 'count', enfes, enfant 'child', niés,
nevo 'nephew', sire, seignor 'lord', traïtre, traïtor 'traitor', and others. These nouns can be
divided in four groups; three of them are:
masculine nouns referring to agents (verb stem + a su x -eor or (i)ere), for example:
chantere, chanteor 'singer', derived from the verb chanter (stem: chant-) 'sing' or buvere,
buveor 'drinker' from the verb bevre (stem: buv-) 'drink';
masculine nouns, often of Germanic origin with a su x -on for cases other than the
nominative. These nouns are primarily nouns of persons or proper names. Examples include:
ber, baron 'baron', lerre, larron 'thief', compaing, compaignon 'companion', Charles,
Charlon 'Charles', Guenes, Ganelon 'Ganelon', and others;
feminine nouns that alternate the nominative singular with the other forms in -ain.
Nominal Declension, Feminine Nouns in -ain
Sg. Pl.
Nom. la none 'the nun' les nonains

Obl. la nonain les nonains
Examples include ante, antain 'aunt', pute, putain 'prostitute', niece, nieçain, 'niece', and
others that are less frequent.
The fourth group in Class III consists of a variety of nouns, such as hom, home 'man', enfes,
enfant 'child', sire, seignor 'lord'. These are all masculine nouns with the exception of suer,
seror 'sister'.
Like the other declensional groups (Lesson 1), the case distinction gradually disappeared: the
masculine nominative singular ending (-s) spread to nouns that originally did not have it, as sire
> sires (which gives the following paradigm: li sires, le seigneur, li seigneur, les seigneurs).
Moreover, one of the two forms, the nominative or oblique, came to be generalized to the rest of
the paradigm; most commonly it was the oblique form that generalized: e.g. li
gars vs. le
garçon 'boy' became li garçons vs. le garçon (plural: li garçon and les garçons). This process
came to completion in the Middle French period, when the oblique form eventually was the only
form left. In the 13th century, a limited number of (animate) nouns developed double paradigms,
each based on the nominative vs. oblique stem, cf:
Nominal Declension, Development of sire
Sg. Pl.
Nom. li sire li sire

Obl. le sire les sires
Nominal Declension, Development of seigneur
Sg. Pl.
Nom. li seigneurs li seigneur

Obl. le seigneur les seigneurs
7 Verb Conjugation: Present and Past

The verb in Old French expresses person, number, tense, mood, and to some extent aspect. Verb
forms typically do not have an obligatory subject personal pronoun, so chant means 'I sing'. Cf.
also: chante 'he sings' vs. li reis chante 'the king sings'. A verbal paradigm typically has three
forms in the singular (1st, 2nd, and 3rd person) and three in the plural. The majority of the forms
are "synthetic," which means that a unique form expresses the entire verbal concept, e.g.
fenissons 'end-Present-we'.
Several forms are "analytic," which means that an auxiliary is combined with the main verb,
generally the perfective participle or an in nitive. Compare: chant 'I sing' vs. ai chanté 'I have
sung'.
On the basis of the ending of the in nitive, we distinguish four conjugations in Old French: verbs
in -er, -ir, -oir, and in -re. Of these the verbs in -er and most verbs in -ir are so-called regular
verbs. It is accurate to say that as a rule of thumb the verbs in -er, which are most frequent,
trace back to the rst conjugation verbs in Latin (e.g. Latin cantare survives as chanter in Old
French).
There are two types of verb in -ir: those that include an in x -iss- in some forms, and those
that do not. The in x traces back to the Latin in x -isc-, an inchoative marker, which conveys the
notion of 'to begin', as in tepesco 'I become warm', based on tepeo 'I am warm'. Re ecting this
etymological origin, many verbs in -ir are formed on adjectives (OFr. adj. sage 'wise' > v.
assagir 'become wise', adj. riche 'rich' > v. enrichir 'become rich'); others are in origin Germanic
verbs (e.g. rôtir 'roast', choisir 'choose').
Verbs in -oir go back to second conjugation verbs in -ere in Latin (e.g. Latin manere 'stay' vs.
OFr. manoir 'stay'). Verbs in -re trace back to the Latin verbs in -re.
Verbal Conjugation, Verbs in -er, Present Indicative (chanter)
Present Ending Sg. Ending Pl.
1st pers. - chant 'I sing' -ons chantons

2nd pers. -es chantes -ez chantez
3rd pers. -e chante(t) -ent chantent
In some verbs, the accent is on the verb ending throughout the entire paradigm; in others, it
shifts to the verb stem for certain forms (1st sg., 2nd sg. and 3rd sg. and pl. present indicative
and present subjunctive, and 2nd sg. imperative). This accounts for an alternation pattern, as in
the verb amer:
amer 'love'
Present Sg. Pl.
1st pers. aim 'I love' amons

2nd pers. aimes amez
3rd pers. aime(t) aiment
Verbal Conjugation, Verbs in -ir with in x
1st pers. -is fenis 'I end' -issons fenissons

2nd pers. -is fenis -iss(i)ez feniss(i)ez
3rd pers. -it fenist -issent fenissent
Verbal Conjugation, Verbs in -ir without in x
1st pers. - part 'I leave' -ons partons

2nd pers. -s parz -ez partez
3rd pers. -t part -ent partent
Verbal Conjugation, Verbs in -re
1st pers. - cor 'I run' -ons corons

2nd pers. -s cors -ez corez
3rd pers. -t cort ent corent
The Old French verb has two past tenses, an imperfective (which traces back to the Latin
imperfective in -bam, for example cantabam 'I sang') and a preterite (Fr. passe/simple), which
goes back to the Latin perfective form, e.g. cantavi 'I have sung'. Latin cantabam survived as
chantoie in Old French; Latin cantavi survived as chantai in Old French.
The imperfective and preterite forms for the various conjugations in Old French are as follows.
Verbal Conjugation, Imperfective and Preterite, Verbs in -er (chanter)
Imperfective Ending Sg. Ending Pl.
1st pers. -oie chantoie -iiens chantiiens
-ïons chantïons
2nd pers. -oies chantoies -iiez chantiiez
3rd pers. -oit chantoit -oient chantoient

Preterite Ending Sg. Ending Pl.
1st pers. -ai chantai -ames chantames

2nd pers. -as chantas -astes chantastes
3rd pers. -a chanta -erent chanterent
Verbal Conjugation, Imperfective and Preterite, Verbs in -ir with in x (fenir)
1st pers. -issoie fenissoie -issiiens fenissiiens

-issïons fenissïons
2nd pers. -issoies fenissoies -issiiez fenissiiez
3rd pers. -issoi(e)t fenissoi(e)t -issoient fenissoient

1st pers. -i feni -imes fenimes

2nd pers. -is fenis -istes fenistes
3rd pers. -i feni -irent fenirent
Verbal Conjugation, Imperfective and Preterite, Verbs in -ir without in x (partir)
1st pers. -oie partoie -iions partiions
-ïons partïons
-ïens partïens
2nd pers. -oies partoies -iiez partiiez
-ïez partïez
3rd pers. -oit partoit oient partoient

1st pers. -i parti -imes partimes

2nd pers. -is partis -istes partistes
3rd pers. -i parti -irent partirent
Verbal Conjugation, Imperfective and Preterite, Verbs in -re (corre)
1st pers. -oie coroie -iiens coriiens

-ïons corïons
2nd pers. -oies coroies -iiez coriiez
3rd pers. -oit coroit oient coroient

1st pers. -ui corui -umes corumes

2nd pers. -us corus -ustes corustes
3rd pers. -u coru -urent corurent
8 Avoir and Estre
The verbs avoir and estre in Old French have two functions: they function as full lexical
elements and as auxiliairies. Avoir is, rst of all, a verb of possession; in addition it is used in a
common impersonal construction (see Grammar Point 10), and it is an important tense auxiliary
(see Grammar Point 9). Estre is a lexical verb conveying existence, a copula, and an auxiliary.
The conjugations of both verbs are as follows:
Verbal Conjugation, avoir
Present Sg. Pl.
1st pers. ai 'I have' avons

2nd pers. as avez
3rd pers. a ont

Imperfective Sg. Pl.
1st pers. avoie 'I had' avïons, aviiens

2nd pers. avoies avïez, aviiez
3rd pers. avoit avoient

Preterite Sg. Pl.
1st pers. oi 'I had' eümes, oümes

2nd pers. eüs, oüs eüstes, oüstes
3rd pers. ot, out orent, ourent

Participles
Present participle aiant

Perfective participle eüs
Verbal Conjugation, estre
Present Sg. Pl.
1st pers. sui 'I am' somes, esmes

2nd pers. es, ies, iés estes
3rd pers. est sont

Imperfective (Type I) Sg. Pl.
1st pers. iere, ere 'I was' eriiens, erïons

2nd pers. ieres, eres eriiez, erïez
3rd pers. iert, ert ierent, erent
iere, ere

Imperfective (Type II) Sg. Pl.
1st pers. estoie 'I was' estiiens, estïons

2nd pers. estoies estiiez, estïez
3rd pers. estoitt estoient

Preterite Sg. Pl.
1st pers. fui 'I was' fumes

2nd pers. fus fustes
3rd pers. fu furent

Participles
Present participle estant

Perfective participle esté
9 Compound Tenses
While Latin only had one auxiliary, esse, which combined with the perfective particle (e.g.,
laudauts est 'he is in the state resulting from the praising'), French from its earliest stage had
two, estre and avoir, as the following examples show:
Auxiliary estre:
alez est en un verger (CdR 11)

'he went into an orchard'
murs ne citét n'est remés a fraindre (CdR 5, Lesson 1)
'there is no wall or town left to conquer'
Auxiliary avoir:
li reis m'ad tramis ses messages (CdR 181)

'the king has sent me his messages'
set anz ad estet en Espaigne (CdR 2, Lesson 1)
'he has spent seven years in Spain'
In Old French the auxiliaries combine with the perfective participle to form four so-called
analytic verb forms or compound tenses: present perfect, past perfect (or pluperfect), future
perfect, and conditional perfect. For example:
Present Perfect: ai chanté 'I have sung'
Past Perfect: avoie chanté 'I had sung'
Future Perfect: avrai chanté 'I will have sung'
Conditional Perfect: avroie chanté 'I would have sung'
In Old French, estre is not only a tense auxiliary but a passive auxiliary as well, as the following
examples show:
estre, tense auxiliary:

'he went into an orchard'
estre, passive auxiliary:
la traïsun ne poet estre celee (CdR 1458)
'the treason cannot be kept secret'
In general transitive verbs combine with avoir in compound tenses, while intransitive verbs
combine with estre, as in the following examples:
Transitive verb + avoir
li reis m'ad tramis ses messages (CdR 181)

'the king has sent me his messages'
Intransitive verb + estre

'he has gone into an orchard'
Some verbs combine with avoir or estre according to whether their use is transitive or
intransitive, cf.:
morir, intransitive use ('die'):

morz est Rollant (CdR 2397, this lesson)
'Roland has died'
paien sunt morz a millers (CdR 1439)
'the pagans have died by thousands'
morir, transitive use ('kill'):
qui tei a mort France douce a honnie (CdR 2953)
'(he) who has killed you has dishonored (our) beloved France'
Re exive verbs as a rule combine with estre in compound tenses as well, cf:
s'i est cuchet (CdR 2358, this lesson)

'he lay down'
But there are many instances with avoir, as in:
il s'a vestu
'he has put his clothes on'
With other verbs as well, there is some variation or confusion in the use of auxliaries, cf.:
mur ne citet n'i est remés a fraindre (CdR 5, Lesson 1)

'there is no wall or town left to conquer'
en la citet nen ad remés paien (CdR 101, Lesson 1)
'in the town no pagan is left'
10 Impersonal Verbs
Impersonal verbs are verbs that ypically occur in the third person singular, with or without a
pronominal element, as in:
anuite 'it is getting dark'

il anuite 'it is getting dark'
Strictly speaking, il in this context is a pronominal element that occupies the place of a
pronominal subject, but has no semantic value (it is empty). Most instances of impersonal verbs
in Old French do not have this element.
Impersonal verbs are found in all early Indo-European languages and, while many early Indo-
European languages had numerous impersonal verbs, their number in most languages
decreased with time.
There are three types of impersonal verbs in Indo-European:
1. impersonal verbs expressing meteorological conditions and events;

2. impersonal verbs expressing emotions, feelings, and physical experience;
3. impersonal verbs expressing modality, such as necessity.
These three types are attested in Old French; category 3 verbs increase with time.
10.1 Meteorological conditions and events

(il) anuite 'it is getting dark'
(il) avesprit 'it is getting dark'
(il) ajorne 'the day breaks'
(il) neige 'it is snowing'
(il) plove 'it is raining'
10.2 Emotions, feelings, and physical experience
(il) abelist 'it pleases'
(il) membre 'remember'
(il) remembre 'remember'
10.3 Modality, such as necessity
(il) affiert 'it is tting'

(il) loist 'it is possible'
(il) estuet 'it is necessary'
(il) semble 'it seems'
(il) fault 'it is necessary'
(il) covient 'it is necessary'
(il) chaut 'it matters, it is important'
In addition to these impersonal verbs, there are also several impersonal expressions in Old
French, cf:
estre tart a 'to be eager'

estre avis a 'to be of the opinion'
avoir mestier a 'to be of use to, need'
The person who is undergoing the emotional or physical experience or to whom the modality
refers is referred to in the oblique case or a pronominal direct or indirect object:
molt est la reine tart 'the queen is very eager'

m'est avis 'it seems to me'
morir le covient 'he had to die'
ni li chalt (CdR 227) 'it does no matter to him'
The verb avoir has been glossed in this on-line course as meaning 'have, be'. Avoir, rst of all, is
a verb of possession 'have', but in impersonal constructions its meaning becomes 'be', cf.:
num ad Rollant 'he has the name Roland; he is called Roland'

grifuns i ad 'there are gri ns'
The object or person that is present takes the form of an oblique case, as in the preceding
example. The constructions are found in Old French with or without il and with or without i, cf:
ad + oblique case 'there is' --

meillor vassal n'aveit en la curt nul (CdR 231) 'there was no better knight at the court'
i + ad + oblique case 'there is' --
bataille i ad (CdR 1791, this lesson) 'there is a battle'
grifuns i ad (CdR 2544) 'there are gri ns'
n'i ad cheval (CdR 2522) 'there is no horse'
n'i ad castel (CdR 3, Lesson 1) 'there is no castle'
il + i + ad + oblique case 'there is' --
il nen i ad ne veie ne senter (CdR 2399, this lesson) 'there is no road nor path'
que il n'i ait o Franceis o paien (CdR 2401, this lesson) 'where there is no Frenchman nor
pagan"
The use of il in these constructions is rather rare in early times, but spreads in the Middle French
period; eventually the expression became xed, including il as well as i. It survives in Modern
French as il y a 'there is'.
Old French Online

Lesson 3
Saints played an important role in everyday life in the Middle Ages. A saint is a person who is
o cially recognized by the Church of Rome as having lived a remarkably holy life. Because of
their exceptional Christian virtues, saints are assumed to be in heaven, where they are able to
intercede for sinners, those who live a less-than-holy life.
With the calendar of saints indicating the days of the individual saints, the Church had
introduced their systematic celebration, highlighting their virtuous lives as Christians. Because
of their interceding function, saints often were patrons of certain groups, roles that generally
trace back to events in their lives. St. Nicolas, for example, was patron saint of sailors because --
according to legends -- he had saved sailors at one point in his life; St. Luke, who originally was
believed to be a painter and a physician, was the patron saint of painters and of physicians.
Moreover people generally were named after a saint, for whom they tended to develop special
devotion.
Outside and inside churches and houses were many statues of saints, each with its own
symbols (e.g. St. John the Evangelist with the poisoned cup to which he was condemned).
There was a strong hagiographic tradition as well: an important number of medieval documents
describe saints' lives, often written by contemporaries or based on stories told by them.
Saints were, so to speak, omnipresent in daily life in the Middle Ages.

The text for this lesson has been taken from La Vie de Saint Alexis, which dates from the mid-
11th century and relates the life of Saint Alexis, a young Roman whose life was devoted to God.
The legend of St. Alexis is rather international: it is attested in Syria, Greece, and Western
Europe. The document discussed here presumably is based on a lengthy written tradition.
The Old French text is a poem of 625 verses, which in all probability was chanted during the
liturgy of the saint's day, July 17.
Son of an important and rich Roman senator, Alexis decides on the eve of his wedding to leave
Rome and live with the poor. Having distributed his possessions among the poor, he lives for
seventeen years in Edessa, spending his days as a beggar. When the locals come to consider
him a saint, he leaves the town on a ship and eventually ends up in Ostia, a port close to Rome.
In the streets of Rome he encounters his father, who fails to recognize him. Alexis asks to be
taken into the household. His father accepts, and Alexis stays there for another seventeen years
without being recognized by his family, living as a pauper under the staircase. Refusing to reveal
his identity, he sees how his parents and his wife grieve his loss. He patiently undergoes the
physical torments he imposes upon himself and the pestering by his father's men. After
seventeen years he feels that he is about to die and he calls for his servant: he will write a letter
explaining the situation and revealing his indentity. Shortly after his death, the letter is
discovered and Alexis is recognized as a saintly gure.
The fragments below describe how Alexis, after seventeen years, returns to Rome and asks his
father to take him into his house. They also describe how his parents and his wife fail to
recognize him, and spend their time grieving their lost son and husband.
A un des porz ki plus est pres de Rome,

Iloec arivet la nef a cel saint home.

un -- inde nite article; oblique singular masculine <un> a -- one
des -- preposition; <de> of, from + de nite article; oblique plural masculine <li> the -- of
the
porz -- noun; oblique plural <port> harbour, port -- ports
ki -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> that -- that
plus est pres de -- adverb; <plus> more + verb; third person singular present
<estre, iestre, aistre> be + preposition; <pres de> close to -- is closest to
Rome -- proper name; oblique singular <Rome> Rome -- Rome
iloec -- adverb; <iluec, ilec, iluoc> there -- there
arivet -- verb; third person singular present <ariver> arrive -- arrives
nef -- noun; nominative singular <nef> ship -- ship
a -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on -- of
cel -- demonstrative; oblique singular masculine <cil> that -- that
saint -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <saint> holy -- holy
home -- noun; oblique singular <home, ome> man -- man
Quant vit sun regne, durement s'en redutet

De ses parenz, qued il nel recunuissent
E de l'honur del secle ne l'encumbrent.
quant -- conjunction; <quant> when -- when

vit -- verb; third person singular preterite <veoir> see -- he saw
regne -- noun; oblique singular <regne> kingdom, country -- country
durement -- adverb; <durement> greatly, sorely, very -- very
s'en redutet -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object <se> he + pronoun;
inanimate <en> of it + verb; third person singular present <redoter> be afraid, fear -- he
is worried
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- about
parenz -- noun; oblique plural <parent> father, parent -- parents
qued -- conjunction; <que> that -- that
il -- personal pronoun; third person plural nominative masculine <il> they -- they
nel -- negation; <ne, nen> not + personal pronoun; third person singular direct object
masculine <il> he -- him...
recunuissent -- verb; third person plural subjunctive present <reconoistre> recognize --
recognize
l'honur -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the + noun; oblique singular
<onor, enor, anor> honor, respect, esteem, ef -- honors
del -- preposition; <de> of, from + de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the --
of the
secle -- noun; oblique singular <siecle, secle, seule> earthly life, world -- world
l'encumbrent -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he +
verb; third person plural subjunctive present <encombrer> overload -- overload him with
Eist de la nef e vint andreit a Rome;
eist -- verb; third person singular present <issir> go out, come out -- he leaves
nef -- noun; oblique singular <nef> ship -- ship
vint -- verb; third person singular preterite <venir> come, go -- went
andreit -- adverb; <endreit> precisely, right, immediately -- directly
Rome -- proper name; oblique singular <Rome> Rome -- Rome
Vait par les rues dunt il ja bien fut cointe,

Altra pur altre, mais sun pedre i ancuntret,
vait -- verb; third person singular present <aler> go -- he goes

par -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of -- through
les -- de nite article; oblique plural feminine <li> the -- the
rues -- noun; oblique plural <rue> street, village -- streets
dunt -- relative pronoun; <dont, dunt> of whom, of which, whose -- with which
ja -- adverb; <ja, jai> now, already, at once -- already
bien -- adverb; <bien> well, many, much, really -- very
fut -- verb; third person singular preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- was
cointe -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <cointe> re ned, clever, elegant --
familiar
altra pur altre -- inde nite adjective; oblique singular feminine <altre> other +
preposition; <por> for + inde nite adjective; oblique singular feminine <altre> other --
one after the other
mais -- conjunction; <mais> more, further, rather -- eventually
pedre -- noun; oblique singular <pere> father -- father
ancuntret -- verb; third person singular present <encontrer> meet -- he runs into
Ansembl'ot lui grant masse de ses humes;

Sil reconut, par sun dreit num le numet.
ansembl'ot -- preposition; <ensemble od> together with -- together with... (is)

grant -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <grant> great, large, tall -- large
masse -- noun; nominative singular <masse> mass -- group
humes -- noun; oblique plural <home, ome> man -- men
sil -- conjunction; <si> and, and thus + personal pronoun; third person singular direct
object masculine <il> he -- and... him
reconut -- verb; third person singular preterite <reconoistre> recognize -- he recognized
par -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of -- by
dreit -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <droit> direct, right, proper -- proper
num -- noun; oblique singular <nom, non> name, title -- name
numet -- verb; third person singular present <nomer> name, call -- he calls
"Eufemïen, bel sire, riches hom,

Quar me herberges pur Deu an ta maison;
Eufemïen -- proper name; nominative singular <Eufemïen> Eufemien -- Eufemien

bel -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <bel> dear, beloved, handsome -- dear
sire -- noun; nominative singular <seignor> lord -- lord
riches -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <riche> powerful, strong, generous --
powerful
hom -- noun; nominative singular <home, ome> man -- man
quar -- conjunction; <quar, car> for, because -- ...
me -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- me
herberges -- verb; second person singular subjunctive present <herbergier> lodge,
shelter, receive as guest -- may you lodge
pur -- preposition; <por> for -- for the sake of
an -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- in
ta -- possessive; second person singular oblique singular feminine <ton> your -- your
maison -- noun; oblique singular <maison> house -- house
Suz tun degrét me fai un grabatum

Empur tun filz dunt tu as tel dolur;
suz -- preposition; <sos, soz> under -- under

tun -- possessive; second person singular oblique singular masculine <ton> your -- your
degrét -- noun; oblique singular <degré> staircase -- staircase
me -- personal pronoun; rst person singular indirect object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- me
fai -- verb; second person singular imperative <faire> make -- make
grabatum -- noun; oblique singular <grabatum> simple bed -- simple bed
empur -- preposition; <enpur, anpur> for the sake of -- for the sake of
tun -- possessive; second person singular oblique singular masculine <ton> your -- your
filz -- noun; oblique singular <fil> son -- son
dunt -- relative pronoun; <dont, dunt> of whom, of which, whose -- about whom
tu -- personal pronoun; second person singular nominative <tu> you -- you
as -- verb; second person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- have
tel -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <tel> such -- such
dolur -- noun; oblique singular <dolor> pain, suffering -- grief
Tut soi amferm, sim pais pur sue amor".
tut -- adverb; <tot> entirely -- utterly

soi -- verb; rst person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- I am
amferm -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <enferm> ill, crippled, weak,
unhealthy -- weak
sim -- conjunction; <si> and, and thus + personal pronoun; rst person singular direct
object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- and thus... me
pais -- verb; second person singular imperative <paistre, pestre> feed -- feed
sue -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his -- his
amor -- noun; oblique singular <amor> love -- love
Quant ot li pedre le clamor de sun filz,

Plurent si oil, ne s'en puet astenir:

ot -- verb; third person singular present <oir, odir> hear -- hears
pedre -- noun; nominative singular <pere> father -- father
clamor -- noun; oblique singular <clameor> appeal -- appeal
filz -- noun; oblique singular <fil> son -- son
plurent -- verb; third person plural present <plorer> cry, shed tears -- shed tears
oil -- noun; nominative plural <oeuil, oil> eye -- eyes
s'en -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object <se> he + pronoun; inanimate
<en> of it -- himself...
puet -- verb; third person singular present <pooir, poeir, poier> can, be able -- he can
astenir -- verb; in nitive <astenir> keep from -- contain
"Por amor Deu e pur mun cher ami,

Tut te durai, boens hom, quanque m'as quis,
Lit ed ostel e pain e carn e vin".
por -- preposition; <por> for -- for

amor -- noun; oblique singular <amor> love -- the love
Deu -- proper name; oblique singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- of God
mun -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular masculine <mon> my -- my
cher -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <cher> beloved, expensive -- beloved
ami -- noun; object singular <ami> friend -- friend
tut -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <tot> all, every, completely -- all
te -- personal pronoun; second person singular indirect object <tu> you -- you
durai -- verb; rst person singular future <doner> give -- I will give
boens -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <bon> good -- good
hom -- noun; nominative singular <home, ome> man -- man
quanque -- pronoun; <quanque> all that -- ...
m'as -- personal pronoun; rst person singular indirect object <jo, jou, jeu> I + verb;
second person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- you have... me
quis -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <quere, querre> look for,
want, ask -- asked for
lit -- noun; oblique singular <lit> bed -- a bed
ed -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and -- and
ostel -- noun; oblique singular <ostel> house, dwelling -- lodging
pain -- noun; oblique singular <pain> bread -- bread
carn -- noun; oblique singular <charn, char> esh, meat -- meat
vin -- noun; oblique singular <vin> wine -- wine
Sovent le virent e le pedre e le medra,

E la pulcele quet il out espusede:
Par nule guise unces ne l'aviserent;
sovent -- adverb; <sovent> frequently, often -- often

virent -- verb; third person plural preterite <veoir> see -- they saw
le -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the -- his # case form is rather
exceptional in this instance
pedre -- noun; nominative singular <pere> father -- father
le -- de nite article; nominative singular feminine <li> the -- his # case form and gender
distribution are rather exceptional in this instance
medra -- noun; nominative singular <mere> mother -- mother
pulcele -- noun; nominative singular <pucele> girl, servant, maiden -- girl
quet -- relative pronoun; oblique <qui> who -- whom
out -- verb; third person singular preterite <avoir, aveir> have, be -- had
espusede -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular feminine <esposer> marry --
married
par nule guise unces -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of + adjective; oblique
singular feminine <nul> no, not any + noun; oblique singular <guise> way, manner +
adverb; <onques> once, ever -- never in any way
l'aviserent -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he +
verb; third person plural preterite <aviser> look at, see, recognize, appreciate -- they
recognized him
N'il ne lur dist, ne il nel demanderent,

Quels hom esteit ne de quel terre il eret.
n'il -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not + personal pronoun; third person singular nominative
masculine <il> he -- he...
lur -- personal pronoun; third person plural indirect object <il> they -- them
dist -- verb; third person singular preterite <dire> say, tell -- did... tell
ne -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not -- and...
nel -- negation; <ne, nen> not + personal pronoun; third person singular direct object
masculine <il> he -- not...
demanderent -- verb; third person plural preterite <demander> ask, ask for -- did... ask
quels -- interrogative; nominative singular masculine <quel> what -- who
hom -- noun; nominative singular <home, ome> man -- ...
esteit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- he was
quel -- interrogative; oblique singular feminine <quel> what -- what
terre -- noun; oblique singular <terre> land, country, earth -- country
eret -- verb; third person singular imperfective <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- came
Soventes feiz lur veit grant duel mener

E de lur oilz mult tendrement plurer,
E tut pur lui, unces nïent pur eil.
soventes -- adjective; oblique plural feminine <sovent> many -- many

feiz -- noun; oblique plural <feiz, veiz> time -- times
lur -- personal pronoun; third person plural indirect object <il> they -- them
veit -- verb; third person singular present <veoir> see -- he sees
grant -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <grant> great, large, tall -- great
duel -- noun; oblique singular <dol, duel> suffering, grief -- grief
mener -- verb; in nitive <mener> take, lead, show -- display
lur -- possessive; third person plural oblique plural masculine <lor, leur> their -- their
oilz -- noun; oblique plural <oeuil, oil> eye -- eyes
mult -- adverb, adjective; <molt, mult, mout> many, much, very -- great
tendrement -- adverb; <tendrement> tenderly -- with tenderness
plurer -- verb; in nitive <plorer> cry, shed tears -- shed tears
tut -- adverb; <tot> entirely -- entirely
unces nïent -- adverb; <onques> once, ever + adverb; <nïent> not at all -- never
eil -- personal pronoun; third person plural direct object <il> they -- themselves
Danz Alexis le met el consirrer;

Ne l'en est rien, si'st a Deu aturnét.
danz -- noun; nominative singular <dam, dan> sir, lord -- sir

Alexis -- proper name; nominative singular <Alexis> Alexis -- Alexis
met -- verb; third person singular present <metre, mectre, mettre> put -- takes
el -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of + de nite article; oblique singular masculine
<li> the -- in...
consirrer -- verb; in nitive <conserrer, consirrer> deprive, resign -- resignation
ne l'en est rien -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not + personal pronoun; third person
singular indirect object masculine <il> he + pronoun; inanimate <en> of it + verb; third
person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be + inde nite pronoun; <rien> anything
-- it does not matter
si'st -- adverb; <si> thus, that way, that much + verb; third person singular present
<estre, iestre, aistre> be -- that much... he is
aturnét -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <atorner> turn,
prepare -- turned
Soz le degrét ou il gist sur sa nate,

Iluec paist l'um del relef de sa tabla.
soz -- preposition; <sos, soz> under -- under

degrét -- noun; oblique singular <degré> staircase -- staircase
ou -- relative pronoun; <ou, u> where -- where
gist -- verb; third person singular present <gesir> lie -- lies
sur -- preposition; <seur, soure, sur, sor> on, over, to, above -- on
nate -- noun; oblique singular <nate> matting -- matting
iluec -- adverb; <iluec, ilec, iluoc> there -- there
paist -- verb; third person singular present <paistre, pestre> feed -- feed
l'um -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the + personal pronoun;
nominative singular <om, on> one -- they
del -- preposition; <de> of, from + de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the --
of the
relef -- noun; oblique singular <relef> remains, scraps -- remains
sa -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his -- the
tabla -- noun; oblique singular <table> table -- table
A grant poverte deduit sun grant parage;

Ço ne volt il que sa mere le sacet:
Plus aimet Deu que trestut sun linage.

poverte -- noun; oblique singular <poverté> poverty, misery -- poverty
deduit -- verb; third person singular present <deduire> lead, live -- he lives
grant -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <grant> great, large, tall -- high
parage -- noun; oblique singular <parage> family, origin, rank -- social rank
ço -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <ço, ceo, ce, ceu> this, that, it -- ...
volt -- verb; third person singular present <voloir> want -- does want
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- ...
sa -- possessive; third person singular nominative singular feminine <son> his -- his
mere -- noun; nominative singular <mere> mother -- mother
le -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he -- ...
sacet -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <savoir> know -- to know
plus -- adverb; <plus> more -- more
aimet -- verb; third person singular present <amer> love -- he loves
que -- conjunction; <que> than -- than
trestut -- reinforcing element; <tres> ... + adjective; oblique singular masculine <tot> all,
every, completely -- entire
linage -- noun; oblique singular <lignage> lineage, family -- lineage
Trent'e quatre anz ad si sun cors penét:

Deus sun servise li volt guereduner:
Mult li angreget la sue anfermetét.
trent'e quatre -- numeral; <trente et quatre> thirty four -- thirty four

anz -- noun; oblique plural <an> year -- during... years
si -- adverb; <si> thus, that way, that much -- that way
cors -- noun; oblique singular <cors> body -- body
penét -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <pener> torture, suffer --
tortured
servise -- noun; oblique singular <servise> devotion, favor, task -- devotion
volt -- verb; third person singular present <voloir> want -- wants
guereduner -- verb; in nitive <guerredoner> reward -- to reward
mult -- adverb, adjective; <molt, mult, mout> many, much, very -- much
li -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object masculine <il> he -- for him
angreget -- verb; third person singular present <angregier> grow worse, become more
painful -- becomes more painful
sue -- possessive; third person singular nominative singular feminine <son> his -- his
anfermetét -- noun; nominative singular <enfermeté> physical or moral weakness,
illness -- physical weakness
Or set il bien qued il s'en deit aler:

Cel son servant ad a sei apelét.
or -- adverb; <or> now -- now

set -- verb; third person singular present <savoir> know -- knows
bien -- adverb; <bien> well, many, much, really -- well
s'en deit aler -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object <se> he + pronoun;
inanimate <en> of it + verb; third person singular present <devoir> have to + verb;
in nitive <aler> go -- has to die
cel -- demonstrative; oblique singular masculine <cil> that -- ...
son -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular masculine <son> his -- his
servant -- noun; oblique singular <servant> servant -- servant
sei -- pronoun personal; third person singular direct object <se> he -- him
apelét -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <apeler> accuse, summon,
call -- called to see
Lesson Text
A un des porz ki plus est pres de Rome,

Iloec arivet la nef a cel saint home. Quant vit sun regne, durement s'en redutet
De ses parenz, qued il nel recunuissent
E de l'honur del secle ne l'encumbrent. Eist de la nef e vint andreit a Rome; Vait
par les rues dunt il ja bien fut cointe,
Altra pur altre, mais sun pedre i ancuntret, Ansembl'ot lui grant masse de ses
humes;
Sil reconut, par sun dreit num le numet. "Eufemïen, bel sire, riches hom,
Quar me herberges pur Deu an ta maison; Suz tun degrét me fai un grabatum
Empur tun filz dunt tu as tel dolur; Tut soi amferm, sim pais pur sue amor".
Quant ot li pedre le clamor de sun filz,
Plurent si oil, ne s'en puet astenir: "Por amor Deu e pur mun cher ami,
Tut te durai, boens hom, quanque m'as quis,
Lit ed ostel e pain e carn e vin". Sovent le virent e le pedre e le medra,
E la pulcele quet il out espusede:
Par nule guise unces ne l'aviserent; N'il ne lur dist, ne il nel demanderent,
Quels hom esteit ne de quel terre il eret. Soventes feiz lur veit grant duel mener
E de lur oilz mult tendrement plurer,
E tut pur lui, unces nïent pur eil. Danz Alexis le met el consirrer;
Ne l'en est rien, si'st a Deu aturnét. Soz le degrét ou il gist sur sa nate,
Iluec paist l'um del relef de sa tabla. A grant poverte deduit sun grant parage;
Ço ne volt il que sa mere le sacet:
Plus aimet Deu que trestut sun linage. Trent'e quatre anz ad si sun cors penét:
Deus sun servise li volt guereduner:
Mult li angreget la sue anfermetét. Or set il bien qued il s'en deit aler:
Cel son servant ad a sei apelét.
Translation
In one of the ports that is closest to Rome,

There the ship of that holy man arrives.
When he saw his country, he is very worried
About his parents, that they recognize him
And overload him with the honors of the world.
He leaves the ship and went directly to Rome;

He goes through the streets with which he was already very familiar,
One after the other, eventually he there runs into his father,
Together with him is a large group of his men;
And he recognized him, he calls him by his proper name.
"Eufemien, dear Lord, powerful man,

may you lodge me in your house for the sake of God;
Make me a simple bed under your staircase
For the sake of your son, about whom you have such grief;
I am utterly weak and thus feed me for his love".
When the father hears the appeal of his son,

His eyes shed tears, he cannot contain himself:
"For the love of God and for my beloved friend,
I will give you, good man, all you have asked me for,
A bed and lodging and bread and meat and wine."
They saw him often, his father and his mother,

And the girl whom he had married:
They never recognized him in any way;
He did not tell them, and they did not ask,
Who he was nor what country he came from.
Many times he sees them display great grief

And shed tears from their eyes with great tenderness,
Entirely for him, never for themselves.
Sir Alexis takes it in resignation;
It does not matter, that much he is turned to God.
Under the staircase where he lies on his matting,

There they feed him of the remains of the table.
In great poverty he lives his high social rank;
He does not want his mother to know:
He loves God more than his entire lineage.
He has tortured his body that way during thirty-four years:

God wants to reward his devotion:
His physical weakness becomes much more painful for him.
He now knows well that he has to die:
He has called his servant to see him.
Grammar
11 Past Tenses: Uses
In the previous lesson it was said that Old French had an imperfect tense (Fr. imparfait, e.g.
chantoie 'I was singing'), a preterite (Fr. passe/ simple or passe/ de/ ni, e.g. chantai 'I sang'),
and a compound past tense, the perfective present (e.g. ai chanté 'I have sung').
The actual uses of these forms will be discussed in the following paragraphs. It is, however,
necessary to include in this discussion the present as well, because that tense is often used as
a so-called historical present.
The student may have noticed in the fragments analyzed so far that the present and the three
past tenses may alternate in any given sentence, as for example:
(a) the present and the preterite:
Karles l'oït e ses Franceis l'entendent (CdR 1788, Lesson 2)

'Charles heard (Pret.) him and his subjects hear (Pres.) him'
(b) the compound tense and the preterite:
Carles li reis, ...,

Set anz tuz pleins ad estet en Espaigne:
Tresqu'en la mer cunquist la tere altaigne (CdR 1-3, Lesson 1)

'Charles the king, ...,
has been in Spain a full seven years:
he conquered (Pret.) the high land up to the sea'
The use of tenses was less strict in early medieval texts than it became from the 13th century
onward. Yet even in the early period tense use was not chaotic; there were de nite tendencies:
(a) imperfect:
refers to past action and state;

refers to actions that are durative or repeted;
refers to habits;
refers to actions that typically are not completed;
in later texts the imperfect may also be used to refer to permanent qualities of persons or
objects (see also [b]);
the imperfect in Old French is less frequent than in later times and is often replaced by the
preterite.
Examples:
il nel demanderent
Quels hom esteit ne de quel terre il eret (Al. 239-240, this lesson)
'they did (Pret.) not ask him,
Who he was (Impf.) nor what country he was (Impf.) from'
(b) preterite:
refers to (completed) actions in the past that have no link with the present;
is typically found in reference to a sequence of events;
refers to permanent characteristics of persons or objects (later to be replaced by the
imperfect in this use; cf. [a]);
may replace the imperfect.
Examples:
Blancandrins vint devant Marsiliun (CdR 414)

'Blancandrin came (Pret.) to see Marsile'

vairs out les oilz et molt fier lu visage (CdR 283)

'he had (Pret.) grey-blue eyes and a proud face'

li quens Rollant fut noble guerrer (CdR 2066)

'Count Roland was (Pret.) a noble warrior'
(c) compound tense:
refers to action in state of completion;

refers to actions that took place in the past, but have an impact on the present;
refers to action of the past, just like the preterite.
Examples:
Carles li reis, ... ,

Set anz tuz pleins ad estet en Espaigne (CdR 1, Lesson 1)
'Charles the king, ...,
has been in Spain a full seven years'
[and now he is on his way back to France]
(d) historical present:
refers to actions that took place in the past as if they are taking place at the moment of
narration, enhancing the dramatic effects or liveliness of style;
emotional moments in the text often are in the historical present.
Examples:
In a story set in the past, one nds:
E Deu apelent andui parfitement (Al. 22)

'And they both beseeched (Pres.) God perfectly'
Changes in tense use often mark a dramatic moment in the text; cf:
Quant vit sun regne, durement s'en redutet ... (Al. 198, this lesson)
'When he saw (Pret.) his country, he was (Pres.) very worried'

Puis converserent ansemble longament:

N'ourent amfant, peiset lur en forment, (Al. 21-22)
'Then they lived (Pret.) together for a long time,
they had (Pret.) no children, which was (Pres.) a great grief to them'
12 De nite Article: Forms

The de nite article in Old French has the following paradigm:
De nite Article
Masc. Sg. Masc. Pl. Fem. Sg. Fem. Pl.
Nom. li li la les
Obl. le, lo les la les
The vowel of singular forms often disappears in front of another vowel (elision); cf.:
l'ami 'the friend' (Obl. Sg. Masc.)
l'amie 'the friend'(Nom./Obl. Sg. Fem.)
As a rule there is no elision in the nominative singular masculine and in the plural:
li amis 'the friend' (Nom. Sg. Masc.)
li ami 'the friends' (Nom. Pl. Masc.)
In sequences that include a preposition, a de nite article, and a noun starting with a consonant,
the de nite article le and les may combine with the preposition (enclisis); cf:
a + le > al, au
a + les > as, aus, aux

de + le > del, dou, du

de + les > des

en + le > el, eu, ou, u

en + les > es
13 De nite Article: Uses

Latin did not have de nite articles, but in the shift from Latin to the Romance languages de nite
articles developed out of Latin demonstratives. For French -- with the exception of a few dialects
-- the de nite article traces back to the Latin demonstrative ille 'that'.
Whereas the use of de nite articles in modern French has become almostautomatic, its use in
medieval French is motivated. Because of inconsistencies, linguists so far have not been able to
pinpoint the precise "rules," but there are de nite tendencies.
The de nite article in Old French is used when the element in question is known either because
it has already been mentioned, or because it is generally known; cf.:
Rollant ad mis l'olifan a sa buche (CdR 1753, Lesson 2)

'Roland has put the horn to his mouth'
In this example reference is made to the horn about which there has been much discussion
already. Similarly,
Li empereres se fait ... balz (CdR 96, Lesson 1)
'the emperor is ebullient'
The emperor is Charlemagne, who from the beginning of the document is the main character.
In the following example reference is made to la feste seint Martin, which is generally known in
the Middle Ages:
Vos le sivrez a la feste seint Michel (CdR 37)

'you will follow him on the holiday of St. Michael'
A noun may also refer to a unique phenomenon, e.g. the world:
Bons fut le secles ... (Al. 1)

'Good was the world ...'
On the whole there is no de nite article when the noun has generic value, as in:
Fers e acers i deit aveir valor (CdR 1362)

'it is iron and steel that have value'
There is no de nite article when the noun is an abstract noun; cf.:
el num la virgine ki portat salvetét (Al. 89)

'in the name of the Virgin, who brought salvation'

cum fort pecét m'apresset! (Al. 59)

'how much sin is tempting me!'
There is no article when the noun refers to a country; cf.:
de dulce France i ad quinze milliers (CdR 109, Lesson 1)

'from our beloved France there are fteen thousand men'
Before the 13th century there generally is no article when the noun refers to peoples or groups
of people; cf.:
Franceis i unt ferut de coeur e de vigur;

Paien sunt morz a millers (CdR 1438-1439)
'the French have been striking there with zeal and strength;
the pagans have died by thousands'
There are a number of expressions including a verb and a direct object in which the noun does
not combine with an article, such as:
merci crier 'beg for mercy'
messe esculter 'go to mass' (lit.: to mass listen)
guerre commencer 'start war'
merci aveir 'have mercy'
There is no de nite article in adverbial expressions introduced by a preposition; cf.:
a grant poverte deduit sun grant parage (Al. 248, this lesson)
'in great povery he lives his high social rank'
In an ennumeration a noun may be ommited, leaving the de nite article behind; cf.:
al tens Noë ed al tens Abraham ed al David (Al. 6-7)

'in the time of Noah and in the time of Abraham and in that of David'
The de nite article combines often with titles and proper names; cf.:
Li reis Marsilie (CdR 10, Lesson 1)

'King Marsilie'

Li quens Rollant (CdR 1785, Lesson 2)

'Count Roland'
De nite articles may combine with possessives; cf.:
par le men escïentre (CdR 1791, Lesson 2)

'to my knowledge'

la tue amurs (CdR 3107)

'your love'

la sue anfermetét (Al. 278, this lesson)

'his physical weakness'
14 The Subjunctive: Forms

Old French is characterized by the productive use of the present and past subjunctive. The
formation of the two subjunctives is based on two different stems. The present subjunctive is
based on the present stem, which also is found in the rst person plural indicative; cf.:
Formation of the Present Subjunctive
Inf. Pres. Part. 1st Pl. Pres. Pres. Subju.
chanter chantant chantons chant

fenir fenissant fenissons fenisse
partir partant partons parte
The imperfect subjunctive is based on the perfective stem, found in the past (perfective)
participle and the preterite as well; cf.:
Formation of the Imperfective Subjunctive
Inf. Past Part. Pret. Impf. Subju.
chanter chanté chantai chantasse

fenir feni fenis fenisse
partir parti parti partisse
From a historical perspective, Old French chantasse traces directly to Latin cantavissem
(cantav-issem), and like the preterite is based on the perfective stem of the verb: chantai for
example traces back to Latin cantavi (cantav-i). The Old French past (or perfective) participle
has the same stem as well, because it is based on the Latin perfective stem. This is especially
clear in Latin verbs like relinquere 'leave', which have -n- in its present stem, but not in the
perfective stem; cf. relinquo 'I leave' vs. reliqui 'I have left', relinquens 'leave-Pres. Part.' vs.
relictus 'leave-Pf. Part.'.
The present and imperfect forms of the subjunctive for the various conjugations are as follows.
14.1 Present subjunctive

Present Subjunctive, Verbs in -er (chanter, e.g. chant 'that I may sing') --
1st pers. - chant -ons chantons

-iens chantiens
2nd pers. -s chanz -iez chantez
3rd pers. -t chant -ent chantent
Present Subjunctive, Verbs in -ir with in x (fenir, e.g. fenisse 'that I may end') --
1st pers. -isse fenisse -issons fenissons

-issiens fenissiens
2nd pers. -isses fenisses -iss(i)ez feniss(i)ez
3rd pers. -isse fenisse -issent fenissent
Present Subjunctive, Verbs in -ir without in x (partir, e.g. parte 'that I may leave') --
1st pers. -e parte -ons partons

-iens partiens
2nd pers. -es partes -ez partez
3rd pers. -e parte -ent partent
Present Subjunctive, Verbs in -re (corre, e.g. corre 'that I may run') --
1st pers. -e corre -ons corons

2nd pers. -es cores -ez corez
3rd pers. -e core -ent corent
14.2 Imperfective subjunctive

Imperfective Subjunctive, Verbs in -er (chanter, e.g. chantasse 'that I sang') --
1st pers. -asse chantasse -issons chantissons

-issiens chantissiens
2nd pers. -asses chantasses -issoiz chantissoiz
-iss(i)ez chantiss(i)ez
3rd pers. -ast chantast -assent chantassent
Imperfective Subjunctive, Verbs in -ir with in x (fenir, e.g. fenisse 'that I ended') --
1st pers. -isse fenisse -issons fenissons
-issiens fenissiens
2nd pers. -isses fenisses -issoiz fenissoiz
-iss(i)ez feniss(i)ez
3rd pers. -ist fenist -issent fenissent
Imperfective Subjunctive, Verbs in -ir without in x (partir, e.g. partisse 'that I left') --
1st pers. -isse partisse -issons partissons

-issiens partissiens
2nd pers. -isses partisses -iss(i)ez partiss(i)ez
3rd pers. -ist partist -issent partissent
Imperfective Subjunctive, Verbs in -re (corre, e.g. corusse 'that I ran') --
1st pers. -usse corusse -ussons corussons

2nd pers. -usses corusses -ussoiz corussoiz
-uss(i)ez coruss(i)ez
3rd pers. -ust corust -ussent corussent
15 The Subjunctive: Uses

The subjunctive is a mood that expresses the speaker's attitude towards the action conveyed by
the verb: fear, anger, wish, and so forth. The indicative, by contrast, refers to a plain fact.
Compare the following two examples:
Li reis me done cunseil

'the king gives me advice'
In this example the speaker makes a simple observation of something that is happening. In the
next example the speaker expresses his wish that the event expressed by the verb will take
place; cf:
Que Deus pareîs me duinst

'(that) God give me access to Heaven'
In Modern French, the use of the subjunctive in main clauses is limited to one or two xed
expressions (e.g. vive la France 'long live France') and to constructions introduced by the particle
que 'that', expressing wishes or orders; cf., for example, que personne ne sorte 'nobody should
go out'.
In Old French, the use of the subjunctive was more widespread. First, the present as well as
imperfect subjunctive were both very much alive. Second, the subjunctive was freely used in
subordinate as well as main clauses and its occurrence was semantically motivated.
In main clauses the subjunctive typically expresses wishes and orders, and may or may not be
combined with the particle que, si, or car:
filz, la tue aname el ciel seit absoluthe! (Al. 410)

'son, may your soul be free in heaven!'

si m'aît Deus
'God help me'

de vos ait Deus mercit! (CdR 1855)

'may God have pity upon you'

Deus li otreit seinte beneîçun! (CdR 2245)

'may God give him his blessing'

paien, mal aies tu!

'heathen, be damned (lit.: have [Subju.] misery)!'

quar me herberges ... an ta maison (Al. 217, this lesson)

'may you lodge me in your house'
The second person subjunctive could also function as an imperative marked for its politeness
(see Grammar Point 16, Lesson 4).
In subordinate clauses, the subjunctive occurs:
· after verbs expressing a wish; cf.:
il voelt veirement que Carles diet (CdR 2362-2363)

'he really wants that Charles said ...'

priet Deu que pareîs li duinst (CdR 2241)

'he prays to God that He give him access to heaven'
· after verbs expressing the notion of 'thinking', e.g. penser 'think', m'est avis 'it seems to me',
cuider 'think', croire 'believe'; cf.:
ne sai le lieu ... u t'alge querre (Al. 133-134)

'I do not know the place where to look (Subju.) for you'
· after verbs expressing an order:
je vos defend que n'i adeist nuls hom (CdR 2437)

'I order you that no one get (Subju.) close'
· after verbs expressing doubt, possibility, or necessity; cf.:
se mei leüst, si t'oüsse guardét (Al. 490)

'if it had been allowed, I would have protected you'
· after verbs expressing fear; cf.:
durement s'en redutet..., qued il nel recunuissent (Al. 198-199, this lesson)
'he is very worried that they [might] recognize (Subju.) him'
· in indirect interrogative constructions, especially after a negation:
ne set qu'il face

'he does not know what to do (Subju.)'
· after negated or hypothetical clauses; cf.:
n'i ad castel ki devant lui remaigne (CdR 4, Lesson 1)

'there is no castle that resists (Subju.) him'

nuls n'en i at ki n'alget malendus (Al. 554)

'there is nobody who leaves (Subju.) in bad shape'
· in adverbial clauses expressing time and referring to future events; cf.:
n'en descendrat ...

enceis qu'en seient .VII.C. espees traites (CdR 810-811)
'he will not come down
before seven hundred swords have been (Subju.) unsheathed'
Old French Online

Lesson 4
As noted in the Introduction to Lesson 3, Old French literature includes several works that praise
the lives or martyrdom of saints. Although most saints were historical gures, a few were
instead the product of popular imagination. One of the latter gures was, in all likelihood, Saint
Eulalia, whose martyrdom shows striking similarities with that of St. Agnes, a young Roman
martyr.
According to popular belief, St. Eulalia of Mérida (a.k.a. St. Eulalia of Barcelona) was a saint and
martyr who died in 304 at the age of twelve under Maximian, ruler under Emperor Diocletian. In
304, Christianity was not yet the o cial religion of the Roman Empire.
In 878, bones were identi ed in Barcelona as those of St. Eulalia, which triggered the saint's cult
there and in France as well. In Spain, St. Eulalia was one of the most popular saints. In art she
typically is represented with the martyr's palm, and often a dove ies out of her mouth. Our text
selection will show why she is represented in that way.
The text of this lesson, La Cantilène de Sainte Eulalie, is one of the earliest Old French
documents. Like the previous document, it has a liturgical background and was in fact a hymn
written to praise the Christian virtues of the saint in question. The hymn praises the saint's
stamina: her Christian faith and her love of God remain unshaken in the face of material
temptations, threats of torture, and ultimately physical suffering. Having survived the ames,
she eventually is decapitated and her soul goes straight to heaven. The narrator then invites
readers and listeners to pray that St. Eulalia will intercede on their behalf.
For various scholarly reasons it has been assumed that the text dates from 882 and was written
in the north of France. There is no consensus among scholars whether this text is a poem or,
rather, poetic prose. Earlier Latin texts may have been a source of inspiration for this document.
The reader will notice a relatively high incidence of Latin words in this hymn, which counts only
29 lines (e.g. anima, clementia, post, or Christus). The use of cases is more consistent than we
have noticed in the texts discussed so far.
The text also has a number of archaisms in word order patterns, cf. the sequence genitive +
noun as in li
Deo inimi, the sequence direct object + verb as in qu'elle Deo raneiet, or the
sequence direct object + in nitive as in volt lo seule lazsier (see also Grammar Point 17). The
syntactic structures are more complex than they have been so far: there are several rather
complex subordinate constructions involving a subjunctive form of the verb, e.g. elle
no'nt
eskoltet les ... conselliers qu'elle Deo raneiet or il li enortet, dont lei nonque chielt,
qued elle fuiet lo nom..., ell'ent aduret lo ... element.
The nothern origin of the text is illustrated by a certain number of features, for example retention
of [k] before [a] as in cose 'thing', but chief 'head' with a palatalized initial consonant.
Buona pulcella fut Eulalia,

Bel auret corps, bellezour anima.
buona -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <bon> good -- good

pulcella -- noun; nominative singular <pucele> girl, servant, maiden -- a girl
fut -- verb; third person singular preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- was
Eulalia -- proper name; nominative singular <Eulalia> Eulalia -- Eulalia
bel -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <bel> dear, beloved, handsome -- beautiful
auret -- verb; third person singular pluperfect <avoir, aveir> have, be -- she had # very
unusual form which traces back to Latin habuerat 3rd sg. pluperfect 'she had had'; had
preterite value in Old French
corps -- noun; oblique singular <cors> body -- a body
bellezour -- adjective; comparative oblique singular feminine <bel> dear, beloved,
handsome -- more beautiful
anima -- noun; oblique singular <anima> soul -- a soul # Latin word anima, animae
Voldrent la veintre li Deo inimi,

Voldrent la faire diaule servir.
voldrent -- verb; third person plural pluperfect <voloir> want -- wanted # very unusual
form which traces back to Latin voluerant 3rd pl. pluperfect 'they had wanted'; had preterite
value in Old French
la -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object feminine <il> he -- her
veintre -- verb; in nitive <veintre> vanquish, conquer, overcome -- overcome
Deo -- proper name; oblique singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- of God
inimi -- noun; nominative plural <enemi> enemy, devil -- enemies
voldrent -- verb; third person plural pluperfect <voloir> want -- they wanted # very
unusual form which traces back to Latin voluerant 3rd pl. pluperfect 'they had wanted'; had
faire -- verb; in nitive <faire> make -- to make
diaule -- noun; oblique singular <deable, diavle> devil -- the devil
servir -- verb; in nitive <servir> serve -- serve
Elle no'nt eskoltet les mals conselliers

Qu'elle Deo raneiet chi maent sus en ciel.
elle -- personal pronoun; third person singular nominative feminine <il> he -- she
no'nt -- negation; <non> not + adverb; <ent, end> subsequently -- not...
eskoltet -- verb; third person singular present <escolter> listen to, pay attention to -- does
listen to
mals -- adjective; oblique plural masculine <mal> bad, mean, wretched -- mean
conselliers -- noun; oblique plural <conseillier, conseilleor> counsellor, advisor -- men
who advise
qu'elle -- conjunction; <que> that + personal pronoun; third person singular nominative
feminine <il> he -- that she
Deo -- proper name; oblique singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- God
raneiet -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <renoier, renier> abjure, deny --
abjure
chi -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- who
maent -- verb; third person singular present <maindre> stay, remain -- lives
sus en -- adverb; <sus, suz> up, above + preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- right
up in
ciel -- noun; oblique singular <ciel> heaven -- heaven
Ne por or ned argent ne paramenz,

Por manatce regiel ne preiement,
Niule cose non la pouret omque pleier,
La polle sempre non amast lo Deo menestier.
ne -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not -- not

or -- noun; oblique singular <or> gold -- gold
ned -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not -- nor
argent -- noun; oblique singular <argent> silver, money, riches -- money
paramenz -- noun; oblique plural <parament> nery, precious object -- precious objects
por -- preposition; <por> for -- because of
manatce -- noun; oblique singular <menace, manace> menace -- menaces
regiel -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <regal> royal, of the king -- royal
ne -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not -- not... or
preiement -- noun; oblique singular <priement> prayer -- begging
niule -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <nul> no, not any -- one
cose -- noun; nominative singular <chose, cose> thing, affair, creature -- thing
non -- negation; <non> not -- not
pouret -- verb; third person singular pluperfect <pooir, poeir, poier> can, be able --
could # very unusual form which traces back to Latin potuerat 3rd sg. pluperfect 'had been
able'; had preterite value in Old French
omque -- adverb; <onques> once, ever -- ever
pleier -- verb; in nitive <ploier> bend, yield -- to make yield from
polle -- noun; nominative singular <polle> girl -- ...
sempre -- adverb; <sempres, sempre> always, immediately -- continuously
non -- negation; <non> not -- ...
amast -- verb; third person singular subjunctive imperfective <amer> love -- loving
lo -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the -- ...
Deo -- proper name; oblique singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- God's
menestier -- noun; oblique singular <menestier> service, profession -- service
E por o fut presentede Maximiien,

Chi rex eret a cels dis soure pagiens.

o -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <o, ou, euc> this -- this reason
fut -- verb; third person singular preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- she was
presentede -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular feminine <presenter> present,
offer, bring before the judge -- brought before
Maximiien -- proper name; oblique singular <Maximiien> Maximian -- Maximian
chi -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- who
rex -- noun; nominative singular <regem> king -- king # Latin word rex, regis
eret -- verb; third person singular imperfective <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- was
cels -- demonstrative; oblique plural masculine <cil> that -- those
dis -- noun; oblique plural <di> day -- days
soure -- preposition; <seur, soure, sur, sor> on, over, to, above -- over
pagiens -- noun; oblique plural <paien, pagien> pagan, heathen -- the pagans
Il li enortet, dont lei nonque chielt,

Qued elle fuiet lo nom christiien
Ell'ent aduret lo suon element.

li -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object feminine <il> he -- her
enortet -- verb; third person singular present <enorter> exhort, urge, seduce -- urges
dont -- relative pronoun; <dont, dunt> of whom, of which, whose -- but
lei -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object feminine <il> he -- she
nonque -- adverb; <nonque> never -- never
chielt -- impersonal verb; third person singular present <chaloir> concern, matter -- is
interested
fuiet -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <fuir, fuier> ee from, abandon --
abandon
lo -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the -- the
nom -- noun; oblique singular <nom, non> name, title -- name
christiien -- adjective; oblique singular <chrestien> christian -- of christian
ell'ent -- personal pronoun; third person singular nominative feminine <il> he + adverb;
<ent, end> subsequently -- and... subsequently
aduret -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <adurer> worship -- worship
suon -- possessive; third person singular oblique masculine <son> his -- his
element -- noun; oblique singular <element> force, energy, god -- god
Melz sostendreiet les empedementz

Qu'elle perdesse sa virginitét.
Por os furet morte a grand honestét.
melz -- comparative adverb; <miels, mels> better, rather -- rather

sostendreiet -- verb; third person singular conditional <sostenir> sustain, support -- she
would undergo
les -- de nite article; oblique plural masculine <li> the -- ...
empedementz -- noun; oblique plural <empedement> persecution -- persecution
qu'elle -- conjunction; <que> than + personal pronoun; third person singular nominative
feminine <il> he -- than...
perdesse -- verb; third person singular subjunctive imperfective <perdre> lose, perish --
lose
sa -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his -- her
virginitét -- noun; oblique singular <virginitét> spiritual purity, christian purity -- spiritual
purity
os -- demonstrative; oblique plural neuter <o, ou, euc> this -- these reasons
furet -- verb; third person singular pluperfect <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- ... # very
unusual form which traces back to Latin fuerat 3rd sg. pluperfect 'she had been'; had
morte -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular feminine <morir> kill, die -- she
died
grand -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <grant> great, large, tall -- great
honestét -- noun; oblique singular <honestét> honor -- honor
Enz enl fou la getterent, com arde tost.

Elle colpes non auret, por o nos coist.
A czo nos voldret concreidre li rex pagiens;
Ad une spede li roveret tolir lo chief.
enz -- adverb, reinforcing element; <ens, enz> ... -- ... # reinforces the preposition en
enl -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of + de nite article; oblique singular masculine
<li> the -- into the
fou -- noun; oblique singular <feu, fou> re, family -- re
getterent -- verb; third person plural preterite <geter, giter> throw, reject, utter -- they
threw
com -- conjunction; <com, cum> in order that -- so that
arde -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <ardoir, ardre> burn -- she would
burn
tost -- adverb; <tost> soon, immediately, quickly -- quickly
colpes -- noun; oblique plural <colpe, corpe, cope> sin, mistake -- sins
non -- negation; <non> not -- no
auret -- verb; third person singular pluperfect <avoir, aveir> have, be -- had # very unsual
form which traces back to Latin habuerat 3rd sg. pluperfect 'she had had'; had preterite
value in Old French
o -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <o, ou, euc> this -- this reason
nos coist -- negation; <non> not + personal pronoun; third person singular direct object
<se> he + verb; third person singular preterite <cuire> cook, burn -- she did not burn
czo -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <ço, ceo, ce, ceu> this, that, it -- this
nos -- negation; <non> not + personal pronoun; third person singular direct object <se>
he -- not
voldret -- verb; third person singular pluperfect <voloir> want -- did...want # very unusual
form which traces back to Latin voluerat 3rd sg. pluperfect 'he had wanted'; had preterite
value in Old French
concreidre -- verb; in nitive <concreidre> give in -- to give in
rex -- noun; nominative singular <regem> king -- king # Latin word rex, regis
pagiens -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <paien> pagan, heathen -- pagan
ad -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on -- with
spede -- noun; oblique singular <espee> sword -- sword
li -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object feminine <il> he -- ...
roveret -- verb; third person singular pluperfect <rover> ask, call upon, order -- he ordered
# very unusual form which traces back to Latin rogaverat 3rd sg. pluperfect 'he had
ordered'; had preterite value in Old French
tolir -- verb; in nitive <tolir> take off, cut off -- to (be) cut off
lo -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the -- her
chief -- noun; oblique singular <chief> head -- head
La domnizelle celle kose non contredist:

Volt lo seule lazsier, si ruovet Krist.
In figure de colomb volat a ciel.

domnizelle -- noun; nominative singular <damoiselle> girl of noble birth -- girl
celle -- demonstrative; oblique singular feminine <cil> that -- that
kose -- noun; oblique singular <chose, cose> thing, affair, creature -- idea
non -- negation; <non> not -- not
contredist -- verb; third person singular preterite <contredire> oppose, resist -- did
oppose
volt -- verb; third person singular present <voloir> want -- she wants
seule -- noun; oblique singular <siecle, secle, seule> earthly life, world -- earthly life
lazsier -- verb; in nitive <laissier> leave, let, abandon -- to abandon
ruovet -- verb; third person singular present <rover> ask, call upon, order -- she calls upon
Krist -- proper name; oblique singular <Christ> Christ -- Christ
in -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- in
figure -- noun; oblique singular <figure> form, person, character -- the form
colomb -- noun; oblique singular <colon, colomb> pigeon, dove -- a dove
volat -- verb; third person singular preterite <voler> y -- she ew
ciel -- noun; oblique singular <ciel> heaven -- heaven
Tuit oram que por nos degnet preier

Qued auuisset de nos Christus mercit
Post la mort et a lui nos laist venir
Par souue clementia
tuit -- adjective; nominative plural masculine <tot> all, every, completely -- all
oram -- verb; rst person plural imperative <orer> pray -- let us pray
nos -- personal pronoun; rst person plural direct object <nos> we -- us
degnet -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <daignier> deign -- she will
deign
preier -- verb; in nitive <prier, preier> pray, beg, beseech -- to pray
auuisset -- verb; third person singular subjunctive imperfective <avoir, aveir> have, be --
may have
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- on
Christus -- proper name; nominative singular <Christus> Christ -- Christ # Latin word
Christus, Christi
mercit -- noun; oblique singular <merci> grace, mercy, pity -- mercy
post -- preposition; <post> after -- after # Latin word post
la -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the -- ...
mort -- noun; oblique singular <mort> death -- death
et -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and -- and
lui -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he -- Him
laist -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <laissier> leave, let, abandon -- may
allow
venir -- verb; in nitive <venir> come, go -- to come
souue -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his -- His
clementia -- noun; oblique singular <clementiam> grace -- grace # Latin word clementia,
clementiae
Lesson Text
Buona pulcella fut Eulalia,

Bel auret corps, bellezour anima. Voldrent la veintre li Deo inimi,
Voldrent la faire diaule servir. Elle no'nt eskoltet les mals conselliers
Qu'elle Deo raneiet chi maent sus en ciel. Ne por or ned argent ne paramenz,
Por manatce regiel ne preiement,
Niule cose non la pouret omque pleier,
La polle sempre non amast lo Deo menestier. E por o fut presentede Maximiien,
Chi rex eret a cels dis soure pagiens. Il li enortet, dont lei nonque chielt,
Qued elle fuiet lo nom christiien
Ell'ent aduret lo suon element. Melz sostendreiet les empedementz
Qu'elle perdesse sa virginitét.
Por os furet morte a grand honestét. Enz enl fou la getterent, com arde tost.
Elle colpes non auret, por o nos coist.
A czo nos voldret concreidre li rex pagiens;
Ad une spede li roveret tolir lo chief. La domnizelle celle kose non contredist:
Volt lo seule lazsier, si ruovet Krist.
In figure de colomb volat a ciel. Tuit oram que por nos degnet preier
Qued auuisset de nos Christus mercit
Post la mort et a lui nos laist venir
Par souue clementia
Translation
Eulalia was a good girl,

She had a beautiful body and an even more beautiful soul.
The enemies of God wanted to overcome her,
They wanted to make her serve the devil.
She does not listen to the mean men who advise
That she abjure God, who lives right up in heaven.
Not for gold, nor money, nor precious objects,
Not because of royal menaces or begging,
Not one thing could ever make her yield
From continuously loving God's service.
And for this reason she was brought before Maximian,
Who in those days was king over the pagans.
He urges her, but she is never interested,
That she abandon the name of christian
And subsequently worship his god.
She would rather undergo persecution
Than lose her spiritual purity.
For these reasons she died in great honor.
They threw her into the re so that she would burn quickly.
She had no sins, for this reason she did not burn.
The pagan king did not want to give in to this;
He ordered her head to be cut off with a sword.
The girl did not oppose that idea:
She wants to abandon earthly life, and she calls upon Christ.
In the form of a dove she ew to heaven.
Let us all pray that she will deign to pray for us
That Christ may have mercy on us
And may allow us to come to Him after death
Through His grace.
Grammar
16 Imperative
The imperative is a mood that, in direct address, expresses an order, a request, or a suggestion.
The imperative may be negated:
ne vus esmaiez! (CdR 27) 'do not worry'
vs. tais, Oliver (CdR 1026) 'be silent, Oliver'
Verbs in Old French have two imperative forms, the second person singular and the second
person plural, which are used when one addresses the person or persons with whom one is
talking; cf.:
Imperative, 2nd Sg. and 2nd Pl.
Imperative 2nd Sg. 2nd Pl.
Verbs in -er chante chantez

Verbs in -ir, with in x fenis fenissiez
fenissez
Verbs in -ir, without in x part partez

Verbs in -re cor corez

estre soies soiiez

soiez
avoir aie(s) aiiez
aiez
In addition, there is a rst person plural imperative, which rather is an adhortative, e.g. chantons
'let us sing'. Its forms are as follows:
Imperative, 1st Pl.
Imperative 1st Pl.
Verbs in -er chantons

Verbs in -ir with in x fenissons
Verbs in -ir without in x partons
Verbs in -re corons

estre soiiens, soions

avoir aiiens, aions
Verbs with varying stress patterns (e.g. aimer, aim 'I love' [stress on the stem] vs. amons 'we
love' [stress on the ending], see Lesson 2), have similar stress patterns for the imperative forms;
the singular forms have no ending, the plural forms are identical to those of the present
indicative:
Imperative, Verbs with varying stress patterns
Imperative 2nd Sg. 1st Pl. 2nd Pl.
aimer 'love' aim amons amez
tenir 'hold' tien tenons tenez
dire 'say' di dimes dites

faire 'make' fai faimes faites
croire 'believe' croi creons creez
boire 'drink' beif bevons bevez

boif buvons buvez
The imperative often combines with the particle car, which functions as a reinforcing element:
Rollant, l'olifant car sunez (CdR 1059) 'Roland, blow the horn'
Car chevalchiez, barun! 'Ride, knights!'
In polite expressions the second person subjunctive could have imperative value as well, in main
clauses with or without particle, e.g. car, which here again functions as a reinforcing element;
cf.:
quar me herberges ... (Al. 217, Lesson 3) 'may you lodge me' > 'lodge me'
Finally, in nitives could function as imperatives as well, especially in negation; they then have
the value of a second person singular imperative; cf.:
Sire cumpainz, amis, nel dire ja! (CdR 1113)

'Sir companion, friend, never say that!
In a rmative uses, the in nitive is preceded by de, the de nite article, and or in clause-initial
position. Often the imperative then refers to the rst person plural and has adhortative value; cf.:
or del mangier 'well let's eat'

or du ferir 'let's strike!'
17 Word Order
When discussing word order patterns including subjects and direct objects, linguists typically
refer to the order of nominal elements; in the ordering of pronominal elements non-syntactic
factors (e.g. prosodic factors) play an important role.
The well-established case system in Latin allowed for word order variation. Consequently, for
pragmatic reasons or reasons of emphasis, for example, word order in Latin could vary, which
however did not mean than Latin word order was indiscriminately "free". There were clearcut
tendencies, such as:
· the direct object in unmarked sequence preceded the nite verb; cf.:
Caesar Gallorum animos verbis con rmavit
Caesar-Nom. Gauls-Gen. minds-Acc. words-Abl. comfort-Pf.-3Pl.
'Caesar comforted the minds of the Gauls with his words'
· the genitive as a rule preceded the head noun in unmarked order; cf.:
Caesaris adventus
Caesar-Gen. approach
'Caesar's approach'
· in comparative constructions the ablative of comparison tended to precede the adjective

proper; cf.:
luce clarior
light-Abl. bright-Comp.
'brighter than light'
· the subject as topic of the sentence occurred in clause-initial position. As a result the
unmarked word order of nominal elements in Latin was Subject + Direct Object + Verb; cf.:
Ariovistus legatos ad eum mittit
Ariovistus-Subj. messengers-Dir. Obj. to him send-Pres.
'Ariovistus sends messengers to him'
In the course of history these Latin ordering patterns, which had been inherited from Proto-Indo-
European, were reversed. In Old French, therefore, the direct object follows the nite verb, the
genitive follows the noun, and the referent follows the adjective.
· verb + direct object:
esguardat la pulcela (Al. 56) 'he looked at the girl'

cunquist la tere altaigne (CdR 2, Lesson 1) 'he conquered the high land'
Similarly, with a predicate:
Li empereres se fait e balz e liez (CdR 96, Lesson 1)

'the emperor is ebullient as well as joyful'
· noun + genitive:
la cambre sum pedre (Al. 74) 'the room of his father'
· adjective + referent:
mains riches de mon pere (Palefroi 407) 'less rich than my father'
plus de .IIII. milliers 'more than four thousand'
chevalier ... plus vieil de lui (Palefroi 658-60) 'a knight older than he'
In general terms it is accurate to say that word order in Old French was well on its way to
developing the patterns that are typical of the modern language, but there was more variety and
many structures still featured archaic characteristics.
The archaic order object + verb, for example, survived for a long time in subordinate clauses,
especially in relative clauses; cf.:
Marsilie ..., ki Deu nen aimet 'Marsilie ..., who does not love God,'
Mahumet sert e Apollin recleimet (CdR 7-8, Lesson 1) 'serves Mahomet and invokes Satan'
Similarly the next example with a prepositional phrase:
n'i ad castel ki devant lui remaigne (CdR 3)

'there is no castle that resists him'
In other constructions as well one may nd archaisms, as in those including an in nitive

preceded by its direct object:
voldrent la faire diaule servir (Eul. 4, this lesson)

'they want her to serve the devil'
Other sequences are attested as well, but in given contexts. When the subordinate clause is
introduced by a relative pronoun in direct object function, the sequence becomes, Complement
+ Subject + Verb, as in:
la dame ... que li chevaliers tant aima

'the lady whom the knight loved that much'
Verb + Subject + Complement typically is attested in interrogative sentences.
A typical construction in Old French is what generally is referred to as subject inversion: when
the clause is introduced by a complement, the subject follows the nite verb. Similarly, when the
clause is introduced by an adverb or an adverbial construction, the subject commonly follows
the nite verb:
Sur palies blancs siedent cil cevaler (CdR 110, Lesson 1)

'On white precious clothes the knights are seated'
ço sent Rollant que ... (CdR 2355)

'Roland feels that ...'
Similarly, in interjections we frequently nd subject inversion:
Deus! dist li reis, tant me pois esmaier (CdR 2412, Lesson 2)

'God, the king said, I can torment myself'
18 Demonstratives
Whereas Latin had a demonstrative system based on three elements, French from its earliest
times had a system based on two demonstratives; cf.:
Demonstratives, Latin vs. Old French
Latin Old French
this [close to me] hic cist 'this'

that [close to you] iste
that [close to him/her] ille cil ' that'
Old French therefore made a distinction between 'this' and 'that'. The forms cist and cil trace
back to Latin iste and ille respectively, to which a reinforcing demonstrative element ecce has
been added: ecce + istum > cist and ecce + illum > cil.
The in ected forms of the demonstratives in Old French are as follows:
Declension of Demonstratives, cist 'this'
cist 'this' Masculine Feminine
Nom. Sg. (i)cist (i)ceste

Obl. Sg. (i)cest (i)ceste
(i)cet
Obl. Sg. (stressed) (i)cestui (i)cest(e)i

Nom. Pl. (i)cist (i)cestes, (i)cez, (i)ces

Obl. Pl. (i)cez (i)cestes, (i)cez, (i)ces
(i)ces
Declension of Demonstratives, cil ' that'
cil 'that' Masculine Feminine
Nom. Sg. (i)cil (i)cele

Obl. Sg. (i)cel (i)cele
Obl. Sg. (stressed) (i)celui (i)cel(e)i

Nom. Pl. (i)cil (i)celes

Obl. Pl. (i)cels (i)celes, (i)ces
(i)ceus
The pre x i- is a reinforcing element.
To some extent the original demonstrative distinctions are still present in the early uses in Old
French: cist 'here' referred to elements within the range (in time and space) of the speaker and
the person spoken to; cil 'that' referred to elements close to a third person.
Cist and cil originally were used both as adjectival and pronominal elements; cf. adjectival uses:
en cest païs 'in this country'

en ceste ville 'in this town'
en celle ville 'in that town'
Pronominal use:
la u cist furent (CdR 108, Lesson 1)

'there were these were'
In time, a preference developed by which cist came to be used as an adjectival element, and cil
as a pronominal element. Some of the individual forms of the paradigms underwent this change
rapidly, others survived much longer. Adjectival cels and celes, for example, relatively soon gave
way to cez and ces in that function.
Demonstratives in Old French have deictic function--pointing out elements that are near or
further away--and sometimes de ning function. In these instances they are similar to de nite
articles; cf.:
sur palies blancs siedent cil cevaler (CdR 110, Lesson 1)

'on white precious clothes the knights are seated'
In order to reinforce the deictic value of demonstratives, speakers started to use the adverbial
particles -ci and -la. The particle was attached to the demonstrative or its noun. Instances are
attested from the 12th century onward.
The demonstrative paradigms in Old French also included "neuter" forms. These forms were not
part of the gender system as such, which was based on the distinction masculine vs. feminine;
they refer to elements that are best translated in English as 'it', being elements of inde nite
gender; cf.:
Neuter cist cil

Nom. sg. (i)cest (i)cel
Obl. Sg. (i)cest (i)cel

Nom. Pl. - -
Obl. Pl. - -
There also existed an isolated neuter form that traces back to Latin ecce + hoc: ce, with a
stressed form ço. Ce, and especially ço, is frequently used in Old French in clause-initial position
in combination with verbs such as dire 'say', croire 'believe', sentir 'feel', voir 'see'; the
construction is followed by a subordinate clause or by direct speech; cf.:
Ço dist li reis: "Cel corn ad lunge aleine!" (CdR 1789, Lesson 2)

'The king spoke these words: "That horn has a long breath!"'

Ço sent Rollant que la mort le trespent (CdR 2355, Lesson 2)

'Roland feels that death overcomes him completely'
In addition to compound forms, a non-compound form survived as well in Old French: Latin hoc
> Old French o, ou, euc. The form could be used as subject as well as object, often referring to
the preceding clause or sentence; cf.:
E por o fut presentede Maximiien (Eul. 11, this lesson)

'and for this she was brought before Maximian'
It became obsolete by the end of the 12th century, surviving in a few xed epression and
phrases only.
19 Negation
The most important negating element in Old French is the particle ne, nen. It precedes the
( nite) verb, following the inherited pattern from Latin; cf.:
ne s'en puet astenir (Al. 222, Lesson 3)

'he cannot contain himself'

ço ne volt il que sa mere le sacet (Al. 249, Lesson 3)

'he does not want his mother to know'
The negating element often is reinforced by another element that itself generally has no
negating value in origin, cf.:
· nouns (originally) referring to small elements or elements of little value, such as pas 'step',
point 'point', goutte 'drop', mie 'crumb', rien '(some)thing', chose 'thing', and many others.
Whereas ne tends to precede the nite verb, the nominal element follows; cf.:
Rollant, ki ne l'otriet mie (CdR 194)

'Roland, who does not appreciate it'
On the whole this type of negation is slightly stronger than negated clauses with just the
element ne. This emphatic value eroded with time and some of the elements grammaticalized
and came to be combined with ne to form the most common negating device in later French; cf.
il ne mange pas 'he does not eat'.
· adjectives or pronominal elements, such as aucun 'some, someone', or nul 'no one, not any';
cf.:
niule cose non la pouret omque pleier (Eul. 9, this lesson)

'not one thing could ever make her yield'
· adverbs such as mais 'more, ever', onques 'ever', ja 'ever', gueres 'much' and others; cf.:
ne ... onques 'never, not at all'

ne ... gueres 'not much, not much longer'
ne ... ja 'never'
ne ... mais 'no longer, never again'

unches mais hom tel ne vit ajustee (CdR 1461)
'never before man saw such a battle'
20 Inde nite Article: Forms and Uses

In addition to de nite articles, Romance languages from the earlist times have inde nte articles
as well. The paradigm of un (from Latin unus 'one-Nom.' / unum 'one-Acc.) is as follows:
Declension of Inde nite Article
Indef. art. Masculine Feminine
Nom. Sg. uns une

Obl. Sg. un une

Nom. Pl. un unes

Obl. Pl. uns unes
The uses of plural un typically have collective value, referring to pairs or to elements that
inherently are collective; cf.:
· Pairs:
uns ganz 'a pair of gloves' (Be/r., Tristan 2006)
Tristan unes forces aveit 'Tristan had scissors'
· Collective:
uns degrez 'a staircase'
The occurrence of inde nite articles is rather limited in Old French, as several examples in the
texts analyzed so far have shown:
Ansembl'ot lui grant masse de ses humes (Al. 214, Lesson 3) 'together with him was a large
group of men'
bataille i ad (CdR 1791, Lesson 2) 'there is a battle'
· But:
ad une spede li roveret tolir lo chief (Al. 22, this lesson)

'he ordered her head to be cut off with a sword'
Old French Online

Lesson 5
From the middle of the 12th century, novels emerged in medieval French literature that put
women and love in the limelight. These texts were in a way the forerunners of those that
represent l' amour courtois, 'courtly love'. While the hero in the Chanson de Geste primarily was a
brave Christian warrior, he now is gallant as well and he ghts for his dame rather than for God
or his king. In early times the action in these novels was set in antiquity or in the Celtic world
(e.g. Cornwall, Ireland, Wales, Armorica). These Celtic novels have strong mysterious and
magical characteristics, present passion as fatal, and often focus on the world of King Arthur.
The tradition comes to full bloom in the novels of Chrétien de Troyes (Lesson 6). Less re ned
were the novels of Tristan, which relate the dramatic story -- set in Britanny -- of Tristan and
Iseut. The story presumably had its roots in early Celtic legends and made it to France because
of contacts with the English.
Tristan was a knight at the court of Marc, king of Cornwall, who also was his uncle and had
raised him. Tristan was the son of King Marc's sister and therefore held an important position
from an Indo-European anthropological perspective. King Marc was one of the vassals of King
Arthur.
Before the actual coup de foudre between Tristan and Iseut takes place, Tristan is sent out on
various di cult missions, which he carries out with great success. At some point the king asks
him to go to Ireland and bring Iseut, his (Marc's) bride, to his court. On board the ship on their
way back to Cornwall, Tristan and Iseut by mistake drink a love potion that the king and Iseut
were supposed to drink on the evening of their wedding. As a result Tristan and Iseut are caught
in a passionate and overwhelming love that they cannot ght.
There are several texts that relate the story of Tristan and Iseut. Among the best known are the
text by Béroul, and a more re ned version by Thomas. The texts of both Béroul and Thomas are
fragmentary, but Béroul's stories relate the early stages. Thanks to translations in other
languages (German, Old Norse, English), we are able to reconstruct the entire story.
The text selected for this lesson is a passage from Béroul's Tristan and is dated around 1170 (#
142-175). After the marriage between Marc and Iseut, the affair between Tristan and Iseut
continues despite treason, primitive life in a forest, reconciliation with king Marc, Tristan's
marriage to another woman, and illness. Eventually Tristan, deceived by his wife, commits
suicide, and Iseut dies on top of his body.
In this text Tristan and Iseut are secretly meeting in an orchard; but the king, who has been
noti ed and suspects an illicit relation, is listening in. Tristan and Iseut are aware of his
presence but do not show it. Tristan has just asked Iseut to intercede with the king on his behalf.
The text presents an example of spoken medieval French. It includes relatively many personal
pronouns and hypothetical se contructions followed by conditionals.
Par foi, sire, grant tort avez,

Que de tel chose a moi parlez
Que de vos le mete a raison
Et de s'ire face pardon.
par foi -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of + noun; oblique singular <foi, fei>
faith, honor -- sincerely
tort -- noun; oblique singular <tort> mistake -- a mistake
avez -- verb; second person plural present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- you make
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- to
chose -- noun; oblique singular <chose, cose> thing, affair, creature -- matter
moi -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- me
parlez -- verb; second person plural present <parler> speak, talk -- talk
mete a raison -- verb; rst person singular subjunctive present
<metre, mectre, mettre> put + preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on + noun;
oblique singular <raison> reason, speech, word -- talk to
s'ire -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his + noun;
oblique singular <ire> anger, distress -- his distress
face -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <faire> make -- he forgets
pardon -- noun; oblique singular <pardon> grace, permission -- ...
Je ne vuel pas encor morir,

Ne moi du tot en tot perir!
Il vos mescroit de moi forment,
Et j'en tendroie parlement?
je -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I -- I

vuel -- verb; rst person singular present <voloir> want -- do... want
pas -- negation; <pas> not -- ...
encor -- adverb; <encore, encor, uncore> still, yet -- yet
morir -- verb; in nitive <morir> kill, die -- die
ne -- negation; <ne, nen> not -- nor
moi -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- ...
du tot en tot -- preposition; <de> of, from + de nite article; oblique singular masculine
<li> the + noun; oblique singular <tot> whole + preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of +
noun; oblique singular <tot> whole -- completely
perir -- verb; in nitive <perir> perish, destroy -- perish
mescroit -- verb; third person singular present <mescroire> refuse to believe, suspect --
suspects
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- on... behalf
moi -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- my
forment -- adverb; <forment> greatly, very, very much -- strongly
j'en -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I + pronoun;
inanimate <en> of it -- I... about it
tendroie -- verb; rst person singular conditional <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider --
would have
parlement -- noun; oblique singular <parlement> conversation, word, meeting -- a
conversation
Donc seroie je trop hardie.

Par foi, Tristan, n'en ferai mie,
Ne vos nu me devez requerre.
donc -- adverb; <donc> then, therefore -- therefore

seroie -- verb; rst person singular conditional <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- would be
je -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I -- it
trop -- adverb; <trop> too much, extremely, excessively -- too
hardie -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <hardi> bold, brave -- bold
Tristan -- proper name; nominative singular <Tristan> Tristan -- Tristan
n'en -- negation; <ne, nen> not + pronoun; inanimate <en> of it -- not... it
ferai -- verb; rst person singular future <faire> make -- I will do
mie -- negation; <mie> not -- ...
nu -- negation; <ne, nen> not + personal pronoun; third person singular direct object <il>
he -- ... it
me -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- from me
devez -- verb; second person plural imperative <devoir> have to -- should
requerre -- verb; in nitive <requerre> ask, beseech -- ask
Tote sui sole en ceste terre.

Il vos a fait chambres veer
Por moi: s'il or m'en ot parler,
Bien me porroit tenir por fole.
tote -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <tot> all, every, completely -- completely
sui -- verb; rst person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- I am
sole -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <sol> alone -- alone
ceste -- demonstrative; oblique singular feminine <cest, cist> this -- this
vos -- personal pronoun; second person plural indirect object <vos> you -- for you
a -- verb; third person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- has
fait -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <faire> make -- made
chambres -- noun; oblique plural <chambre> chamber, territory, royal apartment -- his
private apartments
veer -- verb; in nitive <veer> refuse, forbid -- forbidden teritory
s'il -- conjunction; <se> if + personal pronoun; third person singular nominative masculine
<il> he -- if he
m'en -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I + pronoun;
inanimate <en> of it -- me... about it
ot -- verb; third person singular present <oir, odir> hear -- he hears
parler -- verb; in nitive <parler> speak, talk -- talk
bien -- adverb; <bien> well, many, much, really -- very well
porroit -- verb; third person singular conditional <pooir, poeir, poier> can, be able -- he
could
tenir -- verb; in nitive <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider -- consider
por -- preposition; <por> for -- ...
fole -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <fol> crazy -- crazy
Par foi, ja n'en dirai parole;

Et si vos dirai une rien,
Si vuel que vos le saciés bien:
Së il vos pardounot, beau sire,
Par Deu son mautalent et s'ire,
J'en seroie joiose et lie.
ja n'en -- adverb; <ja> ever + negation; <ne, nen> not + pronoun; inanimate <en> of it --
not... about it
dirai -- verb; rst person singular future <dire> say, tell -- I will say
parole -- noun; oblique singular <parole> word, speech -- a word
et si -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and + conjunction; <si> yet -- but
vos -- personal pronoun; second person plural indirect object <vos> you -- you
dirai -- verb; rst person singular future <dire> say, tell -- I will tell
une -- inde nite article; oblique singular feminine <un> a -- one
rien -- noun; oblique singular <rien, ren> thing, creature, person -- thing
vuel -- verb; rst person singular present <voloir> want -- I want
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- ...
le -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he -- this
saciés -- verb; second person plural subjunctive present <savoir> know -- to know
bien -- adverb; <bien> well, many, much, really -- very well
së -- conjunction; <se> if -- if
pardounot -- verb; third person singular preterite <pardoner> forgive, pardon -- forgave
beau -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <bel> dear, beloved, handsome -- dear
mautalent -- noun; oblique singular <maltalent> anger -- anger
s'ire -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his + noun;
oblique singular <ire> anger, distress -- his distress
j'en -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I + pronoun;
inanimate <en> of it -- I... about it
seroie -- verb; rst person singular conditional <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- would be
joiose -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <joieus> full of joy -- full of joy
lie -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <lié, liet> happy, joyful -- happy
S'or savoit ceste chevauchie,

Cel sai je bien que ja resort,
Tristan, n'avreie contre mort.
s'or -- conjunction; <si> if + adverb; <or> now -- if... now

savoit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <savoir> know -- he knew about
chevauchie -- noun; oblique singular <chevauchie> expedition, ride -- meeting
cel -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <cil> that -- ...
sai -- verb; rst person singular present <savoir> know -- know
ja -- adverb; <ja> ever -- never
resort -- noun; oblique singular <resort> restriction, remedy, defense -- any remedy
Tristan -- proper name; nominative singular <Tristan> Tristan -- Tristan
n'avreie -- negation; <ne, nen> not + verb; rst person singular conditional
<avoir, aveir> have, be -- I would have
contre -- preposition; <contre> against, compared with -- against
mort -- noun; oblique singular <mort> death -- death
Vois m'en imais ne prendrai some.

Grant poor ai quë aucun home
Ne vos ait ci veü venir.
vois m'en -- verb; rst person singular present <aler> go + personal pronoun; rst person
singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I + pronoun; inanimate <en> of it -- I am leaving
imais -- conjunction; <mais, mes> but -- but
ne -- negation; <ne, nen> not -- no
prendrai -- verb; rst person singular future <prendre> take, take hold of, seize -- I will
get
some -- noun; oblique singular <som, some> sleep -- sleep
poor -- noun; oblique singular <paor, peor> fear -- fear
ai -- verb; rst person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- I have
quë -- conjunction; <que> that -- that
aucun -- inde nite adjective; nominative singular masculine <aucun> some -- some
home -- noun; nominative singular <home, ome> man -- man
ait -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- has
ci -- adverb; <ci> here -- here
veü -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <veoir> see -- seen
venir -- verb; in nitive <venir> come, go -- coming
S'un mot en puet li rois oïr

Que nos fuson ça asemblé,
Il me feroit ardoir en ré.
Ne seret pas mervelle grant.
s'un -- conjunction; <se> if + inde nite article; oblique singular masculine <un> a -- if...
one
mot -- noun; oblique singular <mot> word -- word
puet -- verb; third person singular present <pooir, poeir, poier> can, be able -- can
rois -- noun; nominative singular <roi> king -- king
oïr -- verb; in nitive <oir, odir> hear -- hear
nos -- personal pronoun; rst person plural nominative <nos> we -- we
fuson -- verb; rst person plural subjunctive imperfective <estre, iestre, aistre> be --
have
ça -- adverb; <ça, çai> here, hither -- here
asemblé -- verb; perfective participle nominative plural masculine
<assembler, assanler> call together, assemble, meet -- met
feroit -- verb; third person singular conditional <faire> make -- would make
ardoir -- verb; in nitive <ardoir, ardre> burn -- burn
en -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- at
ré -- noun; oblique singular <ré, rei, rez> stake -- the stake
ne -- negation; <ne, nen> not -- no
seret -- verb; third person singular conditional <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- it would be
mervelle -- noun; nominative singular <merveille> what is surprising, wonder -- surprise
grant -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <grant> great, large, tall -- great
Mis cors trenble, poor ai grant.

De la poor qui or me prent,
Vois m'en, trop sui ci longuement."
mis -- possessive; rst person singular nominative singular masculine <mon> my -- my

cors -- noun; nominative singular <cors> body -- body
trenble -- verb; third person singular present <trembler> tremble -- is trembling
ai -- verb; rst person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- I have
qui -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> that -- which
prent -- verb; third person singular present <prendre> take, take hold of, seize -- takes
hold of
vois m'en -- verb; rst person singular present <aler> go + personal pronoun; rst person
singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I + pronoun; inanimate <en> of it -- I am going away
sui -- verb; rst person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- I have been
longuement -- adverb; <longement> long, for a long time -- long
Lesson Text
Par foi, sire, grant tort avez,

Que de tel chose a moi parlez
Que de vos le mete a raison
Et de s'ire face pardon. Je ne vuel pas encor morir,
Ne moi du tot en tot perir!
Il vos mescroit de moi forment,
Et j'en tendroie parlement? Donc seroie je trop hardie.
Par foi, Tristan, n'en ferai mie,
Ne vos nu me devez requerre. Tote sui sole en ceste terre.
Il vos a fait chambres veer
Por moi: s'il or m'en ot parler,
Bien me porroit tenir por fole. Par foi, ja n'en dirai parole;
Et si vos dirai une rien,
Si vuel que vos le saciés bien:
Së il vos pardounot, beau sire,
Par Deu son mautalent et s'ire,
J'en seroie joiose et lie. S'or savoit ceste chevauchie,
Cel sai je bien que ja resort,
Tristan, n'avreie contre mort. Vois m'en imais ne prendrai some.
Grant poor ai quë aucun home
Ne vos ait ci veü venir. S'un mot en puet li rois oïr
Que nos fuson ça asemblé,
Il me feroit ardoir en ré.
Ne seret pas mervelle grant. Mis cors trenble, poor ai grant.
De la poor qui or me prent,
Vois m'en, trop sui ci longuement."
Translation
Sincerely, lord, you make a great mistake,

To talk to me about such matter
That I talk to him about you
And that he forgets his distress.
I do not want yet to die,
Nor perish completely!
He suspects you strongly on my behalf,
And I would have a conversation about it?
Therefore it would be too bold
Sincerely, Tristan, I will not do it,
You should not ask it from me.
I am completely alone in this country.
He has made his private apartment forbidden territory for you
Because of me: if he now hears me talk about it,
He could very well consider me crazy.
Sincerely, I will not to say a word about it;
But I will tell you one thing,
And I want you to know this very well:
If he forgave you, dear lord,
Through God his anger and his distress,
I would be full of joy about it, and happy.
If he now knew about this meeting,
I know well, Tristan, that I would never
have any remedy against death.
I am leaving but I will get no sleep.
I have great fear that some man
Has seen you coming here.
If the king can hear one word
That we have met here,
He would make me burn at the stake.
It would be no great surprise.
My body is trembling, I have great fear.
From the fear, which takes hold of me now,
I am going away, I have been here too long.
Grammar
21 Possession
Possession in Old French noun phrases is expressed primarily by the oblique case, with or
without a preposition:
· Without preposition:
li Deo inimi (Eul. 3, Lesson 4) 'the enemies of God'
le rei gunfanuner (CdR 106, Lesson 1) 'the standard bearer of the

king'
al tens Noë (Al. 6) 'in the time of

Noah'
el ventre la baleine (Elie. 3607) 'in the stomach of the whale'
· With preposition:
la nef a cel saint home (Al. 197, Lesson 3)

'the ship of that holy man'

filie d'un noble Franc (Al. 40)

'(the) daughter of a Frankish nobleman'

fille ad un conpta de Rome (Al. 42)

'the daughter of a count in Rome'
The distribution of these constructions depends on semantic and syntactic criteria. From a
semantic perspective, the construction with de combines with all types of nouns, animate and
non-animate. The preposition a / ad only combines with nouns that are animate, whereas the
construction without preposition only occurs in combination with nouns that refer to humans or
animals that behave like humans (cf. the whale above). The possessor most commonly is
referred to by a noun that moreover, as a rule, has no or only a few complements; generally the
noun is singular, cf.:
la fille le rei 'the king's daughter'
les armes vos peres 'the arms of your fathers'
li filz son hoste 'the son of his host'
la feste seint Michel 'the holiday of St. Michael'
The various syntactic relations underlying the noun - (preposition) - noun sequences (e.g.
subjective vs. objective genitive 'the love of father' vs. 'the love for father') may affect the choice
of the construction, but discussion of the details would go too far in the context of this course.
The sequence of elements is most commonly 'element in possession' + 'possessor', cf.:
la feste seint Michel

'the holiday of St. Michael'
la nef a cel saint home (Al. 197, Lesson 3)

'the ship of that holy man'
la filie d'un noble Franc (Al. 40)

'the daughter of a Frankish nobleman'
Yet the reverse order is attested, especially in formulaic expressions (e.g. la Dieu merci), in
expressions including autrui (e.g. l'autrui joie 'the joy of another person') and in early texts
(e.g. li Deo inimi Eul. 3). With time the sequence 'element in possession' + 'possessor' only
spread, with the exception of a few lexicalized items. Among the prepositional expressions
there are very few instances in which the possessor comes rst.
22 The Future: Forms and Uses

In Lesson 2 it was explained that one of the important changes in the development of the verb
system from Latin to Old French was the emergence of 'have' as an auxiliary. The compound
past tenses of Old French illustrate this development. Less obvious is the use of the auxiliary
'have' in the forms of the future. These forms trace back to analytic Vulgar and Late Latin
formations including an in nitive and a nite form of the verb habeo 'have', cf.:
Latin Old French
cantare habeo 'sing-Inf. have-1st Sg.' > chanterai
With time the analytic Latin forms have become synthetic.
The Old French endings trace back to present tense forms (future) as well as imperfect tense
forms (past future and conditional). The paradigms are as follows:
Future, Conjugation
Future Past Future
1st Sg. chanterai chanteroie

2nd Sg. chanteras chanteroies
3rd Sg. chantera chanteroit

1st Pl. chanterons chanterïons

chanterïons
2nd Pl. chanterez chanterïez
3rd Pl. chanteront chanteroient
The future forms refer to actions that take place in the future. The forms in -roie typically refer
to actions that may take place in the future -- likely or unlikely -- and therefore they often occur in
hypothetical sentences introduced by se 'if'.
de soe part vos voldreie preier (Cour. de Louis 516)

'on his behalf I would like to ask you'

së il vos pardounot ... j'en seroie joiose

'if he forgave you ... I would be full of joy' (Be/r., Trist. 160; 162, this lesson)
23 Common Irregular Verbs: voloir, pooir, aler

Irregular Verb voloir
voloir Present Preterite Subjunctive Pres.
1st Sg. vue(i)l vo(i)l vue(i)lle

vol vos
2nd Sg. v(u)eus volis vue(i)lles

viaus vousis
3rd Sg. v(u)eut vo(l)t vue(i)lle

viaut vout

1st Pl. volons volimes voilliens

2nd Pl. volez volistes voiliez
vuelliez
3rd Pl. vuelent voldrent vueillent

Imperfect voloie
Future voudrai - vourrai
Conditional voudroie - vourroie
Impf. subjunctive vosisse - volisse
Pf. Participle volu
Pres. Participle volant - voillant - vueillant
Irregular Verb pooir
pooir Present Preterite Subjunctive Pres.
1st Sg. puis poi puisse

2nd Sg. poez poüs puisses
puez peüs
3rd Sg. puet poutt puisse

peut pot puist

1st Pl. poons poümes puissiens

peümes puissons
2nd Pl. poez poüstes puissiez

peüstes
3rd Pl. poeent po(u)rent puissent

pueent

Imperfect pooie
Future porrai
Conditional porroie
Impf. subjunctive poüsse - poïsse - peüsse
Pf. Participle poü - peü
Pres. Participle poant - puissant
Irregular Verb aler
aler Present Preterite Subjunctive Pres.
1st Sg. vois alai voise

aille, alge
2nd Sg. vais voises
vas ailles, alges
3rd Sg. va(it) voise, voist
vet aille, aut, alge

1st Pl. allons voisonss, voisiens

aillens, algiens
a(il)lons
2nd Pl. allez voisiez
ailliez, algiez
3rd Pl. vont voisent
aillent, algent

Imperfect aloie
Future irai
Conditional iroie
Pf. Participle alé
Pres. Participle alant
Imperative va(s) - alez - alons
24 Adjectives: Comparative and Superlative

Adjectives in Old French are marked for case, gender, and number. In addition the adjectival
paradigm has analytic comparative forms, although a few adjectives still have synthetic
formations.
The most widespread formation is analytic and includes an adverb followed by the adjective
proper, cf.:
Comparative, Analytic formation
Type of comparative Particle Adjective
comparative of superiority plus 'more' + adjective
comparative of inferiority moins 'less' + adjective
comparative of equality si 'as' + adjective
aussi 'as' + adjective
tant 'as' + adjective
other adverbs
Among these forms, the comparative of superiority is by far the most common form.
Yet a few synthetic comparatives from Latin survive in Old French; these are very common, cf.:
Comparative, Synthetic formations
Adjective Comparative Comparative
grant 'big, large' graindre (Nom.) / graignor (Obl.)

'bigger, larger'
grant maire (Nom.) / maior (Obl.)

'bigger, larger'
petit 'small' mendre (Nom.) / menor (Obl.)

bon 'good' mieudre (Nom.) / meillor (Obl.)
mal 'bad' pire (Nom.) / peior (Obl.)
'worse'
The following series of adjectives have a synthetic comparative form only in the oblique case;
these forms typically occur in the early texts:
Comparative, Synthetic formations
Adjective Comp. Obl.
fort 'strong' forçor 'stronger'
alt 'high' alçor 'higher'
bel 'beautiful' belasor (9th c.) 'more beautiful'
belior (12th c.)
sordois 'worse, dirty' sordoior 'worse, inferior'
gent 'noble' gençor 'more noble'
The declension of the comparative forms follows that of the third class of nouns, cf.:
Synthetic Comparative, Declension (masculine)
Masculine Singular Plural
Nom. graindre graignor

Obl. graignor graignors
Synthetic Comparative, Declension (feminine)
Feminine Singular Plural
Nom. graindre graignors

Obl. graignor graignors
Superlatives generally are not marked, and the interpretation therefore depends on the context,
cf.:
un des porz ki plus est pres de Rome (Al. 197, Lesson 3)

'one of the ports that is closest to Rome'
Very rarely one may nd a superlative that is formally marked: a de nite article then combines
with the comparative adjective proper (synthetic or analytic). These formations spread in later
times, cf.:
de toutes autres la gençor (Ben.)

'of all others the most noble'
Yet if there is no analytic formation of superlatives, there are a number of synthetic formations
that convey so-called absolute superlative value:
· Several synthetic Latin superlatives have survived in Old French, cf.: pesme 'very bad' (< La.
pessimum), merme 'very small'(< minimum), malisme 'very bad', proismes 'very close'(< La.
proximum), and others.
· There are learned formations in -isme, cf.:
Superlatives in -isme
Adjective Superlative
fort fortisme 'very strong'
alt altisme 'very high'
grant grandisme 'very big'
saint saintisme 'very holy'
· Finally, there is a range of adverbs that convey superlative value in combination with adjectives
'very, most', cf.: molt, tres, mais, tant, mut par and others, e.g.:
il est mult irascut (CdR 777) 'he is very angry'

mult grant venjance (CdR 1459) 'a very rude revenge'
25 Adjectives: Comparison
Whereas Latin had two types of comparison, Old French only has an analytic construction. In
Latin the comparison was either a case construction or a so-called particle construction.
In the case construction the ablative marks the element that is being compared, cf.:
luce clarior
'light-Abl. brighter' > 'brighter than light'
In the particle construction the particle -- quam -- has that function:
lingua quam manu promptior
tongue than hand ready-Comp.' >
'prompter in words than in action'
With the loss of synthetic froms in Latin -- case, comparative, verb forms -- the comparison in
Old French has become analytic and includes either a particle or a preposition.
The particle construction (of which the Latin quam construction was a forerunner) is the most
widespread type of comparison, cf.:
plus est isnels que esprever (CdR 1535)

'he is quicker than a sparrow hawk'
Constructions with a preposition--which trace back to the original case construction in Latin--
typically include a pronominal element or a number, cf.:
meillor vassal n'out en la curt de lui (CdR 776)

'there was no better knight in the court than he'

plus de .IIII. milliers

'more than four thousand'
The prepositional construction is also attested with a nominal referent when it functions simply
as a subject, cf.:
maines riches de mon pere (Palefroi 407)

'less rich than my father'
Comparison constructions often include a negation, cf.:
plus est isnels que n'est oisel ki volet (CdR 1616)

'he is quicker than a bird that ies'
With time the particle construction spread and came to be used exclusively in comparisons,
with the exception of numbers (e.g. modern French il y a plus de vingt étudiants 'there are more
than twenty students'). (See Italian for a much more common use of the prepositional
construction today).
Old French Online

Lesson 6
With the pilgrimages and the crusades, life in Western Europe opened up to new horizons and
different lifestyles. As a result the social elite gradually became more secular and developed a
keen interest in re ned literature, with new ideals and a rich imagination. This development led --
towards the end of the 12th century -- to la littérature courtoise, a literature in which knights with
high prestige, following l'idéal courtois, are in constant pursuit of glory and love for their lady.
Love in these works is no longer an all-devouring passion, as in the Tristan novels, but rather a
pure and noble feeling, which imposes certain rules comparable to those of a feudal society.
Love in these works is based on:
1. Loyalty and faithfulness;
2. Mutual admiration: of beauty and wisdom in the lady; of military qualities in the knight. Both
need to be polite, elegant, and well-educated (reading, writing, music). They therefore
typically represent the higher levels of society;
3. Veneration of the lady. A source of inspiration, the lady represents a distant love which is
almost inaccessible to the knight. The knight carries an object with him that reminds him of
her (e.g. glove, curl of hair) and the lady is allowed to ask for rather extreme services, which
will prove the knight's love and devotion;
4. Compensation. When the knight has proven his qualities and his willingness to follow up on
her capricious requests, the lady may accept his love, which in fact will take the form of a
friendship rather than a passionate love affair.
These ideals are expressed in poetry as well as prose. One of the best known novelists of this
period is Chrétien de Troyes, who between 1165 and 1190 wrote several novels that continue
the setting of the Celtic novels but combine it with the new ideals: re ned love stories involving
magic and the world of King Arthur. King Arthur -- reminding the French of Charlemagne -- was
popular in France because of his role as the leader of Celtic resistance under the Anglo-Saxons.
The novels were based on and related the legends of King Arthur, Lancelot, and the Cycle of the
Grail.
The text selected for this lesson has been taken from Chrétien de Troyes' novel Yvain ou le
chevalier au lion (2560-2580; 2600-2615). Yvain is a knight who discovers a magical fountain in
a forest and is attacked by the nobleman who guards it. Having killed his opponent, Yvain hides
in the dead man's castle and falls in love with his widow, whom he subsequently marries. Then
King Arthur passes by and Yvain decides to escort him on great adventures. He asks his lady to
allow him to follow the king in his pursuit of glory. He is granted permission to go away for a
year, but he has to be back exactly one year later. When Yvain returns too late, his lady refuses to
receive him and Yvain has to carry out a series of new tasks to win back her love.
In the text selected here, Yvain asks his lady to allow him to follow King Arthur and his lady
replies, specifying her conditions.
"Ma tres chiere dame,

vos qui estes mes cuers et m'ame,
mes biens, ma joie, et ma santez,
une chose m'acreantez
por vostre enor e por la moie."
ma -- possessive; rst person singular nominative singular feminine <mon> my -- my

tres -- adverb; <tres> much, very -- very
chiere -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <cher> beloved, expensive -- dear
dame -- noun; nominative singular <dame> lady, dame -- lady
qui -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- who
mes -- possessive; rst person singular nominative singular masculine <mon> my -- my
cuers -- noun; nominative singular <cuer, coer, cor> heart -- heart
m'ame -- possessive; rst person singular nominative singular feminine <mon> my +
noun; nominative singular <anme, alme, arme, ame> soul, somebody -- my soul
biens -- noun; nominative singular <bien, ben> good, good fortune, well-being -- good
fortune
joie -- noun; nominative singular <joi, joie> joy -- joy
santez -- noun; nominative singular <santé> health, well-being -- well-being
une -- inde nite article; oblique singular feminine <un> a -- one
chose -- noun; oblique singular <chose, cose> thing, affair, creature -- thing
m'acreantez -- personal pronoun; rst person singular indirect object <jo, jou, jeu> I +
verb; second person plural imperative <acreanter> promise, allow, agree -- grant me
enor -- noun; oblique singular <onor, enor, anor> honor, respect, esteem, ef -- honor
moie -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular feminine <mon> my -- mine
La dame tantost li otroie,

qu'el ne set qu'il vialt demander
et dit: "Biax sire, comander
me poez ce qui boen vos iert."

tantost -- adverb; <tantost> immediately -- immediately
li -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object masculine <il> he -- to him
otroie -- verb; third person singular present <otroier, otrier> grant, agree -- grants (it)
qu'el -- conjunction; <que> that + personal pronoun; third person singular nominative
feminine <il> he -- although she
set -- verb; third person singular present <savoir> know -- does... know
masculine <il> he -- what he
vialt -- verb; third person singular present <voloir> want -- wants
demander -- verb; in nitive <demander> ask, ask for -- to ask
dit -- verb; third person singular present <dire> say, tell -- she says
biax -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <bel> dear, beloved, handsome --
beloved
comander -- verb; in nitive <comander> give, recommend, order -- ask
me -- personal pronoun; rst person singular indirect object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- me
poez -- verb; second person plural present <pooir, poeir, poier> can, be able -- you can
ce qui -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <ço, ceo, ce, ceu> this, that, it + relative
pronoun; subject <qui> that -- what
boen -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <bon> good -- ...
iert -- verb; third person singular future <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- like
Congié maintenant li requiert

mes sire Yvains, de convoier
le roi, et d'aler tornoier,
que l'an ne l'apialt recreant.
congié -- noun; oblique singular <congié> permission to leave, permission, leave --

permission to leave
maintenant -- adverb; <maintenant> immediately, soon -- immediately
li -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object feminine <il> he -- her
requiert -- verb; third person singular present <requerre> ask, beseech -- asks for
mes -- possessive; rst person singular nominative singular masculine <mon> my -- ...
Yvains -- proper name; nominative singular <Yvain> Yvain -- Yvain
de -- particle; <de> to -- to
convoier -- verb; in nitive <convoier> escort -- escort
roi -- noun; oblique singular <roi> king -- king
d'aler -- particle; <de> to + verb; in nitive <aler> go -- to go
tornoier -- verb; in nitive <tornoier> whirl around, tourney -- ght in tornaments
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- so that
l'an -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the + personal pronoun; third
person singular nominative <om, on> one -- one
l'apialt -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he + verb;
third person singular present <apeler> accuse, summon, call -- does... call him
recreant -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <recreant> exhausted, cowardly -- a
coward
Et ele dit: "je vos creant

le congié jusqu'a un termine.

ele -- personal pronoun; third person singular nominative feminine <il> he -- she
dit -- verb; third person singular present <dire> say, tell -- says
creant -- verb; rst person singular present <creanter, granter> grant, agree -- grant
le -- de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the -- ...
permission to leave
jusqu'a -- preposition; <jusqu'a> as far as, up to -- for
termine -- noun; oblique singular <termine> period of time -- period of time
Mes l'amors devanra haïne,

que j'ai en vos, toz an soiez
seürs, se vos trespassïez
le terme que je vos dirai;
sachiez que ja n'en mantirai:
se vos mantez, je dirai voir.
mes -- conjunction; <mais, mes> but -- but

l'amors -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the + noun; nominative
singular <amor> love -- the love
devanra -- verb; third person singular future <devenir> become -- will become
haïne -- noun; nominative singular <haine> hatred -- hatred
que -- relative pronoun; object <qui> that -- that
j'ai -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I + verb; rst
person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- I have
en -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- for
toz -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <tot> all, every, completely -- ...
an -- pronoun; inanimate <en> of it -- of that
soiez -- verb; second person plural imperative <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- be
seürs -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <seur> sure -- sure
se -- conjunction; <se> if -- if
trespassïez -- verb; second person plural imperfective <trespasser> pass, cross, go by --
exceed
terme -- noun; oblique singular <terme> term, period, period of time -- period of time
vos -- personal pronoun; second person plural indirect object <vos> you -- to you
dirai -- verb; rst person singular future <dire> say, tell -- will mention
sachiez -- verb; second person plural imperative <savoir> know -- know
ja n'en mantirai -- adverb; <ja> ever + negation; <ne, nen> not + pronoun; inanimate
<en> of it + verb; rst person singular future <mentir> lie, betray, deny, fail -- I will keep
my word
mantez -- verb; second person plural present <mentir> lie, betray, deny, fail -- fail
dirai -- verb; rst person singular future <dire> say, tell -- will tell
voir -- adverb; <voir> truly, indeed -- the truth
Se vos volez m'amor avoir

et de rien nule m'avez chiere,
pansez de tost venir arriere
a tot le moins jusqu'a un an
huit jorz aprés la Saint Johan
c'ui an cest jor sont les huitaves.
volez -- verb; second person plural present <voloir> want -- want
m'amor -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular feminine <mon> my + noun;
oblique singular <amor> love -- my love
avoir -- verb; in nitive <avoir, aveir> have, be -- to have
de rien nule -- preposition; <de> of, from + noun; oblique singular <rien, ren> thing,
creature, person + adjective; oblique singular feminine <nul> no, not any -- in any way
m'avez chiere -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I +
verb; second person plural present <avoir, aveir> have, be + adjective; oblique singular
feminine <cher> beloved, expensive -- you cherish me
pansez -- verb; second person plural imperative <penser> think, pay attention -- make
sure
de -- particle; <de> to -- to
tost -- adverb; <tost> soon, immediately, quickly -- in time
venir -- verb; in nitive <venir> come, go -- come
arriere -- adverb; <arriere, arrere, arire> back -- back
a tot le moins -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on + adverb; <tot> entirely +
de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the + adverb; <meins, mains, moins>
less, fewer -- at the very least
jusqu'a -- preposition; <jusqu'a> as far as, up to -- within
un -- inde nite article; oblique singular masculine <un> a -- one
an -- noun; oblique singular <an> year -- year
huit -- numeral; <huit> eight -- eight
jorz -- noun; oblique plural <jorn, jor> day -- days
aprés -- preposition; <apres> after, afterwards -- after
la Saint Johan -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the + adjective; oblique
singular masculine <saint> holy + proper name; oblique singular <Johan> John -- the
feast of St. John
c'ui an cest jor -- demonstrative; neuter <ço, ceo, ce, ceu> this, that, it + adverb;
<ui, ue, oi> today + preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of + demonstrative; oblique
singular masculine <cest, cist> this + noun; oblique singular <jorn, jor> day -- of which
this very day
sont -- verb; third person plural present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- we celebrate
les -- de nite article; nominative plural masculine <li> the -- the
huitaves -- noun; nominative plural <huitaves> octave -- octave # period of eight days
following an important Christian holiday
De m'amor soiez maz et haves,

se vos n'iestes jusqu'a ce jor
ceanz avoec moi au retor."
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- instead of

m'amor -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular feminine <mon> my + noun;
oblique singular <amor> love -- my love
soiez -- verb; second person plural imperative <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- you will have
maz -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <mat> feeble, exhausted, sad -- sadness
haves -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <have> dark, sick, somber -- gloom
n'iestes -- negation; <ne, nen> not + verb; second person plural present
<estre, iestre, aistre> be -- are not
jusqu'a -- preposition; <jusqu'a> as far as, up to -- on
ce -- demonstrative; oblique singular masculine <cil> that -- that
jor -- noun; oblique singular <jorn, jor> day -- day
ceanz -- adverb; <ceanz, seans> in here -- here
avoec -- preposition; <avuec, avec, avoc> with -- with
au retor -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on + de nite article; oblique singular
masculine <li> the + noun; oblique singular <retor, retorn> return -- back
... Mes or metroiz an vostre doi

cest mien anel, que je vos prest;

metroiz -- verb; second person plural conditional <metre, mectre, mettre> put -- you
should put
an -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- on
vostre -- possessive; second person plural oblique singular masculine <vostre> your --
your
doi -- noun; oblique singular <doi, dei> nger -- nger
cest -- demonstrative; oblique singular masculine <cest, cist> this -- this
mien -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular masculine <mon> my -- of mine
anel -- noun; oblique singular <anel> ring -- ring
prest -- verb; rst person singular present <prester> lend -- lend
et de la pierre quex ele est

vos voel dire tot en apert:
prison ne tient ne sanc ne pert
nus amanz verais et leax,
ne avenir ne li puet max;

pierre -- noun; oblique singular <piere, pierre> stone, prison -- stone
quex -- relative pronoun; nominative singular feminine <quel> which -- that
ele -- personal pronoun; third person singular nominative feminine <il> he -- it
est -- verb; third person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- carries
voel -- verb; rst person singular present <voloir> want -- I want
dire -- verb; in nitive <dire> say, tell -- to tell
tot -- adverb; <tot> entirely -- most
en apert -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of + adjective; oblique singular masculine
<apert> open, visible, manifest -- openly
prison -- noun; oblique singular <prison> captivity, prison -- captivity
ne -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not -- ...
tient -- verb; third person singular present <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider -- undergoes
sanc -- noun; oblique singular <sanc> blood -- blood
pert -- verb; third person singular present <perdre> lose, perish -- loses
nus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <nul> no, not any -- no
amanz -- noun; nominative singular <amant> lover -- lover
verais -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <verai> real, true -- true
leax -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <leal, loial> loyal, legitimate -- loyal
ne -- negation; <ne, ni> nor, and not -- and no
avenir -- verb; in nitive <avenir> arrive, happen -- happen
max -- noun; nominative singular <mal> evil, disaster, illness -- evil
mes qui le porte, et chier le tient

de s'amie li resovient,
et si devient plus durs que fers;
cil vos iert escuz et haubers
et voir einz mes a chevalier
ne le vos prester ne baillier,
mes por amors le vos doing gié."

qui -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- he who
porte -- verb; third person singular present <porter> carry, bring, wear -- wears
chier le tient -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <cher> beloved, expensive +
personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he + verb; third
person singular present <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider -- cherishes it
s'amie -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his + noun;
object singular <amie> friend -- his friend
resovient -- verb; third person singular present <resovenir> remember -- remembers
si -- conjunction; <si> and, and thus -- thus
devient -- verb; third person singular present <devenir> become -- he becomes
plus -- adverb; <plus> more -- ...
durs -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <dur> hard, unre ned, cruel -- stronger
fers -- noun; nominative singular <fer> iron, weapon -- iron
cil -- demonstrative; nominative singular masculine <cil> that -- this
vos -- personal pronoun; second person plural indirect object <vos> you -- your
iert -- verb; third person singular future <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- will be
escuz -- noun; nominative singular <escu> shield -- shield
haubers -- noun; nominative singular <halberc, osberc> hauberk -- hauberk
voir -- adverb; <voir> truly, indeed -- truly
einz mes -- adverb; <ainc, ainz, ains> earlier, rather + conjunction; <mais> more,
further, rather -- never before
chevalier -- noun; oblique singular <chevalier> knight -- to a knight
vos -- verb; rst person singular preterite <voloir> want -- I wanted
prester -- verb; in nitive <prester> lend -- lend
baillier -- verb; in nitive <baillier> own, receive, give -- give

amors -- noun; oblique plural <amor> love -- my feelings of love
doing -- verb; rst person singular present <doner> give -- give
gié -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I -- I
Or a mes sire Yvains congié:

molt out ploré au congié prendre.

mes -- possessive; rst person singular nominative singular masculine <mon> my -- ...
Yvains -- proper name; nominative singular <Yvain> Yvain -- Yvain
permission to leave
molt -- adverb, adjective; <molt, mult, mout> many, much, very -- many
out -- verb; third person singular preterite <avoir, aveir> have, be -- he...
ploré -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <plorer> cry, shed tears --
shed tears
au -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on + de nite article; oblique singular
masculine <li> the -- when
congié -- noun; oblique singular <congié> permission to leave, permission, leave -- his
leave
prendre -- verb; in nitive <prendre> take, take hold of, seize -- taking
Lesson Text
"Ma tres chiere dame,

vos qui estes mes cuers et m'ame,
mes biens, ma joie, et ma santez,
une chose m'acreantez
por vostre enor e por la moie." La dame tantost li otroie,
qu'el ne set qu'il vialt demander
et dit: "Biax sire, comander
me poez ce qui boen vos iert." Congié maintenant li requiert
mes sire Yvains, de convoier
le roi, et d'aler tornoier,
que l'an ne l'apialt recreant. Et ele dit: "je vos creant
le congié jusqu'a un termine. Mes l'amors devanra haïne,
que j'ai en vos, toz an soiez
seürs, se vos trespassïez
le terme que je vos dirai;
sachiez que ja n'en mantirai:
se vos mantez, je dirai voir. Se vos volez m'amor avoir
et de rien nule m'avez chiere,
huit jorz aprés la Saint Johan
c'ui an cest jor sont les huitaves. De m'amor soiez maz et haves,
se vos n'iestes jusqu'a ce jor
ceanz avoec moi au retor." ... Mes or metroiz an vostre doi
cest mien anel, que je vos prest; et de la pierre quex ele est
vos voel dire tot en apert:
prison ne tient ne sanc ne pert
nus amanz verais et leax,
ne avenir ne li puet max; mes qui le porte, et chier le tient
de s'amie li resovient,
et si devient plus durs que fers;
cil vos iert escuz et haubers
et voir einz mes a chevalier
ne le vos prester ne baillier,
mes por amors le vos doing gié." Or a mes sire Yvains congié:
molt out ploré au congié prendre.
Translation
My very dear lady

You who are my heart and my soul
My good fortune, my joy and my well-being
Grant me one thing
For your honor and for mine.
The lady immediately grants it to him
Although she does not know what he wants to ask
And she says: "Beloved lord, you can
Ask me what you like."
Lord Yvain asks her immediately for permission
to leave to escort the king
And to go ght in tornaments
So that one does not call him a coward.
And she says: "I grant you
Permission to leave for a period of time.
But the love I have for you
will become hatred, be sure of that,
If you exceed the period of time
That I will mention to you;
Know that I will keep my word:
If you fail, I will tell the truth.
If you want to have my love
And you cherish me in any way,
Make sure to come back in time
At the very least within one year
Eight days after the feast of St. John
Of which we celebrate the octave this very day."
Instead of my love you will have sadness and gloom,
If you are not on that day
Back here with me."
But now you should put on your nger
This ring of mine, that I lend to you;
And about the stone that it carries
I want to tell you most openly:
No true and loyal lover
Undergoes captivity, or loses blood,
And no evil can happen to him;

But he who wears it, and cherishes it
Remembers his friend,
And thus he becomes stronger than iron;
This will be your shield and hauberk
And truly never before I wanted
To lend it or give it to a knight,
But because of my feelings of love I give it to you.
Now Lord Yvain has permission to leave:
He shed many tears when taking his leave.
Grammar
26 Adverbs of Manner
Most adverbs in Latin were either fossilized case forms or morphologically marked. Magis
'more', plus 'more' and nimis 'too much', for example, were fossilized accusative neuters. Among
adverbs of manner the most productive formation was based on a process of derivation
whereby a su x -e or -(i)ter was added to an adjectival base: -e was used for adjectives of
Declension I/II and -(i)ter for adjectives of Declension III, cf.:
Latin Adverb Formation, Adverbs of manner
Adjective Adverb
stult-us 'stupid' stult-e 'stupidly'
grand-is 'great' grand-iter 'greatly'
In the later periods of Latin and in its popular varieties the -(i)ter derivation spread at the
expense of -e, cf.:
avidus 'eager' (avide) > aviditer
benignus 'benign' (benigne) > benigniter
Moreover two new strategies developed, prepositional phrases and adjective + noun
combinations:
· prepositional phrases
in commune 'generally'
in totum 'entirely'
· adjective + noun combinations
libero ore 'with a frank mouth, frankly'
citato pede 'with a speedy foot, quickly'
ardenti corde 'with a burning heart, ardently, intensely'
studioso animo 'with an eager mind, impatiently'
tristi mente 'with a sad mind, sadly'
Among these varieties the mente combinations survived in the Romance languages, with the
exception of Rumanian.
In Old French we nd several devices to form adverbs of manner:
26.1. Several adjectives are used as adverbs without any speci c morphological marker:
bel 'beautiful, beautifully'
chier 'dear, expensive, dearly'
cler 'clear, clearly'
droit 'right, rightly'
haut 'high, loudly'
petit 'small, slightly'
tot 'all, completely'
voir 'real, sincere, really'

escriet e haltement e cler (CdR 1974)

'he shouted loudly and clearly'
When adjectives are used as adverbs, they can still show agreement with the noun: this pattern
is typical of tot, cf.:
tote sui sole en ceste terre (Bér., Trist. 153, Lesson 5)

I am completely alone in this country'

A l'apostolie revint tuz esmeriz (Al. 352)

'he turned toward the pope completely shaken'
26.2. A su x -tre(s), which traces back to the -(i)ter su x of Vulgar and Late Latin is added to a
base. In Old French the su x combines with adjectives as well as nouns, cf.:
nuitantre 'during the night, at night' < nuit 'night'
26.3. A device that survived as an almost "pan-Romance" phenomenon is the adverbial

formation in -ment mentioned earlier. It traces back to the formations mentioned above:
Adjective + mente 'with a ... mind, in ... spirit'
Since mente originally was a feminine noun, the adjective in the French formation takes the
feminine form as well:
Adjective > Adverb
veir 'real' veirement 'really'(CdR 2361)

dur 'hard' durement 'bitterly' (CdR 1814)
gent 'noble' gentement 'bravely'(CdR 2099)
lung 'long' lungement 'for a long time' (CdR 1858)
isnel 'quick' isnelement 'quickly' (CdR 2085)

ki durement ne plurt (CdR 1814)
'who does not cry bitterly'

si lungement ... m'avez servit (CdR 1858)
'you have served me such a long time'

vengent el camp cumunement (CdR 1838)
'they arrive at the battle eld together'
Some adjectives have both the -ment formation and may be used as an adverb without
morphological change:
Adjective Adverb Adverb in -ment
halt halt haltement 'loudly'

veir veir veirement
In Old French the formation may also include nouns and adverbs as its base:
altresi adv. 'same' > altresiment 'same'
vassal n. 'vassal' > vassalment 'bravely'

Franceis sunt bon, si ferunt vassalment (CdR 1080)

'the French are brave, they will ght bravely'
The derivation on the basis of Class I/II adjectives is not problematic because the formation of
the feminine is provided in the paradigm (e.g. dur masc. > dure fem. > durement adv.). Class III
adjectives do not include a feminine form in -e but instead all adjectives end in a consonant (cf.
Grammar Point 4): e.g. fort 'strong'. Derivation with these adjectives as base therefore results in
a number of phonetic assimilations, cf.:
· consonant assimilation
fort + -ment > forment

grief + -ment > griément
· -l- vocalization
cruel + -ment > cruaument
· loss of -l-
gentil + ment > gentiment
26.4. A su x -s may be added to adverbs, prepositions, and nouns to form a new adverb:
merveille > merveilles

'remarkable thing' 'marvelously, extremely'
This process is possibly based on analogy with the high number of Latin adverbs in -s that
survived in Old French and were very widespread: e.g. mais 'more' < La. magis, plus 'more' < La.
plus, fors 'except' < La. foris. The process accounts for the etymology of several formations as
well:
unques / unces < La. umque + -s 'ever'
sempres < La. semper + -s 'always'
sens, sans < La. sine + -s 'without'
26.5. Adverbial formations based on prepositional phrases survive in Old French, cf.:
par grant irur (CdR 1842) 'with great anger'
par / a compas 'regularly'
par maistrie 'excellently'
The formation is especially productive when including the preposition a + a plural noun in -on,
cf.:
a tastons 'gropingly'
a genouillons 'on one's knees'
27 Personal Pronouns: Forms

Since pronouns are elements that are used instead of a noun they agree in number, case, and
gender with the noun they replace. The paradigms of personal pronouns in Old French
distinguish person (1-3), number (singular/plural), gender (for the third person), and case
(nominative, direct object, indirect object). Moreover there is an important distinction between
so-called stressed and unstressed non-nominative forms. The paradigms are as follows:
Personal Pronouns
1st Sg. 2nd Sg. 3rd Sg. 3rd Sg.
Masc. Fem.
Nom. jo, jou tu il el(e)

je(u)
Dir. Obj. me te le la
Dir. Obj. (str.) moi toi lui li / lié
Indir. Obj. me te li li
Indir. Obj. (str.) moi toi lui li / lié

1st Pl. 2nd Pl. 3rd Pl. 3rd Pl.
Masc. Fem.
Nom. nos vos il eles

Dir. Obj. nos vos les les
Dir. Obj. (str.) nos vos eus eles
Indir. Obj. nos vos lor lor

leur leur
Indir. Obj. (str.) - - - -
Elision and enclisis
Like the de nite article (see Grammar Point 14), personal pronouns may undergo processes of
elision and enclisis:
Elision:
· unstressed elements easily undergo elision, especially le and la:
l'oïrent (CdR 1756) 'they heard it'

pur ço l'ad fait (CdR 2361)
'for this reason he has done this'
· je, which is inherently stressed, does not undergo elision;
· strong forms, such as moi and toi, followed by en or i may undergo elision.
Enclisis:
The unstressed forms of the paradigm may be attached to other elements in the clause,
especially je, ne, se, si, que, en:
Personal Pronouns, Patterns of enclisis
je + le > jel, gel

je + les > ges
ne + le > nel, nu, nul
ne + les > nes
que + le > qel
qui + le > quil

qui + les > quis
se + le > sel
se + les > ses
si + le > sil, sel

s'est kil demandet (CdR 119, Lesson 1)

'if there is someone who asks for him'

e li message descendirent a pied

sil saluerent ... (CdR 121, Lesson 1)
'and the messagers came down'
'and they greeted him ...'
28 Personal Pronouns: Uses

28.1. In Old French tu was a second person singular pronoun, whereas vos was a true plural,
used only to address more than one person. Soon a polite use of vos developed as well when it
came to be used--inconsistenly at rst--to address a person of higher social rank. Among
nobles, for example, vos became part of basic politeness. Yet, God typically continued to be
referred to in direct address as tu.
28.2. Subject pronouns are late in Indo-European. The nite verb expressed person and number,
and early uses of subject pronouns were marked, having emphatic function. In Old French as
well, subject pronouns are not obligatory. Accordingly the nite verb in Old French as a rule may
occur without explicit subject, be it nominal or pronominal:
Rollant ad mis l'olifan a sa buche

Empeint le ben, par grant vertut le sunet
(CdR 1753-1754, Lesson 2)
'Roland has put the horn at his mouth'
'(he) places it solidly and (he) blows with great force'

L'olifan sunet a dulor e a peine (CdR 1787, Lesson 2)

'(He) blows the horn in suffering'
The explicit subject can be absent even when there is a change of subject, cf.:
que de vos mete a raison

et de s'ire face pardon (Bér., Trist. 165-166, Lesson 5)
'that I talk to him about you'
'and that he forgets his distress!'
The absence of subject pronouns traditionally has been accounted for by the rather explicit verb
ending. The texts analyzed so far show that in some the use of pronominal subjects is more
frequent than elsewhere. The Chanson de Rolland has relatively few subject pronouns, and when
they occur their use is emphatic. The text of Lesson 5, a passionate dialogue in which persons
take position, has relatively many instances. The use of subject pronouns in Old French
therefore often marks a certain emphasis, cf. the following example, where the use of the
subject pronouns is contrastive:
pur mei n'iras tu mie! (CdR 296)

'you will not go in my place !'

Qui i purruns enveier ... ?

Jo i puis aler mult ben! (CdR 252; 254)
'whom could we send there?'
'I could go there easily !'
The following example illustrates emphatic use of the subject pronoun in combination with left
dislocation:
li quens Rollant, il est mult irascut (CdR 777)

'count Roland, he is very angry'
As a result the subject pronoun is inherently stressed and therefore can occur at various
locations in the clause, not only in proximity to the verb: cf.:
il et ses freres ... 'he and his brothers ...'
je et mi chevalier ... 'I and my knights ...'
Instead of subject pronouns Old French may use nouns such as cors 'body', cf.:
mis cors trenble (Trist. 173, Lesson 5)

'my body is trembling' > 'I am trembling'
Cors can also be used as a reinforcing element especially when it combines with a personal
pronoun, cf.:
Jo cunduirai mun cors en Rencesvals (CdR 892)

'I myself will go to Roncedvaux'
vs.
En Rencesvals irai mun cors juer ! (CdR 901)

'I will go to Roncevaux'
With time the use of subject pronouns increased. One of the important differences between Old
and Middle French is the dramatic increase in use of subject pronouns. It is important to point
out that subject pronouns in Old French are said to be "deleted" when in postposition to the verb:
there are many more instances of preverbal than postverbal pronominal subjects. It may be,
however, that the spread of subject pronouns as pointed out manifested itself preverbally rst,
and postverbally only later.
The use of subject pronouns with impersonal verbs is late. If subject pronouns are commonly
used with nite verbs in Middle French, there is no regular use of pronominal subjects with
impersonal verbs before 16th century French. E.g:
anuite 'it gets dark'

bataille i ad (CdR 1971, Lesson 2) 'there is a battle'
m'est avis 'it seems to me'
tei cuvenist helme ... a porter (Al. 411) 'you need to wear a helmet'
Early instances of impersonal "subject" pronouns are attested, cf.:
Il nus i cuvent guarde (CdR 192)

'we need to be careful'
28.3. Unstressed pronominal forms are verb bound: they are in proximity to the verb, either
preceding or following it. Stressed forms are characterized by a much less strict use. They
typically occur at the beginning of the clause, function as objects of prepositions, combine with
in nitives, and are used with emphasis:
With an in nitive:
as tables juent pur els esbaneier (CdR 111, Lesson 1)

'they play games to amuse themselves'
With a preposition:
desuz lui met s'espee (CdR 2359, Lesson 2)

'under him he places his sword'

a lui nos laist venir (Eul. 28, Lesson 4)

'may he allow to come to him'
28.4. Third person direct object pronouns may be omitted in Old French when co-occurring with
an indirect object in the same clause, cf.:
il la volt prendra: cil ne li volt querpir (Al. 351)

'he wants to take it: Alexis does not want to give (it) to him'
It can also be omitted when the direct object is governed by different verbs; in these instances it
will be omitted with the second verb.
29 Possessives: Forms
There are two series of possessives in Old French: stressed, and unstressed. The unstressed
possessives are used only as adjectival elements; the stressed forms may be used both as
pronominal and adjectival elements. As adjectival elements, possessives agree with the head
noun in case, number, and gender. As pronominal elements they agree with the noun they
replace.
Possessives, Masculine unstressed forms
1st Sg. 2nd Sg. 3rd Sg.
Nom. Sg. mes tes ses

Obl. Sg. mon ton son

Nom. Pl. mi ti si
Obl. Pl. mes tes ses

1st Pl. 2nd Pl. 3rd Pl.
Nom. Sg. nostre vostre lor (leur)

Obl. Sg. nostre vostre lor (leur)

Nom. Pl. nostre vostre lor (leur)
Obl. Pl. noz voz lor (leur)
Possessives, Feminine unstressed forms
Nom. Sg. ma ta sa
Obl. Sg. ma ta sa

Nom. Pl. mes tes ses

Obl. Pl. mes tes ses

Nom. Sg. nostre vostre lor (leur)

Obl. Sg. nostre vostre lor (leur)

Nom. Pl. noz voz lor (leur)

Obl. Pl. noz voz lor (leur)
The feminine forms ma, ta, and sa regularly undergo elision when preceding a vowel-initial noun,
cf.:
s'ire (Bér., Trist. 145, Lesson 5) 'his distress'

s'amie (Yv. 2610, this lesson) 'his friend'
The stressed possessives trace back to La. meum, tuum, and suum. While meum gave mien, the
Old French tuen and suen from the 13th century became tien and sien, in analogy with mien.
Possessives, Masculine stressed forms
Nom. Sg. miens tuens suens

Obl. Sg. mien tuen suen

Nom. Pl. mien tuen suen

Obl. Pl. miens tuens suens

Nom. Sg. nostres vostres lor

Obl. Sg. nostre vostre lor

Nom. Pl. nostre vostre lor

Obl. Pl. nostres vostres lor
Possessives, Feminine stressed forms
Nom. Sg. meie to(u)e so(u)e

moie teue seue
Obl. Sg. meie to(u)e so(u)e
moie teue seue

Nom. Pl. meies to(u)es so(u)es

Obl. Pl. meies to(u)es so(u)es

Nom. Sg. nostre vostre lor

Obl. Sg. nostre vostre lor

Nom. Pl. nostres vostres lor

Obl. Pl. nostres vostres lor
With the replacement of tu- and su- by ti- and si- respectively, in analogy with mien (13th
century), the declensional pattern of mien spread as well:
Declension of mien, tien, and sien, Masculine
Nom. Sg. miens tiens siens

Obl. Sg. mien tien sien

Nom. Pl. mien tien sien

Obl. Pl. miens tiens siens
Declension of mien, tien, and sien, Feminine
Nom. Sg. mienne tienne sienne

Obl. Sg. mienne tienne sienne

Nom. Pl. miennes tiennes siennes

Obl. Pl. miennes tiennes siennes
30 Possessives: Uses
Unstressed possessives are used only as adjectival elements. The stressed form, when used as
an adjective, as a rule combines with a de nite article, a demonstrative, or an inde nite article
as well, cf.:
la meie mort (CdR 2198) 'my death'
la sue mort (CdR 2232) 'his death'
par le men esciëntre (CdR 1791) 'to my knowledge'
i metrai un mien filz (CdR 149) 'I will put a son of mine there'
cest mien anel (Yv. 2603, this lesson) 'this ring of mine'
The stressed possessive, when used as a pronoun, generally combines with a de nite article,
cf.:
Sainz Alexis la sue ... alascet (Al. 372)

'St. Alexis let his (hand) go'

ne n'ai tel gent ki la sue derumpet (CdR 19)

'I do not have the troops capable of destroying his (army)'
Many instances in Old French include a preposition + personal pronoun instead of a possessive,
cf.:
l'ame de mei 'my soul'

l'ame de lui 'his soul'
Old French Online

Lesson 7
During the heyday of the littérature courtoise, two important historical documents were written
about the Fourth Crusade (1202-1204). While the littérature courtoise presents a world of courtly
ideals and magic events, the historians in their work present the real world, with its base
passions.
Although Crusades primarily had an ideological motivation -- liberating the places of pilgrimage
and safeguarding pilgims -- political, personal, and socio-economical reasons soon became
important as well. During the Fourth Crusade the original aim, the liberation of Jerusalem, was
completely forgotten when political pro t and personal greed came to prevail.
The expedition was used by the doge of Venice to reinforce his political power. It established the
political hegemony of Venice over the Mediterranean, and ensured its important commercial
privileges. The abuse of power of the doge was based on the primordial role Venice played in
the transportation of troops. The Crusade never made it beyond Constantinople, which was
sacked; there one of the Crusaders, Baudoin of Flanders, was made emperor of the Latin
Empire. The Empire would last until 1261.
Two participants in the Fourth Crusade have left lengthy reports about the events: one is written
by a poor knight from Picardie, Robert de Clari, who was a simple warrior. The title of his work is
L'histoire de ceux qui conquirent Constantinople.
The other source is the Histoire de la conquête de Constantinople, written between 1207 and
1213 by one of the leaders of the Crusade, Geoffroi de Villehardouin, who originally came from
Champagne. Villehardouin relates the historical events in a sober style, but his report may not
be completely impartial.

The reading for this lesson has been taken from Villehardouin's Histoire de la conquête de
Constantinople, sections 345 and 346. In it, reference is made to the Greek as enemy. Having
conquered Constantinople, the Crusaders took over Christian property in the area as well,
because the Greek population and church were not part of the Church of Rome.
The reader will notice Villehardouin's sober style, with its simplicity and lack of arti cial effects.
Because of its plainness, many assume that Villehardouin's language was rather close to the
spoken language of the day.
As an important representative of the medieval aristocracy, Villehardouin in his text expresses

many ideals of his class, the most important of which are loyalty and faithfulness (in relation to
God, promises made, and so forth) and braveness. Consequently he rejects any form of
cowardice, as he does in the text selected here.
The text has an example of a vigesimal numeral: a numeral based on counting in twenties,
rather than in tens. The element in question is the number VI with XX in superscript, meaning six
times twenty, six-vingts 'one hundred and twenty'. Vigesimals appeared in the various Indo-
European languages in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. Whereas the (inherited)
counting system was decimal in early Old French (e.g. huitante 'eighty'), vigesimal numbers
emerged and spread starting in the 12th century. In the 16th and 17th centuries their number
decreased, and modern quatre-vingts and soixante-dix (a so-called semi-vigesimal) are residues
of a phenomenon that was widespread in Old and Middle French (see References in Lesson 10).
Or conte li livres une grant mervoille:

que Reniers de Trit, qui ere a Finepople,
bien .IX. jornees loing de Costantinople,
et avoit bien .VIXX. chevaliers avec lui,
que Reniers ses fils le guerpi, et Giles ses freres,
et Jakes de Bondine, qui ere ses niers,
et Achars de Vercli, qui avoit sa file.
or -- adverb; <or> now -- ...

conte -- verb; third person singular present <conter> count, relate -- relates
livres -- noun; nominative singular <livre> book, inventory -- book
mervoille -- noun; oblique singular <merveille> what is surprising, wonder -- remarkable
event
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- the fact that
Reniers de Trit -- proper name; nominative singular <Renier de Trit> Renier de Trit --
Renier de Trit
ere -- verb; third person singular imperfective <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- was
Finepople -- proper name; oblique singular <Finepople> Finepople -- Finepople
bien -- adverb; <bien> well, many, much, really -- at least
.IX. -- number; <.IX.> nine -- nine # numbers in Old French texts are preceded and
followed by a dot
jornees -- noun; oblique plural <jornee> day's journey -- a... days journey
loing -- adverb; <loing, loin, luin, lonc> far, far away -- away
Costantinople -- proper name; oblique singular <Costantinoble> Constantinople --
Constantinople
et -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and -- ...
avoit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <avoir, aveir> have, be -- had
.VIXX. -- number; <.VIXX.> six times twenty, one hundred and twenty -- hundred and twenty
# numbers in Old French texts are preceded and followed by a dot
chevaliers -- noun; oblique plural <chevalier> knight -- knights
avec -- preposition; <avuec, avec, avoc> with -- with
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- and the fact that
Reniers -- proper name; nominative singular <Renier> Renier -- Renier
ses -- possessive; third person singular nominative singular masculine <son> his -- his
fils -- noun; nominative singular <fil> son -- son
guerpi -- verb; third person singular preterite <guerpir> abandon, leave -- abandoned
et -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and -- with

Giles -- proper name; nominative singular <Giles> Giles -- Giles
freres -- noun; nominative singular <frere> brother -- brother
Jakes de Bondine -- proper name; nominative singular <Jake de Bondine> Jake de
Bondine -- Jake de Bondine
niers -- noun; nominative singular <nevot, neveu> grandson, nephew -- nephew
Achars de Vercli -- proper name; nominative singular <Achar de Vercli> Achar de Vercli
-- Achar de Vercli
avoit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <avoir, aveir> have, be -- was married to
file -- noun; oblique singular <fille> daughter -- daughter
Et li tolirent bien .XXX. de ses chevaliers,

et s'en cuidoient venir en Costantinople,
et l'avoient laissié en si grant peril com voz oez.

li -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object masculine <il> he -- from him
tolirent -- verb; third person plural preterite <tolir> take off, cut off -- they took away
.XXX. -- number; <.XXX.> thirty -- thirty # in Old French, numbers were preceded and
followed by a dot
s'en cuidoient venir -- personal pronoun; third person plural direct object <se> he +
pronoun; inanimate <en> of it + verb; third person plural imperfective <cuidier> think +
verb; in nitive <venir> come, go -- they thought of going
en -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- to
Costantinople -- proper name; oblique singular <Costantinoble> Constantinople --
Constantinople
l'avoient -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object <il> he + verb; third
person plural imperfective <avoir, aveir> have, be -- they had... him
laissié -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <laissier> leave, let,
abandon -- abandoned
si -- adverb; <si> thus, that way, that much -- such
peril -- noun; oblique singular <peril> danger -- danger
com -- conjunction; <com, comme> as -- as
voz -- personal pronoun; second person plural nominative <vos> you -- you
oez -- verb; second person plural present <oir, odir> hear -- well understand
Si troverent la terre revellee encontre els,

et furent desconfit, si les pristrent li Grieu,
qui, puis les rendirent le roi de Blakie,
qui puis aprés lor fist les testes trencier.

troverent -- verb; third person plural preterite <trover> nd -- they found
revellee -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular feminine <reveler> revolt -- in revolt
encontre -- preposition; <encontre> to, towards, against -- against
els -- personal pronoun; third person plural direct object masculine <il> they -- them
furent -- verb; third person plural preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- they were
desconfit -- verb; perfective participle nominative plural masculine <desconfire>
demolish, defeat -- defeated
si -- conjunction; <si> and, and thus -- and thus
les -- personal pronoun; third person plural direct object masculine <il> they -- them
pristrent -- verb; third person plural preterite <prendre> take, take hold of, seize -- took...
prisoner
Grieu -- proper name; nominative plural <gré, grieu, griu, gri> Greek -- Greek
puis -- adverb; <puis> subsequently -- subsequently
rendirent -- verb; third person plural preterite <rendre> give, return -- handed over
roi -- noun; oblique singular <roi> king -- to... king
Blakie -- proper name; oblique singular <Blaquie> Blaquie -- Blaquie
puis -- adverb; <puis> subsequently -- ...
aprés -- adverb; <apres> after, afterwards -- afterwards
lor -- personal pronoun; third person plural indirect object masculine <il> they -- ...
fist -- verb; third person singular preterite <faire> make -- ordered
les -- de nite article; oblique plural feminine <li> the -- their
testes -- noun; oblique plural <teste> head -- heads
trencier -- verb; in nitive <trenchier> cut -- to (be) cut off
Et sachiez que mult furent petit plaint de la gent,

por ce que il avoient si mespris vers celui
qu'i ne deüssent mie faire.

sachiez -- verb; second person plural imperative <savoir> know -- you should know
furent -- verb; third person plural preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- they were
petit -- adjective, adverb; <petit> small, little -- little
plaint -- verb; perfective participle nominative plural masculine <plaindre> complain,
regret, mourn -- mourned
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- by
por ce que -- preposition; <por> for + demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <cil> that +
conjunction; <que> that -- because
avoient -- verb; third person plural imperfective <avoir, aveir> have, be -- had
si -- adverb; <si> thus, that way, that much -- that much
mespris -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <mesprendre> make a
mistake, commit a crime -- been misbehaving
vers -- preposition; <vers> towards -- towards
celui -- demonstrative; oblique singular masculine <cil> that -- the one
qu'i -- relative pronoun; object <qui> who + personal pronoun; third person plural
nominative <il> they -- to whom... they
deüssent -- verb; third person plural subjunctive imperfective <devoir> have to -- should
have
faire -- verb; in nitive <faire> make -- behaved that way
Et quant li autre chevalier Renier de Trit virent ce,

qui si prés ne li estoient mie,
cum cil qui en doterent mains la honte,
si le guerpirent, bien .LXXX. chevalier tuit ensemble,
et s'en alerent per une autre voie.

autre -- adjective; nominative plural masculine <altre> other -- other
chevalier -- noun; nominative plural <chevalier> knight -- knights
Renier de Trit -- proper name; oblique singular <Renier de Trit> Renier de Trit -- of
Renier de Trit
virent -- verb; third person plural preterite <veoir> see -- saw
ce -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <cil> that -- that
qui -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- those who
si -- adverb; <si> thus, that way, that much -- that
prés -- adverb; <pres> close -- close
estoient -- verb; third person plural imperfective <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- were
mie -- negation; <mie> not -- not
cum -- conjunction; <com, comme> as -- as
cil -- demonstrative; nominative plural masculine <cil> that -- people
doterent -- verb; third person plural preterite <doter> doubt, be afraid -- were afraid of
mains -- adverb; <meins, mains, moins> less, fewer -- less
honte -- noun; oblique singular <honte> shame, disgrace -- shame
si -- conjunction; <si> and, and thus -- ...
guerpirent -- verb; third person plural preterite <guerpir> abandon, leave -- abandoned
.LXXX. -- number; <.LXXX.> eighty -- eighty # numbers in Old French texts are preceded
and followed by a dot
chevalier -- noun; nominative plural <chevalier> knight -- knights
tuit -- adjective; nominative plural masculine <tot> all, every, completely -- all
ensemble -- adverb; <ensemble> together -- together
s'en alerent -- personal pronoun; third person plural direct object <se> he + pronoun;
inanimate <en> of it + verb; third person plural preterite <aler> go -- they went away
per -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of -- via

autre -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <altre> other -- other
voie -- noun; oblique singular <veie> road -- road
Et Reniers de Trit remest entre les Griex a pou de gent:

que il n'avoit mie plus de .XV. chevaliers a Phynepople et a Stanemac,
qui ere uns chastiaux mult fort que il tenoit,
ou il fu puis longuement assis.

Reniers de Trit -- proper name; nominative singular <Renier de Trit> Renier de Trit --
Renier de Trit
remest -- verb; third person singular preterite <remanoir> stay, remain, resist -- stayed
entre -- preposition; <entre> between, among, in the midst of -- among
Griex -- proper name; oblique plural <gré, grieu, griu, gri> Greek -- Greek
a -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on -- with
pou -- adverb; <poi, pou, pau> little, few -- few
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- because
n'avoit -- negation; <ne, nen> not + verb; third person singular imperfective
<avoir, aveir> have, be -- did not... have
plus -- adverb; <plus> more -- more
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- than
.XV. -- number; <.XV.> fteen -- fteen # numbers in Old French texts are preceded and
followed by a dot
Phynepople -- proper name; oblique singular <Phynepople> Phynepople -- Phynepople
Stanemac -- proper name; oblique singular <Stanemac> Stanemac -- Stanemac
uns -- inde nite article; nominative singular masculine <un> a -- a
chastiaux -- noun; nominative singular <chastel, castel> castle -- castle
fort -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <fort> strong, hard, erce -- strong
tenoit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider -- held
ou -- relative pronoun; <ou, u> where -- and where
fu -- verb; third person singular preterite <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- was

puis -- adverb; <puis> subsequently -- subsequently
longuement -- adverb; <longement> long, for a long time -- for a long time
assis -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <asseoir> place, set up,
lay siege -- besieged
Lesson Text
Or conte li livres une grant mervoille:
que Reniers de Trit, qui ere a Finepople,
bien .IX. jornees loing de Costantinople,
et avoit bien .VIXX. chevaliers avec lui,
que Reniers ses fils le guerpi, et Giles ses freres,
et Jakes de Bondine, qui ere ses niers,
et Achars de Vercli, qui avoit sa file. Et li tolirent bien .XXX. de ses chevaliers,
et s'en cuidoient venir en Costantinople,
et l'avoient laissié en si grant peril com voz oez. Si troverent la terre revellee
encontre els,
et furent desconfit, si les pristrent li Grieu,
qui, puis les rendirent le roi de Blakie,
qui puis aprés lor fist les testes trencier. Et sachiez que mult furent petit plaint de
la gent,
por ce que il avoient si mespris vers celui
qu'i ne deüssent mie faire. Et quant li autre chevalier Renier de Trit virent ce,
qui si prés ne li estoient mie,
cum cil qui en doterent mains la honte,
si le guerpirent, bien .LXXX. chevalier tuit ensemble,
et s'en alerent per une autre voie. Et Reniers de Trit remest entre les Griex a pou
de gent:
que il n'avoit mie plus de .XV. chevaliers a Phynepople et a Stanemac,
qui ere uns chastiaux mult fort que il tenoit,
ou il fu puis longuement assis.
Translation
The book relates a great remarkable event:

the fact that Renier de Trit, who was at Finepople,
at least a nine-days journey away from Constantinople,
had at least one hundred and twenty knights with him,
and the fact that Reniers, his son, abandoned him with Giles, his brother,
and Jake de Bondine, who was his nephew,
and Achar de Vercli, who was married to his daughter.
And they took away from him at least thirty of his knights,
and they thought of going to Constantinople,
and they had abandoned him in such great danger, as you well understand.
And they found the country in revolt against them,
and they were defeated, and thus the Greek took them prisoner,
who subsequently handed them over to the king of Blaquie,
who afterwards ordered their heads to be cut off.
And you should know that they were very little mourned by the people,
because they had been misbehaving that much towards the one
to whom they should not have behaved that way.
And when the other knights of Renier de Trit saw that,
those who were not that close to him,
as people who were less afraid of shame,
they abandoned him, at least eighty knights all together,
and they went away via another road.
And Renier de Trit stayed among the Greek with few people:
because he did not have more than fteen knights at Phynepople and at Stanemac,
which was a very strong castle that he held,
and where he subsequently was besieged for a long time.
Grammar
31 Interrogatives: Forms and Uses
Questions in Old French can be marked by intonation, cf.:
il vos mescroit de moi forment

et j'en tendrait le parlement?
(Bér., Trist. 169-170, Lesson 5)
'he suspects you strongly because of me and I would talk about it?'
Inversion is also found, cf.:
Sire cumpain, faites le vos de gred?' (CdR 2000)

'Sir companion, do you do this of free will?
In addition a series of interrogative elements are used. The Old French interrogative pronoun
qui, ki traces back to Latin quis 'who' (fem. quae, and neuter quod). The paradigm in Old
French is as follows:
Interrogative Pronoun, qui 'who?', que 'what?', 'which?'
Masc/Fem. Neuter
Nom. Sg/Pl. qui, ki que, ke

Nom. Sg/Pl. (str.) quoi, coi
Dir. Obj. Sg/Pl. que, ke que, ke
Dir. Obj. Sg/Pl. (str.) cui quoi, quei
Indir. Obj. cui
Examples:
· qui nominative masculine and feminine:
E ki serat devant mei en l'ansguarde? (CdR 748)

'and who will be in front of me in the vanguard?'
· que direct object animate and neuter nominative and direct object, cf.:
que fereient il el? (CdR 1185)

'what would else would they do?'
· cui functions as a strong direct object (e.g. with a preposition) and as indirect object, cf.:
de ço qui calt? (CdR 1806)

'to whom is it of importance?'
This example also shows that qui and cui often are confused.
As the strong form of the neuter interrogative, quoi may be used in isolation (quoi? 'what?'), but
it typically combines with prepositions, cf.:
Pur quei me portez ire? (CdR 1723)

'why are you angry with me?'

de quei avez pesance? (CdR 832)

'what hurts you?'
In addition, Old French has an interrogative element quant meaning 'how much, how many':
Declension of quant 'how much', 'how many'
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. sg. quanz quante quant

Obl. sg. quant quante quant

Nom. pl. quant quantes -
Obl. pl. quanz quantes -
And an element quel 'which, what', which has the following paradigm:
Declension of quel 'which', 'what'
Masculine Feminine Neuter
Nom. sg. quels quel(s) quel
Obl. sg. quel quel quel

Nom. pl. quel quels -
Obl. pl. quels quels -
NB: -l- may vocalize before -s, which will give: queus
Examples:
Par quele gent quiet il espleiter tant? (CdR 395)

'for what people is he pretending to accomplish such things?'

En quel mesure en purrai estre fiz? (CdR 146)

'in what circumstances can I trust it?'
The reader will have noticed that interrogative elements tend to occur in clause-initial position
and therefore trigger subject inversion when they do not convey subject function, cf.:
que fereient il el? (CdR 1185)

'what would else would they do?'
· with an interrogative adverb, cf.:
U estes vos, bels niés (CdR 2403, Lesson 2)

'where are you, beloved cousin?'

U est vostre espee? (CdR 1363)

'where is your sword?'

cum le purrum nus faire? (CdR 1698)
'how should we do it?'
32 Relative Pronouns: Forms and Uses

The paradigm for the relative pronoun is almost identical to that of interrogatives, cf.:
Relative Pronoun, qui 'who', que 'that, which'
Masc/Fem. Neuter
Nom. Sg/Pl. qui, ki que, ke

Nom. Sg/Pl. (str.) quoi, coi
Dir. Obj. Sg/Pl. que que, ke
Dir. Obj. Sg/Pl. (str.) cui quoi, quei
Indir. Obj. cui
Other elements that are used in relative clauses are:
· dont, originally an adverb of place and often used as an interrogative or relative, meaning 'from
where, whence'. It may also refer to animate nouns, 'of whose'.
· lequel 'which', which spread from the 13th century onwards.
· ou, originally a relative and interrogative. It refers to animate and inanimate nouns, meaning
'where, in which, in whom'.
32.1. Function of qui as impersonal. On the whole the uses of the relative pronoun correspond
to the regular functions of the cases. Yet there are a few important phenomena. One of them is
the use of subject qui conveying generalizing value, often tending toward 'if one ...', 'whoever'.
Cf.:
Ki l'unt oïd remainent en grant dute (Al. 300)

'those who heard it remain very frightened'
Many proverbs in Old French include a generalizing qui:
qui tout tient tout pert

'who keeps it all to himself, will lose it all' >
'if one keeps it all to one's self, one will lose it all'
32.2. Cui is used in Old French primarily as indirect object, but is also found in the function of a
direct object, a genitive, or a prepositional complement.
32.3. Regular use of relative pronouns includes the occurrence of an antecedent, cf.:
N'i ad castel ki devant lui remaigne (CdR 4, Lesson 1)

'there is no castle that resists him'
The physical distance between the antecendent and the relative pronoun may be rather lengthy:
Li reis Marsilie la tient, ki Deu nen aimet (CdR 7, Lesson 1)

'Marsilie holds it, who does not love God'
The antecedent ce is often deleted, cf.:
ne sai jo que face (CdR 1982)

32.4. Deletion of relative pronoun. The relative pronoun is quite often deleted after a negation,
cf.:
Ja mais n'ert hume plus volenters le serve (CdR 2254)

'there will never be a man who will serve him more readily'
33 On
While Latin nouns that survived in Old French originally were accusatives, a few nominatives
made it into (Old) French as well, cf. the difference between modern sire and seigneur, which
trace back to the nominative and accusative respectively. Similarly two forms of the Latin noun
homo survive, one goes back to the nominative, one is the former accusative, cf. La. homo,
which survives as on 'one', and La. hominem which survives as modern French homme 'man'. We
therefore observe that in the history of Old French the nominative form homo survived and
grammaticalized into a pronoun; the accusative form survived as a regular noun and did not
undergo a process of grammaticalization.
Grammaticalization is a type of change whereby a lexical element develops into a grammatical

element: in this instance the noun homo developed into a pronominal element in French.
Similarly the Latin noun mente developed into a derivational su x in adverb formation in
Romance (see Grammar Point 26). It is also possible that a grammatical element develops a
stronger grammatical pro le. This happened when Latin demonstratives -- with deictic value --
developed into de nite articles (see Grammar Point 13).
The fact that Old French (l')on is a grammaticalized personal pronoun does not mean that the
original element no longer is used as noun. The noun in question had the following declension
pattern:
Declension of (l')ome
Sg. Pl.
Nom. (l') (h)om, (li) (h)ome

(l ) on
(l') uem
Obl. (l') (h)ome (les) (h)omes

Nominative singular forms, with or without de nite article, occur with the generalizing meaning
of 'one' from early texts onward, cf.:
iluec paist l'um del relef de la tabla (Al. 247, Lesson 3)

'there they feed him on the scraps of dinner'

que l'an ne l'apialt recreant (Yv. 2563, Lesson 6)

'so that one will not call him a coward'
The nominal origin of the element is re ected in the occurrence of the de nite article. Since the
element refers to an undetermined person or undetermined persons, on may be rendered by in
translations by 'one', general 'they', or passive constructions.
In the glosses instances of (l')on have been identi ed as third person personal pronouns
because the grammaticalization process has reached that stage in Old French.
34 Agreement
In Old French we nd several processes of agreement:
· Agreement between subject and nite verb. When there are several subjects in a clause, the
verb agrees with the subject that is closest, cf.:
Karles l'oït e ses cumpaignes tutes (CdR 1757, Lesson 2)

'Charles hears it and all his troops' >
'Charles and all his troops hear it'
For collective subjects there is variation: sometimes the nite verb is singular sometimes it is
plural:
Quan Rollant voit la ... gent,

ki plus sunt neirs que ... (CdR 1933-1934)
'when Rollant sees the ... people who are more black then ...'
· Agreement between noun and adjective. The patterns in Old French are not different from
those in Indo-European. A remarkable phenomenon is the declension of adjectives that are used
as adverbs (see Grammar Point 26), but continue to be marked for agreement, cf.:
tote sui sole en ceste terre (Bér., Trist. 153, Lesson 5)

'I am completely alone in this country'
· Agreement between nouns and their determiners: there is agreement marking for case,
number, and gender, cf.:
cest mien anel (Yv. 2603)

'this ring of mine'
· Agreement between noun and perfective participle. Agreement patterns depend on the
auxiliary used in these contexts. A perfective participle that combines with the auxiliary estre
'be' will agree in case, number and gender with the subject of the clause, cf.:
fut presentede Maximiien (Eul. 11, Lesson 4)

'she was brought before Maximian'

morz est Rollant (CdR 2397, Lesson 2)

'Roland has died'
When the perfective participle combines with the auxiliary avoir 'have', it may agree in case,
number and gender with the direct object, independently of its relative position to the participle,
cf.:
ço dist li reis que sa guere out finee (CdR 705)

'the king says that he had nished his war'

Rollant ad l'enseigne fermee (CdR 707)

'Roland has attached the standard'

Cordres ad prise e les murs peceiez (CdR 97, Lesson 1)

'he has taken Cordres and smashed its walls'

proïe avez la duchesse

'you have robbed the duchess'
When the direct object is masculine, agreement is especially manifest when the participle
follows, cf.:
Charles li magnes ad Espaigne guastede

les castels pris, les citez violees (CdR 703-704)
'Charlemagne has devastated Spain,
taken castles and violated towns'
Conversely when the direct object -- masculine or feminine -- follows the participle, there may be
no agreement:
j'ai creü vostre parole

'I believed what you said'
The perfective participle may also agree with the direct object of an in nitive or with a direct
object that is not explicit in the clause. Neuter elements (pronouns) do not feature agreement.
Along these same lines, there is no agreement in compound tenses including impersonal verbs.
35 Brace Constructions
In a so-called brace construction, the nite verb and the perfective participle are separated by
the direct object, cf.:
Li empereres out sa raisun fenie (CdR 193)

'the emperor had nished his speech'
In Grammar Point 17 it was noted that if word order in Old French already had strong SVO
characteristics, there still are several archaic features, cf. for example the occurrence of SOV in
subordinate clauses. Another archaism is the ordering of the direct object between the auxiliary
and the perfective participle, as in:
Li reis ad la culur muee (CdR 441)

'the king had changed color'
This type of construction goes back to the original Latin construction in which a lexical verb
'have' combined with a direct object determined by a perfective participle, cf.:
epistulas scriptas habeo
letters-Acc.fem written-Acc.fem.sg. have-1sg.pers.
'I have letters that are written'

puer epistulas scriptas habet
'the boy has letters that are written'
It would go too far to discuss the development of habeo into a Romance auxiliary, but it is clear
that when habeo changed position, a so-called brace construction emerged, cf.:
puer habet epistulas scriptas
In Old French:
li gars a letres escrites
At later stages:
le garçon a escrit(es) les letres
The brace construction survived in Old French for a long time: instances are still found in the
17th century. Yet in the Old French documents, one observed a gradual decline in occurrence.
Examples in Old French:
ad sun tens uset (CdR 523)

'he has nished his time'

par tant teres ad sun cors travaillet (CdR 540)
'he has burdened his body by all these countries'

Guenes li fels ad nostre mort juree (CdR 1456)

'Ganelon the traitor has sworn to our death'
Old French Online

Lesson 8
During the 12th century new techniques in agriculture were developed and, as a result, crop
harvests increased dramatically. Consequently the population was better nourished, more
productive, and achieved greater wealth; commerce could expand. Towns grew, becoming more
important centers of regional and national commercial activity and craftsmanship. In the 13th
century, with the foundation of universities, towns became centers of academic activity as well.
In addition to the Church and the Aristocracy, a third non-peasant class emerged, the
bourgeoisie. Members of this class not only played their own roles within medieval society, but
also were organized in (professional) institutions, and developed a cultural life of their own
re ected in literature and theater, the littérature bourgeoise.
The literary audience was broader and less re ned than that of the littérature courtoise. The
texts, mainly narratives in a rather loose style, were more openly joyful. Narrative texts can be
divided into religious works (e.g. Les Miracles de la Vierge) and comic texts featuring animals.
There was also a growing production of plays, religious and comic (see Lesson 9). The animal
texts are either short narratives that t the long-lasting tradition of fables (fabliaux), or longer
texts, among them the Roman de Renart. The fabliaux are meant to make people laugh, but they
also present wise lessons, based on critical observations of mankind. The characters are
animals, presenting the characteristics of their species in combination with typically human
behavior. In fact, the fabliaux present a disguised form of social satire and criticism. All groups
in society are represented. The texts also offer a lively description of everyday medieval life and
society.
The Roman de Renart (late 12th and early 13th centuries) is a series of poems relating the
adventures of the fox Renart.
The fabliaux continue a long tradition that is rooted in the East (India), and came to Greece (e.g.
Aesop) and Rome (e.g. Phaedrus). A manuscript of the Latin fables allegedly of Phaedrus made
it into the Middle Ages and was translated around 1180 by the well-known author Marie de
France, with the title Isopet. In the 13th century the word Isopet refers to any collection of fables.
The text for this lesson is the fable Du Renart et du Corbet (Isopet 1.15). Isopet I is a 13th
century collection of fables by an unknown author. The fable selected here is part of a long
tradition and, with La Fontaine in the 17th century, became one of the best known stories in
French literature. It is a story of animals criticizing man's greed for glory. The main characters
are the Raven, who is vain, and the Fox, who is the incarnation of slyness and deception. Another
character is mentioned, Hersen, who in the Roman de Renart is the wife of the wolf Ysengrin,
Renart's opponent. Hersen spends her life spinning and represents simple life without claims to
fame.
Sire Tiercelin, le Corbiau,

Qui cuide estre avenant et biau,
Tenoit en son bech un fromage.
sire -- noun; nominative singular <seignor> lord -- sir

Tiercelin -- proper name; nominative singular <Tiercelin> Tiercelin -- Tiercelin
le -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the -- the
Corbiau -- proper name; nominative singular <Corbiau> Raven -- Raven
cuide -- verb; third person singular present <cuidier> think -- thinks
estre -- verb; in nitive <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- he is
avenant -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <avenant> beautiful, attractive --
attractive
biau -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <bel> dear, beloved, handsome --
handsome
tenoit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider -- had
bech -- noun; oblique singular <bec> beak -- beak
fromage -- noun; oblique singular <fromage> cheese -- cheese
Renart, qui a fait maint dommaige,

Par mi le bois chassant couroit
Com cil qui de grant fain mouroit.
Renart -- proper name; nominative singular <Renart> Renart -- Renart

fait -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <faire> make -- done
maint -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <maint> many, many a -- much
dommaige -- noun; oblique singular <damage> trouble, harm -- harm
par mi -- preposition; <parmi, par mi> through, in the middle -- through
bois -- noun; oblique singular <bos, bois> forest, tree -- forest
chassant -- verb; present participle nominative singular masculine <chasser> hunt --
hunting
couroit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <corre> run -- ran
com -- conjunction; <com, comme> as -- like
cil -- demonstrative; nominative singular masculine <cil> that -- someone
fain -- noun; oblique singular <faim> hunger, desire -- hunger
mouroit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <morir> kill, die -- would die
Le fromaige li vit tenir;

Bien scet qu'il n'i puet avenir
Se n'est par art et par engin.

fromaige -- noun; oblique singular <fromage> cheese -- cheese
li -- personal pronoun; third person singular indirect object masculine <il> he -- him
vit -- verb; third person singular preterite <veoir> see -- he saw
tenir -- verb; in nitive <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider -- hold
scet -- verb; third person singular present <savoir> know -- he knows
n'i -- negation; <ne, nen> not + particle; <i> there -- not... to it
avenir -- verb; in nitive <avenir> arrive, happen -- get
se n'est -- conjunction; <se> if + negation; <ne, nen> not + verb; third person singular
present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- unless
art -- noun; oblique singular <art> liberal art, craft -- craft
par -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of -- ...
engin -- noun; oblique singular <engin, engien> skill, cheating -- cheating
"Ha," dit Renart, "biau Tiercelin,

Qui estes enparentés,
Dommaiges iert que ne chantés
Aussi bien com fist vostre pere.
ha -- interjection; <ha> ha, hello -- ha

dit -- verb; third person singular present <dire> say, tell -- says
biau -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <bel> dear, beloved, handsome -- dear
qui -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- you who
enparentés -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <emparenté> of noble lineage --
of noble lineage
dommaiges -- noun; nominative singular <damage> trouble, harm -- a pity
iert -- verb; third person singular imperfective <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- it is
chantés -- verb; second person singular present <chanter> sing -- you do sing
aussi -- adverb; <aussi> also, likewise -- as
com -- conjunction; <com, comme> as -- as
fist -- verb; third person singular preterite <faire> make -- did
vostre -- possessive; second person plural nominative singular masculine <vostre> your
-- your
pere -- noun; nominative singular <pere> father -- father
Se aussi chantissiez, par saint Pere,

Je cuit qu'en tout le bois n'eüst
Oisel qui tant a tous pleüst."
aussi -- adverb; <aussi> also, likewise -- as well
chantissiez -- verb; second person plural subjunctive imperfective <chanter> sing -- you
sang
saint -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <saint> holy -- St.
Pere -- noun; oblique singular <Perre> Peter -- Peter
cuit -- verb; rst person singular present <cuidier> think -- think
qu'en -- conjunction; <que> that + preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- that in
tout -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <tot> all, every, completely -- entire
bois -- noun; oblique singular <bos, bois> forest, tree -- forest
n'eüst -- negation; <ne, nen> not + verb; third person singular subjunctive imperfective
<avoir, aveir> have, be -- there would be no
oisel -- noun; oblique singular <oisel> bird -- bird
tant -- adverb; <tant> so, so much -- that much
tous -- adjective; oblique plural masculine <tot> all, every, completely -- all
pleüst -- verb; third person singular subjunctive imperfective <plaire> please -- pleases
Le Corbiau, qui pas n'aperçoit

Que Renart l'engingne et deçoit,
Et qui par son chant plaire cuide,
En chanter met si grant estude
Que son fromage li cheï.

n'aperçoit -- negation; <ne, nen> not + verb; third person singular present <apercevoir>
notice, know -- does not notice
l'engingne -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he +
verb; third person singular present <engignier, engeignier> invent, seduce, deceive --
deceives him
deçoit -- verb; third person singular present <deçoivre> deceive, mislead -- misleads
par -- preposition; <par> through, by, by reason of -- with
chant -- noun; oblique singular <chant> song, melody -- singing
plaire -- verb; in nitive <plaire> please -- he will please
cuide -- verb; third person singular present <cuidier> think -- thinks
chanter -- verb; in nitive <chanter> sing -- his singing
met -- verb; third person singular present <metre, mectre, mettre> put -- puts
estude -- noun; oblique singular <estude, estudie> study, zeal -- zeal
son -- possessive; third person singular nominative singular masculine <son> his -- his
fromage -- noun; nominative singular <fromage> cheese -- cheese
cheï -- verb; third person singular preterite <cheoir, chaeir> fall -- fell
Renart ne fu pas esbaï,

Qui son chant mout petit prisa;
Le fromaige tantost pris a,
Si le menja trestout Renart;
Oncques Tiercelin n'i ot part.

esbaï -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <esbai> frightened, troubled, surprised
-- surprised
chant -- noun; oblique singular <chant> song, melody -- singing
mout -- adverb, adjective; <molt, mult, mout> many, much, very -- very
petit -- adjective, adverb; <petit> small, little -- little
prisa -- verb; third person singular preterite <prisier, proisier> esteem, appreciate --
appreciated
fromaige -- noun; oblique singular <fromage> cheese -- cheese
tantost -- adverb; <tantost> immediately -- immediately
pris -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <prendre> take, take hold of,
seize -- taken
menja -- verb; third person singular preterite <mangier, manjuer> eat -- ate
trestout -- reinforcing element; <tres> ... + adjective; oblique singular masculine <tot>
all, every, completely -- completely
oncques -- adverb; <onques> once, ever -- ...
n'i -- negation; <ne, nen> not + particle; <i> there -- never... of it
ot -- verb; third person singular preterite <avoir, aveir> have, be -- had
part -- noun; oblique singular <part> part, portion -- a portion
Mout en fu dolent le Corbiau,

Et de honte li croist son diau.
mout -- adverb, adjective; <molt, mult, mout> many, much, very -- very
en -- pronoun; inanimate <en> of it -- about it
dolent -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <dolent> sorrowful, wetched -- sorry
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- because of
honte -- noun; oblique singular <honte> shame, disgrace -- shame
croist -- verb; third person singular present <croistre, creistre> grow -- increases
son -- possessive; third person singular nominative singular masculine <son> his -- his
diau -- noun; nominative singular <dol, duel> suffering, grief -- grief
La moralité :
Qui vaine gloire quiert et chace,
Sa perte et sa honte pourchace.
Fausse honneur, ce poués entendre,
Maint grand anuy souvent engendre.

moralité -- noun; nominative singular <moralité> character, lesson -- lesson
qui -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- whoever
vaine -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <vain> weak, empty -- vain
gloire -- noun; oblique singular <gloire> glory -- glory
quiert -- verb; third person singular present <quere, querre> look for, want, ask -- looks
for
chace -- verb; third person singular present <chasser> hunt -- hunts for
perte -- noun; oblique singular <perte> fall, destruction -- fall
honte -- noun; oblique singular <honte> shame, disgrace -- disgrace
pourchace -- verb; third person singular present <porchacier> seek, pursue -- pursues
fausse -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <fals, faus> false -- false
honneur -- noun; nominative singular <onor, enor, anor> honor, respect, esteem, ef --
honor
ce -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <cil> that -- this
poués -- verb; second person singular present <pooir, poeir, poier> can, be able -- you
can
entendre -- verb; in nitive <entendre> try, pay attention, understand, hear -- understand
maint -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <maint> many, many a -- very
grand -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <grant> great, large, tall -- great
anuy -- noun; oblique singular <enoi, enui> torment, pain -- pain
souvent -- adverb; <sovent> frequently, often -- often
engendre -- verb; third person singular present <engeindre, engendrer> cause -- causes
Les fols qui quierent vainne gloire

Sieulent assés de honte boire;
Gloire les met hors de leur sen.
les -- de nite article; nominative plural masculine <li> the -- the

fols -- adjective; nominative plural masculine <fol> crazy -- crazy people
quierent -- verb; third person plural present <quere, querre> look for, want, ask -- pursue
vainne -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <vain> weak, empty -- vain
gloire -- noun; oblique singular <gloire> glory -- glory
sieulent -- verb; third person plural present <soloir> be accustomed -- are used to
assés -- adverb; <asez, assés> many, much, very well -- much
honte -- noun; oblique singular <honte> shame, disgrace -- disgrace
boire -- verb; in nitive <bevre> drink -- drinking
gloire -- noun; nominative singular <gloire> glory -- glory
met -- verb; third person singular present <metre, mectre, mettre> put -- puts
hors de -- preposition; <hors> out, out of, except + preposition; <de> of, from -- out of
leur -- possessive; third person plural oblique singular masculine <lor, leur> their -- their
sen -- noun; oblique singular <sen, sens> direction, sense -- senses
Plus saige tien dame Hersen

Qui viut sa coloingne filer;
Pour ce ne la doi aviler.
Qui veut estre trop apparent,
De faintise n'avra garent.
plus -- adverb; <plus> more -- ...

saige -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <saige, saive> clever, educated -- wiser
tien -- verb; rst person singular present <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider -- I consider
dame -- noun; oblique singular <dame> lady, dame -- lady
Hersen -- proper name; oblique singular <Hersen> Hersen -- Hersen # Hersen is the wife
of the wolf Ysengrinus in the Roman de Renart
viut -- verb; third person singular present <voloir> want -- wants
sa -- possessive; third person singular oblique singular feminine <son> his -- her
coloingne -- noun; oblique singular <quenoille, queloigne> distaff -- distaff
filer -- verb; in nitive <filer> spin -- to draw threat from
pour -- preposition; <por> for -- for
ce -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <cil> that -- this reason
doi -- verb; rst person singular present <devoir> have to -- I do... have to
aviler -- verb; in nitive <aviler> abandon, disgrace -- disgrace
qui -- relative pronoun; subject <qui> who -- whoever
veut -- verb; third person singular present <voloir> want -- wants
estre -- verb; in nitive <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- to be
apparent -- adjective; nominative singular <aparant> visible -- visible
faintise -- noun; oblique singular <feintise> pretense, deceit -- deceit
n'avra -- negation; <ne, nen> not + verb; third person singular future <avoir, aveir>
have, be -- will have no
garent -- noun; oblique singular <garant, garent> protection, defense -- protection
Lesson Text
Sire Tiercelin, le Corbiau,

Qui cuide estre avenant et biau,
Tenoit en son bech un fromage. Renart, qui a fait maint dommaige,
Par mi le bois chassant couroit
Com cil qui de grant fain mouroit. Le fromaige li vit tenir;
Bien scet qu'il n'i puet avenir
Se n'est par art et par engin. "Ha," dit Renart, "biau Tiercelin,
Qui estes enparentés,
Dommaiges iert que ne chantés
Aussi bien com fist vostre pere. Se aussi chantissiez, par saint Pere,
Je cuit qu'en tout le bois n'eüst
Oisel qui tant a tous pleüst." Le Corbiau, qui pas n'aperçoit
Que Renart l'engingne et deçoit,
Et qui par son chant plaire cuide,
En chanter met si grant estude
Que son fromage li cheï. Renart ne fu pas esbaï,
Qui son chant mout petit prisa;
Le fromaige tantost pris a,
Si le menja trestout Renart;
Oncques Tiercelin n'i ot part. Mout en fu dolent le Corbiau,
Et de honte li croist son diau. La moralité :
Qui vaine gloire quiert et chace,
Sa perte et sa honte pourchace.
Fausse honneur, ce poués entendre,
Maint grand anuy souvent engendre. Les fols qui quierent vainne gloire
Sieulent assés de honte boire;
Gloire les met hors de leur sen. Plus saige tien dame Hersen
Qui viut sa coloingne filer;
Pour ce ne la doi aviler.
Qui veut estre trop apparent,
De faintise n'avra garent.
Translation
Sir Tiercelin, the Raven,

Who thinks he is attractive and handsome,
Had a cheese in his beak
Renart, who has done much harm,

Ran through the forest hunting
Like someone who would die of great hunger.
He saw him hold the cheese;

He knows well that he cannot get to it
Unless by craft and cheating.
"Ha," says Renart, "dear Tiercelin,

You who are of noble lineage,
It is a pity that you do not sing
As well as did your father.
If you sang as well, by St Peter,

I think that there would be no bird
In the entire forest who would please all that much."
The Raven, who does not notice

That Renart deceives and misleads him,
And who thinks that he will please with his singing,
Puts such great zeal in his singing
That his cheese fell.
Renart was not surprised,

Who appreciated his singing very little;
Renart has taken the cheese immediately,
And ate it completely
Tiercelin never had a portion of it.
The Raven was very sorry about it,

And his grief increases because of shame.
The lesson:
Whoever looks and hunts for vain glory,
Pursues his fall and his disgrace.
False honor, this you can understand,
Often causes very great pain.
The crazy people who pursue vain glory

Are used to drinking much disgrace;
Glory puts them out of their senses.
I consider lady Hersen wiser

Who wants to draw threat from her distaff;
And for that reason I do not have to disgrace her.
Whoever wants to be too visible,
Will have no protection from deceit.
Grammar
36 Passive
While Latin had a fully developed passive paradigm -- an innovation, from an Indo-European
perspective -- Old French had analytic forms to express passive voice, cf.:
e por o fut presentede Maximiien (Eul. 11, Lesson 4)

'and for this reason she was brought before Maximian'

furent desconfit (Conq. 345, Lesson 7)

'they were defeated'
The passive was not a common structure in Old French, as the texts analyzed in this course
illustrate: so far only three passive constructions have been attested.
Generally the agent -- if expressed at all -- is referred to by a prepositional phrase introduced by

de, cf.:
purent petit plaint de la gent (Conq. 345, Lesson 7)

'they were little mourned by the people'
The prepositions par and a are found as well in this function, albeit not very frequently.
37 Re exive or Pronominal Verbs

Old French has many more re exive -- or rather pronominal -- verbs than today's language. That
is because many intransitive verbs took the pronominal form, referring to an action that does
not involve anything or anyone outside the subject itself, cf.:
se craindre 'fear
se demorer 'remain'
se dormir 'to sleep'
se feindre 'feign'
se pasmer 'faint'
se douter 'to be afraid'
se morir 'to die'
se perir 'to perish'
se monter 'ascend'
se partir 'leave'
s'apoier 'learn'
Several of these verbs exist in non-proniminal form as well, cf. for example demorer 'remain',
monter 'ascend, mount', feindre 'behave in a cowardly way', perir 'perish', partir 'leave', morir
'die'.
Not all pronominal verbs of today go back to a re exive form in the Middle Ages:
Li reis est par matin levet (CdR 163)

'the king has gotten up early'
Modern French has the pronominal se lever in this use, cf.:
le roi s'est levé tôt
In compound tenses the auxiliary is estre, although instances with avoir are attested as well,
cf.:
· with auxiliary estre:
sur l'erbe verte s'i est culchet (CdR 2358, Lesson 2)

'there he has lain down on the green grass'
· with auxiliary avoir:
il s'a vestu
'he has put his clothes on'
For practical reasons, pronominal verbs have not all been identi ed in the glosses of this course
as a separate category. The pronominal element has been identi ed as a pronoun, with the
appropriate case indication, or the verb has been given as se + in nitive (e.g. se pasmer).
38 Nominal Forms of the Verb
Old French has several so-called nominal forms of the verb: while these forms are part of a
given verbal paradigm, they express nominal characteristics, such as gender, case, and number,
and assume nominal functions. In Old French, the nominal forms of the verb include the
perfective participle, the present participle, the gerund, and the in nitive.
· the perfective participle is based on the perfective stem, cf. for example:
chanter chantet
fenir fenit
partir parti
corre coru
faire fait
venir venu
metre mis
· the present participle is based on the present stem, cf. for example:
chanter chantant
finir fenissant
partir partant
corre corant
faire fesant / faisant
venir venant
metre met(t)ant
Formally the declension of present participles follows the patterns of class III adjectives, cf.:
Declension of the Present Participle
Masculine Feminine
Nom. Sg. chantanz chantant / chantanz

Obl. Sg. chantant chantant

Nom. Pl. chantant chantanz

Obl. Pl. chantanz chantanz
· gerunds are formally identical to present participles, but in contrast to these forms, gerunds
are invariable.
· in nitives, e.g. chanter 'sing', fenir 'end', partir 'leave', remanoir 'stay', corre 'run'. In nitives
may convey case (see Grammar Point 39) as expressed in the de nite article and the case
ending.
Declension of the In nitive
Nom. Sg. li chanters

Obl. Sg. le chanter
The use of a preposition could lead to article enclisis, e.g. du doner 'of the fact of giving'.
39 Nominal Forms of the Verb: Uses
39.1. The in nitive in Old French may function as a noun assuming the function of subject, direct
object, or complement in a prepositional phrase, cf.:
· subject:
tencier est laide chose (Theb. 3924)

'quarreling is no good'
· object:
doubtant le retourner de son adversaire (CNN 52.118)

'afraid of his ennemy's return'
· complement of preposition:
se seigne a l'entrer el champ (Art. 102.13)

'he crosses himself when he enterd the battle eld'

en chanter met si grant estude (Isop. 1.15; this lesson)

'he puts such great zeal in his singing'
The combining of a preposition + (determiner) + in nitive generally conveys temporal or causal

value, manner, means, for example:
· temporal value:
se seigne a l'entrer el chanp (Art. 102.13)

'he crosses himself when he enters the battle eld'

au redrecier
'at his getting up'
· expressing manner:
par nos passage paier

'by paying our crossing'
In nitive used as a nominal complement, cf.:
tens est del herberger (CdR 2482)

'it is time to encamp'
The nominal characteristics of the in nitive are manifest not only in its combining with a de nite
article, but also in case endings (for forms, see Grammar Point 38), cf.:
(li) parlers 'the fact of talking'
For example:
li corners ne nos avreit mester (CdR 1742)

'blowing the horn would not be of help to us'
Determiners other than de nite articles combine with the in nitive as well, cf.:
jusq'au mien partir

'until my leaving, until my departure'
Direct objects of in nitives may take either the form of an accusative (verbal syntax) or a
genitive (nominal syntax), cf.:
a l'ouvrir la chambre (CNN 279.55)

'at the opening of the room'

li porters dou rainsel

'the fact of carrying the small branch'
The accusative in this context re ects verbal syntax, showing that the in nitive is considered a
fully verbal element. The genitive re ects nominal syntax, showing that the in nitive is
considered a nominal element.
Nominal uses of the in nitive survived until the 16th century; today's language has several
fossilized forms, cf. le dîner, le déjeuner 'lunch', le devoir 'task', and others.
39.2. The forms in -ant in Old French functioned as present participles and as gerunds, but the
distinction between both types of use is not always clear. The form in -ant is commonly
attested in prepositional phrases, expressing adverbial value. The phrase may include a
possessive:
a lor vivant 'in their lifetime'
en son dormant 'during his sleep'
The prepositional phrase may also include a noun conveying an underlying direct object or
subject, cf.:
· subject:
devant midi sonnant (R. Cambr. 8399)

'before noon'

al coc cantant (Brut. 995)
'at cockcrow'
· direct object:
a la porte ouvrant
'at the opening of the door'

eust grant peur de la teste perdant

'he was afraid he would lose his head'
Forms in -ant and in nitives may show overlap in some of the prepositional uses, cf.:
par mes armes portant par noz testes trancher

'by carrying my arms' 'by cutting off our heads'

en mon dormant vi une vision jusqu'au mien partir

'I had a vision during my sleep' 'until my departure'
By contrast, forms in -ant alone combine with a nite form of the verb to indicate progressive
action or to specify the circumstances in which the action conveyed by the main verb is carried
out, cf.:
que Carles diet ... qu'il fut mort cunquerant (CdR 2362-2363)
'that Charles will say that he died a conqueror'

desuz un pin i est alet curant (CdR 2357, Lesson 2)

'he has gone under a tree running'
Forms in -ant in combination with forms of the verb aler or estre speci cally convey action in
progress, cf.:
il est as porz passant (CdR 1767)

'he passes by the ports'
40 Absolute Constructions
Absolute constructions in Old French are residues of a much wider (occurrence and use)
phenomenon in earlier times. An absolute construction is a combination of a noun and a
participle; both elements agree in number, case and gender and are syntactically completley
independent from the other elements in the clause. The noun typically conveys the underlying
subject or the direct object of the participle. Latin absolutes typically had the ablative form and
they conveyed a wide range of meanings, such as temporal, causal, or conditional value. Cf.:
armis acceptis Crassus... (Caes., DBG 3.23)
weapons-Abl. accept-Pf.Part.Abl.pl. Crassus-Nom.
'having accepted the weapons, Crassus... '
These constructions survive in Old French--mostly in the oblique case--but their use is rather
limited. They often include nouns referring to clothes, bodyparts, and general equipment. They
are slightly fossilized and descriptive, cf.:
juntes ses mains est alet a sa fin (CdR 2392)

'his hands joined he went to his death'
Their fossilized nature is especially manifest in xed expressions, such as helmes laciez
'helmets fastened', espee çainte 'sword girded', and others.
Old French Online

Lesson 9
The littérature bourgeoise (see Lesson 8) also incorporated many plays, either comic or
religious. Theater has its roots in early religious ceremonies. From the 10th century, the liturgy of
important Christian holidays (e.g. Christmas) came to include a dramatic representation of the
events that were celebrated. Persons in special costumes would represent characters in the
holy stories. Gradually, these characters began to exchange sentences and communicate with
one another; dialogues became longer, and the sets more sophisticated. In the 12th century,
several scenes came to be combined on one stage. When the texts began to include too many
non-religious aspects, the stage left the con nes of the church and instead was set up outside,
in front of the church. French was used increasingly, actors were no longer recruited among
priests and other religious gures alone, and the topics became more diverse. Yet the topics
within this setting remained religious; they addressed the history of mankind (starting at the
Garden of Eden, Le Jeu d'Adam), focused on saints (Le jeu de St. Nicolas), or related stories
featuring the Virgin Mary (Le miracle de Théophile).
The Virgin Mary played a most important role in the Middle Ages as a person who would
intercede on behalf of sinful Christians, even during their lives. Regretting sin was the primary
condition for salvation.
Some of the stories of these plays became very popular indeed, and are found in other forms of
art as well. The story of Theophile, for example, which had Greek origins, is represented in the
tympan on the north side of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris.

The text chosen for this lesson is taken from Le miracle de Théophile (540-580; 585), written by
Rutebeuf during the second half of the 13th century. Theophile is a priest to whom injustice is
being done by his bishop. He therefore rejects God and instead signs an agreement with the
Devil. The Devil, in exchange for Theophile's soul, ensures that Theophile gets back his
possessions and standing and prestige. Later Theophile regrets his actions and, in despair,
decides to beseech Our Lady to save him.
The fragment selected here presents Theophile petitioning Mary for help. After a rst rejection,
Mary decides to save him and to wrest the agreement from the Devil.
ICI PAROLE NOSTRE DAME A THEOPHILE ET DIST

Qui es tu qui vas par ci ?
ici -- adverb; <ici, issi> here -- here

parole -- verb; third person singular present <parler> speak, talk -- speaks
Nostre Dame -- possessive; rst person plural nominative singular feminine <nostre>
our + noun; nominative singular <dame> lady, dame -- Our Lady
Theophile -- proper name; oblique singular <Theophile> Theophile -- Theophile
dist -- verb; third person singular preterite <dire> say, tell -- she said
qui -- interrogative; nominative singular <qui> who -- who
es -- verb; second person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- are
vas -- verb; second person singular present <aler> go -- goes
THEOPHILES
Ha, Dame ! aiez de moi merci !
C'est li chetis
Theophiles, li entrepris
Que maufé ont loié et pris.
Theophiles -- proper name; nominative singular <Theophile> Theophile -- Theophile

ha -- interjection; <ha> ha, hello -- dear
Dame -- noun; nominative singular <dame> lady, dame -- lady
aiez -- verb; second person plural imperative <avoir, aveir> have, be -- have
de -- preposition; <de> of, from -- on
merci -- noun; oblique singular <merci> grace, mercy, pity -- mercy
c'est -- demonstrative; oblique singular neuter <cil> that + verb; third person singular
present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- it is
chetis -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <chaitif> miserable -- miserable
Theophiles -- proper name; nominative singular <Theophile> Theophile -- Theophile
entrepris -- noun; nominative singular <entrepris> unhappy person -- unhappy one
que -- relative pronoun; object <qui> who -- whom
maufé -- noun; nominative plural <malfé> devil, demon -- devils
ont -- verb; third person plural present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- have
loié -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <lier, loier> bind -- tied
pris -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <prendre> take, take hold of,
seize -- taken hold of
Or vieng proier
A vous, Dame, et merci crier,
Que ne gart l'eure qu'asproier
Me viengne cil
Qui m'as mis a si grant escil.
Tu me tenis ja por ton fil,
Roîne bele !
or -- conjunction; <or> now -- now

vieng -- verb; rst person singular present <venir> come, go -- I come
proier -- verb; in nitive <prier, preier> pray, beg, beseech -- to pray
vous -- personal pronoun; second person plural direct object <vos> you -- you
Dame -- noun; nominative singular <dame> lady, dame -- Lady
merci -- noun; oblique singular <merci> grace, mercy, pity -- mercy
crier -- verb; in nitive <crier> shout -- to beg for
que -- conjunction; <que> that -- so that
gart -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <garder> watch over, guard -- he
will look for
l'eure -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the + noun; oblique singular
<ore, eure> hour, time -- the moment that
qu'asproier -- conjunction; <que> that + verb; in nitive <asproier> torment, prosecute --
to torment
viengne -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <venir> come, go -- he will
come
cil -- demonstrative; nominative singular masculine <cil> that -- he
m'as -- personal pronoun; rst person direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I + verb; third person
singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- has... me
mis -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <metre, mectre, mettre>
put -- put
escil -- noun; oblique singular <essil, eissil, issil> wretchedness, ruin -- misery
tenis -- verb; second person singular preterite <tenir> hold, keep, seize, consider --
considered
ja -- adverb; <ja, jai> now, already, at once -- already
por -- preposition; <por> for -- as
ton -- possessive; second person singular oblique singular masculine <ton> your -- your
fil -- noun; oblique singular <fil> son -- son

roîne -- noun; nominative singular <reine, raine, roine> queen -- queen
bele -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <bel> dear, beloved, handsome -- beloved
NOSTRE DAME PAROLE

Je n'ai cure de ta favele.
Va t'en, is fors de ma chapele.
n'ai cure de -- negation; <ne, nen> not + verb; rst person singular present
<avoir, aveir> have, be + noun; oblique singular <cure> care, anxiety + preposition;
<de> of, from -- do not care about
favele -- noun; oblique singular <favele> story, lie -- story
va t'en -- verb; second person singular imperative <aler> go + personal pronoun; second
person singular direct object <tu> you + pronoun; inanimate <en> of it -- go away
is -- verb; second person singular imperative <issir> go out, come out -- go out
fors -- adverb; <fors> out, outside -- ...
ma -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular feminine <mon> my -- my
chapele -- noun; oblique singular <chapele> chapel -- chapel
THEOPHILE PAROLE
Dame, je n'ose
Flors d'aiglentier et lis et rose
En qui li Filz Dieu se repose,
Que ferai gié ?
Theophile -- proper name; nominative singular <Theophile> Theophile -- Theophile

dame -- noun; nominative singular <dame> lady, dame -- Lady
n'ose -- negation; <ne, nen> not + verb; rst person singular present <oser> dare -- do
not dare
flors d'aiglentier -- noun; nominative singular <flor> ower + preposition; <de> of, from
+ noun; oblique singular <aiglantier> wild rose -- owering wild rose
lis -- noun; nominative singular <lil> lily -- lily
rose -- noun; nominative singular <rose> rose -- rose
qui -- relative pronoun; object <qui> who -- whom
Filz -- noun; nominative singular <fil> son -- son
Dieu -- proper name; oblique singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- of God
se repose -- verb; third person singular present <se reposer> rest -- rests
que -- interrogative; oblique <qui> what -- what
ferai -- verb; rst person singular future <faire> make -- shall do
gié -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I -- I
Malement me sent engagié

Envers le maufé enragié
Ne sai que fere :
Ja mes ne finirai de brere !
Virge, pucele debonere,
Dame honoree,
Bien sera m'ame devoree,
Qu'en enfer fera demoree
Avoec Cahu.
malement -- adverb; <malement> badly -- badly

me -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I -- I
sent -- verb; rst person singular present <sentir> smell, feel -- I feel
engagié -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <engagier> commit --
am commited
envers -- preposition :; <envers> towards -- towards
maufé -- noun; oblique singular <malfé> devil, demon -- devil
enragié -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <enragié> furious -- furious
sai -- verb; rst person singular present <savoir> know -- I do know
que -- interrogative; oblique <qui> what -- what
fere -- verb; in nitive <faire> make -- to do
ja mes ne -- adverb; <ja> ever + adverb; <mais> more, further, rather + negation;
<ne, nen> not -- never
finirai -- verb; rst person singular future <fenir, finir> end, stop -- I will stop
brere -- verb; in nitive <braire> shout, sing -- begging
virge -- noun; nominative singular <virge> virgin -- virgin
pucele -- noun; nominative singular <pucele> girl, servant, maiden -- maiden
debonere -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <debonaire> noble, sweet -- noble
honoree -- adjective; nominative singular feminine <honore> honored -- honored
bien -- adverb; <bien> well, many, much, really -- completely
sera -- verb; third person singular future <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- will be
m'ame -- possessive; rst person singular nominative singular feminine <mon> my +
noun; nominative singular <anme, alme, arme, ame> soul, somebody -- my soul
devoree -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular feminine <devorer> devour --
devoured
qu'en -- conjunction; <que> when + preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- when... in
enfer -- noun; oblique singular <enfern> hell -- hell
fera demoree -- verb; third person singular future <faire> make + noun; oblique singular
<demoree> delay, stay -- staying
avoec -- preposition; <avuec, avec, avoc> with -- with
Cahu -- proper name; oblique singular <Cahu> Cahu -- Cain # According to some Cahu
was a pagan God, reinterpreted as the devil; others think that Cahu refers to Cain
NOSTRE DAME
Theophile, je t'ai seü
Ça en arriere a moi eü.
Saches de voir,
Ta chartre te ferai ravoir
Que tu baillas par nonsavoir.
Ja la vois querre.
Theophile -- proper name; nominative singular <Theophile> Theophile -- Theophile
t'ai -- personal pronoun; second person singular direct object <tu> you + verb; rst person
singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- have... you
seü -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <savoir> know -- known
ça en arriere -- adverb; <ça en arriere> formerly, until now -- in the past when
moi -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- my service
eü -- verb; rst person preterite <avoir, aveir> have, be -- I had
saches -- verb; second person singular subjunctive present <savoir> know -- know
de voir -- preposition; <de> of, from + adjective; oblique singular masculine <voir> true
-- for sure
chartre -- noun; oblique singular <chartre> letter, agreement -- agreement
te -- personal pronoun; second person singular direct object <tu> you -- you
ferai -- verb; rst person singular future <faire> make -- I shall make
ravoir -- verb; in nitive <ravoir> have back -- have back
que -- relative pronoun; object <qui> that -- which
baillas -- verb; second person singular preterite <baillier> own, receive, give -- gave away
nonsavoir -- noun; oblique singular <nonsavoir> ignorance -- ignorance
ja -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I -- I
vois -- verb; rst person singular present <aler> go -- go
querre -- verb; in nitive <quere, querre> look for, want, ask -- look for
ICI VA NOSTRE DAME POR LA CHARTRE THEOPHILE
ici -- adverb; <ici, issi> here -- here

va -- verb; third person singular present <aler> go -- leaves
por -- preposition; <por> for -- to get
Theophile -- proper name; oblique singular <Theophile> Theophile -- of Theophile
Sathan ! Sathan ! es tu en serre ?

S'es or venuz en ceste terre
Por commencier a mon clerc guerre,
Mar le pensas.
Sathan -- proper name; nominative singular <Satan> Satan -- Satan

es -- verb; second person singular present <estre, iestre, aistre> be -- are
serre -- noun; oblique singular <serre> prison -- prison
s'es -- conjunction; <se> if + verb; second person singular present
<estre, iestre, aistre> be -- if you have
venuz -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <venir> come, go --
come
en -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- to
terre -- noun; oblique singular <terre> land, country, earth -- world
por -- preposition; <por> for -- in order to
commencier -- verb; in nitive <comencier> begin, start -- start
mon -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular masculine <mon> my -- my
clerc -- noun; oblique singular <clerc, clerge> clerk -- clerk
guerre -- noun; oblique singular <guerre> war, trouble -- to trouble
mar -- adverb; <mar> wrongly, in vain -- in vain
le -- personal pronoun; third person singular direct object masculine <il> he -- so
pensas -- verb; second person singular preterite <penser> think, pay attention -- you
thought
Rent la chartre que du clerc as,

Quar tu as fet trop vilain cas.
rent -- verb; second person singular imperative <rendre> give, return -- give back
du -- preposition; <de> of, from + de nite article; oblique singular masculine <li> the --
from the
clerc -- noun; oblique singular <clerc, clerge> clerk -- clerk
as -- verb; second person singular present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- you got
quar -- conjunction; <quar, car> for, because -- because
fet -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <faire> make -- done
trop -- adverb; <trop> too much, extremely, excessively -- too much
vilain cas -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <vilain> ugly, bad + noun; oblique
singular <cas> fall, event, affair -- harm
SATHAN PAROLE
Je la vous randre !
J'aim miex assez que l'en me pende ! ...

je -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I -- me
vous -- personal pronoun; second person plural indirect object <vos> you -- to you
randre -- verb; in nitive <rendre> give, return -- give... back
j'aim miex -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I + verb;
rst person singular present <amer> love + comparative adverb; <miels, mels> better,
rather -- I would... prefer
assez -- adverb; <asez, assés> many, much, very well -- very much
l'en -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the + personal pronoun; third
person singular nominative <om, on> one -- they
pende -- verb; third person singular subjunctive present <pendre> hang -- hang
NOSTRE DAME
Et je te foulerai la pance.
te -- personal pronoun; second person singular indirect object <tu> you -- ...
foulerai -- verb; rst person singular future <foler> harm -- trample
la -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the -- your
pance -- noun; oblique singular <pance> stomach, belly -- belly
Lesson Text
ICI PAROLE NOSTRE DAME A THEOPHILE ET DIST

Qui es tu qui vas par ci ? THEOPHILES
Ha, Dame ! aiez de moi merci !
C'est li chetis
Theophiles, li entrepris
Que maufé ont loié et pris. Or vieng proier
A vous, Dame, et merci crier,
Que ne gart l'eure qu'asproier
Me viengne cil
Qui m'as mis a si grant escil.
Tu me tenis ja por ton fil,
Roîne bele ! NOSTRE DAME PAROLE
Je n'ai cure de ta favele.
Va t'en, is fors de ma chapele. THEOPHILE PAROLE
Dame, je n'ose
Flors d'aiglentier et lis et rose
En qui li Filz Dieu se repose,
Que ferai gié ? Malement me sent engagié
Envers le maufé enragié
Ne sai que fere :
Ja mes ne finirai de brere !
Virge, pucele debonere,
Dame honoree,
Bien sera m'ame devoree,
Qu'en enfer fera demoree
Avoec Cahu. NOSTRE DAME
Theophile, je t'ai seü
Ça en arriere a moi eü.
Saches de voir,
Ta chartre te ferai ravoir
Que tu baillas par nonsavoir.
Ja la vois querre. ICI VA NOSTRE DAME POR LA CHARTRE THEOPHILE Sathan !
Sathan ! es tu en serre ?
S'es or venuz en ceste terre
Por commencier a mon clerc guerre,
Mar le pensas. Rent la chartre que du clerc as,
Quar tu as fet trop vilain cas. SATHAN PAROLE

Je la vous randre !
J'aim miex assez que l'en me pende ! ... NOSTRE DAME
Et je te foulerai la pance.
Translation
HERE OUR LADY SPEAKS TO THEOPHILE, AND SHE SAID:

Who are you, who goes through here?
THEOPHILE:
Dear Lady! Have mercy on me!
It is the miserable
Theophile, the unhappy one
Whom devils have tied and taken hold of.
Now I come to pray
To you, Lady, and to beg for mercy,
So that he will not look for the moment that
He will come to torment me, he
Who has put me in such great misery.
You considered me already as your son,
Beloved queen!
OUR LADY SPEAKS:

I do not care about your story.
Go away, go out of my chapel.
THEOPHILE SPEAKS:
Lady, I do not dare.
Flowering wild rose and lily and rose,
In whom the Son of God rests,
What shall I do?
I feel I am badly committed
Towards the furious devil
I do not know what to do :
I will never stop begging!
Virgin, noble maiden,
Honored Lady,
My soul will be devoured completely,
When staying in hell
With Cain.
OUR LADY:
Theophile I have known you
In the past when I had you at my service.
Know for sure,
I will make you have your agreement back
Which you gave away by ignorance.
I go look for it.
HERE OUR LADY LEAVES TO GET THE AGREEMENT OF THEOPHILE

Satan, Satan, are you in prison?
If you have come to this world now
In order to start to trouble my clerk,
You thought so in vain.
Give back the agreement that you got from the clerk
Because you have done too much harm.
SATAN SPEAKS:
Me give it back to you!
I would very much prefer that they hang me! ...
OUR LADY:
And I will trample your belly.
Grammar
41 Inde nite Elements
There are a number of inde nite elements in Old French, nouns, pronominal elements, adjectival
elements.
· Inde nite nouns. Among inde nite nouns, chose (cose) and rien (ren) are the most important
and most common. Chose traces back to Latin causam 'cause, business', whereas rien
originated in Latin rem 'thing, business'. In Old French, both chose and rien mean 'thing,
something, (some) business, person'. The difference between the two elements resides in the
occurrence of rien in negated contexts, meaning 'nothing'; cf.:
ne rien veer 'to see nothing'
It is this negated use that rien preserved into the modern period, cf.:
il ne mange rien 'he does not eat anything'
· Pronominal and adjectival elements. There is a group of quantifying (quant, tant) and
qualifying (tel) elements. As nominal elements, they have declensional paradigms.
Declension of quant, '(how)ever many, (how)ever much'
Masculine Feminine
Nom. Sg. quanz quante

Obl. Sg. quant quante

Nom. Pl. quant quantes

Obl. Pl. quanz quantes
The student will have noticed that the declension of this element follows the patterns of Class I
and Class II adjectives. The group includes tant 'so much, so many' and alquant (auquant)
'certain ones, several', which appear only in the plural.
Declension of tel 'such, such one'
Masculine Feminine
Nom. Sg. tels, teus tel

Obl. Sg. tel tel

Nom. Pl. tel tels, teus

Obl. Pl. tels tels, teus
· Various lexical quali ers. In addition there is a series of inde nites that qualify nouns,
adjectives, verbs or adverbs: molt 'many, much', poi (pou, peu) 'a little, little', tot 'all, entirely'; cf.:
Mult grant eschech en unt si chevaler (CdR 99, Lesson 1)

'his knights had a very large booty'
42 Adverbs
In Lesson 6 adverbs of manner were already discussed. In fact manner adverbs are the most
"regular" among the adverbs in Old French. The other adverbs have a variety of etymological
backgrounds. Some trace back to preposition, others to particles, and so forth.
· Adverbs of time. Time reference in Old French is conveyed by a group of adverbs, cf.:
Present
ore, ores, or 'now'
maintenant 'now'
(h)ui 'today'
encui 'today'
oan 'this year'
endementres 'during'
anuit 'tonight'

Future
main 'tomorrow'
demain 'tomorrow'
a piece 'in a moment'
tantost 'shortly'
tost 'soon'
désormais 'from now on'
encore, encor, uncor 'yet again'
adès 'soon'
todis 'always'

Past
lors 'then'
(h)ier 'yesterday'
l'autrier 'the day before yesterday'
ja, jadis 'in the past'
antan 'last year'
onques 'never'
pieça 'long ago'
Pieça is a fossilized form of the temporal expression piece a:
piece a
segment of time have-3sg. pres.
'there has been some time'
· Adverbs of place. Location in space is referred to with a variety of adverbs, among them:
Here
ici, ci 'here'
ça 'here, hither'

In here
ceanz 'in here'

There
la 'there'
ça 'there'
i 'there, thither'

Place where
ou 'where'

Place from which
dont 'from which, whence'
en 'thence, away'

Inside
leanz 'inside, within'
enz 'inside'
dedenz 'inside, within'

Outside
hors 'outside'
fors 'out, outside'

Above
sus 'up, above'

Under
suz, soz 'under, beneath'

Down
jus 'down'
43 Prepositions
Prepositions in Old French trace back to a variety of elements: prepositions in Latin, adverbs,
participle, and nouns.
· Latin origin. Prepositions going back to Latin prepositions may be either compound forms or
non-compound forms:
a < Lat. ad 'at, in, ...'
sans < Lat. sine + s 'without'
tres < Lat. trans 'through'
de < Lat. de 'from'
contre < Lat. contra 'against'
en < Lat. in 'in'
In spoken Latin many prepositions were combined to form new prepositions, several of which
subsequently surivive in (Old) French; see, for example:
avan < La. ab + ante 'before'
devant < La. de + ab + ante 'in front of'
envers < La. in + versus 'in the direction of'
· Adverbs. Several prepositions trace back to adverbs, such as:
hors 'out of'
dans 'in'
· Nouns. The prepositions chez 'at' and lez 'beside' originally were nouns. Chez traces back to
Latin casa 'hous', whereas lez originates in La. latus 'side'.
· Participles. In the later stages of Old French, participles came to be used as prepositions as
well; mostly present participles, cf.:
Present participles:
suivant 'following'
moyennant 'through'
durant 'during'
pendant 'during'
Perfective participles:
hormis 'with the exception of'
excepté 'with the exception of'
44 Subordinate Conjunction, que

The conjunction que in Old French has a very rich use. It may simply connect a subordinate
clause to the main clause, it may also express intensity ('so that'), intention ('so that'), cause,
reason, or concession ('because', 'although'), and simply 'and'. Examples:
· Connecting element, cf.:
Ço sent Rollant que la mort le tresprent (CdR, 2355, Lesson 2)

'Roland feels that death overcomes him completely'
· Intention, cf.:
Congié ... li requiert ... d'aler tornoier

que l'an ne l'apialt recreant. (Yv. 2563, Lesson 6 )
'he asks permission to ght in tornaments'
'so that they do not call him a coward'

Pur ço l'ad fait que il voelt veirement (CdR 2361, Lesson 2)

'for this reason he has done this that he really wants'
· Cause, reason, concession, cf.:
La dame tantost li otroie,

qu'el ne set qu'il vialt demander (Yv., 2556)
'the lady immediately grants it to him,
'although she does not know what he wants to ask'
45 Facts: Numbers, Distances, Measures, Time

· Numbers. In Old French texts, numbers are either spelled out in full or are rendered by Roman
numbers. When Roman numbers are used, the number is preceded and followed by a dot.
· Numerals. Numerals in Old French are decimal, continuing a long tradition in Indo-European.
During the Middle Ages, vigesimals emerge in various languages in Western Europe, among
them Old French. They are also attested in other Medieval Romance languages as well as
Germanic and Celtic languages. They are used speci cally in combination with elements that
typically are counted: agricultural products, coins, measures, and so forth. From the 16th and
17th centuries vigesimals became less frequent again. Numerals like quatre-vingts in modern
French therefore are residues of a much wider use (see Grammar Point 48 in Lesson 10 for
references).
· Time. As pointed out in Lesson 3, the calendar of the Church determined life in the Middle Ages
to a great extent. The year, for example, is organized around important Christian holidays or
around important days in the liturgy of the Church. These special days are used in reference to
time, cf.:

huit jorz aprés la Saint Johan (Yv., 2574-2576, Lesson 6)

'at the very least within one year
'make sure to come back in time
'eight days after the feast of St. John'
Reference is systematic as is the structure of the Church calendar. Epiphany, for example, is set
on the Twelfth Night following Christmas (i.e. on January 6); Easter is set on the rst Sunday
following the rst full moon after March 21; Lent is set during the forty days preceding Easter;
Pentecost (cf. Gk. pentekostos ' ftieth') is celebrated on the 50th day after Easter and is
preceded ten days before by Ascension.
Hour indication in Medieval texts is quite relative, and follows Roman habits. The 24-hour day
itself is divided into two important parts, the daylight part and the night part, each of twelve
hours. The twelve hours divide each of these segments. Consequently, the length of the
individual hours varies according to season. An hour at night in summer, for example, is much
shorter than an hour at day in summer or an hour at night in winter. In addition, Old French had
several adverbs indicating moments of the day; several of them are related to prayer habits in
monasteries, cf.:
vespres 'early evening', 'sunset', when it gets dark
[early evening prayers]
complie 'evening', around 9 PM
[prayers of thanks for the completed day]
laudes between 3 AM and dawn
[laudative songs at dawn]
matins 'early morning'
rst canonical hour, between midnight and dawn
[ rst prayers in the morninng]
The hours are referred to with ordinal numbers, e.g.:
prime 'sunrise', around 6 AM
terce 'mid morning, around 9 AM
midi 'midday'
none 'nineth hour', 'mid afternoon', around 3 PM
· Distance/length. Distance and length are measured in a way not found in a metrical system:
the measuring unit varies with the type of length and the object, and there is no consistent
correlation between the individual units (as there is between a centiment, a decimeter, a meter, a
kilometer, and so forth). The safest strategy for the student/reader is to check the individual
instances of distance indication that are encountered. A few measures are relatively frequent:
pié 'a foot', a measure used in Antiquity; approx. 30 cm.
pouz 'a thumb', approx. 2.7 cm. (there are twelve pouz in one pié)
lieue 'a Gallic mile', approx. 4-5 km. (roughly three sea miles)

Granz 'XXX' liwes ... (CdR, 1756, Lesson 2)

'a long thirty miles away'
The absolute value of these measures often varies with the region.
· Monetary system. The monetary system, which during the Middle Ages reaches isolated parts
of the countryside as well, has strong local characteristics. While the o cial monetary system
based on pounds (Fr. livres) becomes increasingly important for commercial and tax reasons,
local systems continues to be used as well. The pound includes 20 shillings, each of twelve
pennies, and goes back to Charlemagne's reform of the monetary system.
Old French Online

Lesson 10
Students will have noticed that translations played an important role in medieval French
literature: texts in languages other than French, most commonly Latin, were indeed an important
source of inspiration. In addition, the gradual spread of translations shows the increasing
importance of French as a language of communication -- that is, in registers other than the day-
to-day spoken varieties.

The text selected for this lesson is from Le voyage de St. Brandan, a translation of the Latin
Navigatio. Brendan was a 6th century Irish Benedictine monk who had founded a monastery on
an island and one day set out to sail to the "Promised Land" situated in the West, which he
reaches after seven years. His adventures have been related in the Latin Navigatio, which in all
likelihood is a collection of stories of a sea-faring nation.
The Irish in the (early) Middle Ages were well-known for their marine skills, and they had the
habit of traveling regularly from one island to another. That the Navigatio may have more to it
than just imagination became clear in 1976 and 1977, when an expedition proved that it is
possible to cross the Atlantic Ocean and reach North America while taking a northerly route in
Irish skin boats (see references below). During their journey in the 1970s, the crew regularly
came across phenomena that could be identi ed as the ordeals described in the text of the
Navigatio. If the adventures related in the Navigatio indeed re ect stories of Irish people
travelling to North America, then the Irish discovered that continent long before Columbus, or
even the Vikings.
The Latin text, which also had a Germanic version, was translated into Old French no later than
the second half of the 13th century.
The fragment chosen here relates the beginnings of Brendan's odyssey. Brendan is head of a
monastery at Clonfert when he receives a visit from another monk, St. Barind. St. Barind tells
him that he has been visiting his godson, Mernoc, who had left him to live as an anchorite and
has founded a new monastery on an island. Mernoc invites St. Barind to travel to the "Promised
Land," which is described as rich in owers and fruits and providing plenty of food. Hearing
about these possibilities, Brendan selects a group of monks and decides to seek the "Promised
Land" himself.
Cis Barintes commencha a plourer et se coucha a terre

et demoura longhement en orisons.
cis -- demonstrative; nominative singular masculine <cest, cist> this -- this

Barintes -- proper name; nominative singular <Barintes> Barind -- Barind
commencha -- verb; third person singular preterite <comencier> begin, start -- started
plourer -- verb; in nitive <plorer> cry, shed tears -- cry
se coucha -- verb; third person singular preterite <se coucher> lie down -- lay down
a -- preposition; <a, ad> to, up to, against, in, on -- on
terre -- noun; oblique singular <terre> land, country, earth -- the soil
demoura -- verb; third person singular preterite <demorer> stay, remain -- remained
longhement -- adverb; <longement> long, for a long time -- for a long time
orisons -- noun; oblique singular <orison, oraison> prayer, speech -- prayers
Mais sains Brandains le leva de terre

et le baisa si dist:
Bials pere pour coi auons nous tristeche en te venue
Enne venistes vous a no consolation.
mais -- conjunction; <mais, mes> but -- but

sains Brandains -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <saint> holy + proper name;
nominative singular <Brandain> Brendan -- St. Brendan
leva -- verb; third person singular preterite <lever> lift up -- lifted... up
terre -- noun; oblique singular <terre> land, country, earth -- the ground
baisa -- verb; third person singular preterite <baisier> kiss -- kissed
dist -- verb; third person singular preterite <dire> say, tell -- said
bials -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <bel> dear, beloved, handsome -- dear
pere -- noun; nominative singular <pere> father -- father
pour coi -- preposition; <por> for + interrogative; oblique <qui> what -- why
auons -- verb; rst person plural present <avoir, aveir> have, be -- do... have
nous -- personal pronoun; rst person plural nominative <nos> we -- we
tristeche -- noun; oblique singular <tristece> sadness, horror -- sadness
en -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- at
te -- possessive; second person singular oblique singular feminine <ton> your -- your
venue -- noun; oblique singular <venue> arrival -- arrival
enne -- interrogative adverb; <enne> not -- not
venistes -- verb; second person plural subjunctive imperfective <venir> come, go -- did...
come
vous -- personal pronoun; second person plural nominative <vos> you -- you
no -- possessive; rst person plural oblique singular feminine <nostre> our -- our
consolation -- noun; oblique singular <consolation> consolation -- consolation
Tu nous dois miex esleechier que courechier.

Demoustre nous le parolle diu
e refai nos ames des divers miracles que tu as veus en le mer.

nous -- personal pronoun; rst person plural direct object <nos> we -- us
dois -- verb; second person singular present <devoir> have to -- have to
miex -- comparative adverb; <miels, mels> better, rather -- rather
esleechier -- verb; in nitive <esleecier> rejoice -- make happy
courechier -- verb; in nitive <corocier> anger, a ict -- make sad
demoustre -- verb; second person singular imperative <demostrer> show, indicate,
explaine -- show
nous -- personal pronoun; rst person plural indirect object <nos> we -- us
le -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the -- the
parolle -- noun; oblique singular <parole> word, speech -- word
diu -- proper name; oblique singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- of God
refai -- verb; second person singular imperative <refaire> repair -- repair
nos -- possessive; rst person plural oblique plural feminine <nostre> our -- our
ames -- noun; oblique plural <anme, alme, arme, ame> soul, somebody -- souls
des -- preposition; <de> of, from + de nite article; oblique plural masculine <li> the --
with the
divers -- adjective; oblique plural masculine <divers> various -- various
miracles -- noun; oblique plural <miracle> miracle -- miracles
veus -- verb; perfective participle oblique plural masculine <veoir> see -- seen
en -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- on
le -- de nite article; oblique singular feminine <li> the -- ...
mer -- noun; oblique singular <mer> sea -- sea
Dont commencha a dire sains Barintes a saint Brandain d'une isle et dist:
Mes fils Mernoc pourueeres des poures ihu crist
se departi de devant mi et iestres curieus.
dont -- adverb; <donc> then, therefore -- then

commencha -- verb; third person singular preterite <comencier> begin, start -- started
dire -- verb; in nitive <dire> say, tell -- talk
sains Barintes -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <saint> holy + proper name;
nominative singular <Barintes> Barind -- St. Barind
saint Brandain -- adjective; oblique singular masculine <saint> holy + proper name;
oblique singular <Brandain> Brendan -- St. Brendan
d'une -- preposition; <de> of, from + inde nite article; oblique singular feminine <un> a --
about an
isle -- noun; oblique singular <isle, ille> island -- island
dist -- verb; third person singular preterite <dire> say, tell -- he said
fils -- noun; nominative singular <fil> son -- son
Mernoc -- proper name; nominative singular <Mernoc> Mernoc -- Mernoc
pourueeres -- noun; nominative singular <porveor> purveyor -- purveyor
des -- preposition; <de> of, from + de nite article; oblique plural masculine <li> the -- of
the
poures -- noun; oblique plural <povre> poor -- poor
ihu -- proper name; oblique singular <Iesus> Jesus -- of Jesus
crist -- proper name; oblique singular <Christ> Christ -- Christ
se departi -- verb; third person singular preterite <se departir> leave, go away -- left
de devant mi -- preposition; <de> of, from + preposition; <devant> before, in front of, in
the presence of + personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I --
me
iestres -- noun; oblique singular <estre> life, condition, way of life -- a way of life
curieus -- adjective; nominative singular masculine <curios> careful -- safe
Il trouva une isle dales le mont de piere

qui est apielee par non isle delisieuse.
Apries une grant pieche de tans me fu nonchiet
qu'il auoit pluiseurs moines aueoc lui.

trouva -- verb; third person singular preterite <trover> nd -- found
une -- inde nite article; oblique singular feminine <un> a -- an
dales -- preposition; <dales, dalles, dallĂŠ> next to, along -- next to
mont -- noun; oblique singular <mont> mountain -- mountain
piere -- noun; oblique singular <piere, pierre> stone, prison -- stone
apielee -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular feminine <apeler> accuse,
summon, call -- called
non -- noun; oblique singular <nom, non> name, title -- the name
delisieuse -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <delicios> delicious -- delicious
apries -- preposition; <apres> after, afterwards -- after
grant -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <grant> great, large, tall -- long
pieche -- noun; oblique singular <piece> piece, segment -- period
tans -- noun; oblique singular <tens, tans> time, weather -- time
me -- personal pronoun; rst person singular indirect object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- I
nonchiet -- verb; perfective participle nominative singular masculine <noncier>
announce, tell -- told
auoit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <avoir, aveir> have, be -- had
pluiseurs -- inde nite pronoun; nominative plural masculine <plusor, pluisor> several --
several
moines -- noun; oblique plural <moine, monie> monk -- monks
aueoc -- preposition; <avuec, avec, avoc> with -- with
Et que dex auoit demonstre molt de miracles par lui

En tel maniere alai a lui pour visiter men filluel
et com ie fuisse a trois iours pries de me voie
Il se hasta pour venir encontre mi atout ses freres.

dex -- proper name; nominative singular <Dieu, Deu> God -- God
auoit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <avoir, aveir> have, be -- had
demonstre -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <demostrer> show,
indicate, explaine -- shown
molt -- adverb, adjective; <molt, mult, mout> many, much, very -- many
de -- particle; <de> ... -- ...
miracles -- noun; oblique plural <miracle> miracle -- miracles
maniere -- noun; oblique singular <maniere> way, intention -- way
alai -- verb; rst person singular preterite <aler> go -- I went
pour -- preposition; <por> for -- in order to
visiter -- verb; in nitive <viseter> visit, observe -- visit
men -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular masculine <mon> my -- my
filluel -- noun; oblique singular <filuel> son, godson -- godson
com -- conjunction; <com, comme> when -- when
ie -- personal pronoun; rst person singular nominative <jo, jou, jeu> I -- I
fuisse -- verb; rst person singular subjunctive imperfective <estre, iestre, aistre> be --
was
trois -- numeral; <trois> three -- three
iours -- noun; oblique plural <jorn, jor> day -- days
pries -- adverb; <pres> close -- close to
me -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular feminine <mon> my -- ...
voie -- noun; oblique singular <veie> road -- underway
se hasta -- verb; third person singular preterite <se haster, se hasteier> hasten --
hastened
pour -- preposition; <por> for -- to
venir -- verb; in nitive <venir> come, go -- come

encontre -- preposition; <encontre> to, towards, against -- to meet
mi -- personal pronoun; rst person singular direct object <jo, jou, jeu> I -- me
atout -- preposition; <atot> with -- with
freres -- noun; oblique plural <frere> brother -- brothers
Car nostre sires li avoit reuele men avenement.
car -- conjunction; <quar, car> for, because -- because

nostre -- possessive; rst person plural nominative singular masculine <nostre> our --
Our
sires -- noun; nominative singular <seignor> lord -- Lord
avoit -- verb; third person singular imperfective <avoir, aveir> have, be -- had
reuele -- verb; perfective participle oblique singular masculine <reveler> reveal, make
known -- made known
men -- possessive; rst person singular oblique singular masculine <mon> my -- my
avenement -- noun; oblique singular <avenement> arrival -- arrival
Lesson Text
Cis Barintes commencha a plourer et se coucha a terre

et demoura longhement en orisons. Mais sains Brandains le leva de terre
et le baisa si dist:
Bials pere pour coi auons nous tristeche en te venue
Enne venistes vous a no consolation. Tu nous dois miex esleechier que
courechier.
Demoustre nous le parolle diu
e refai nos ames des divers miracles que tu as veus en le mer. Dont commencha a
dire sains Barintes a saint Brandain d'une isle et dist:
Mes fils Mernoc pourueeres des poures ihu crist
se departi de devant mi et iestres curieus. Il trouva une isle dales le mont de piere
qui est apielee par non isle delisieuse.
Apries une grant pieche de tans me fu nonchiet
qu'il auoit pluiseurs moines aueoc lui. Et que dex auoit demonstre molt de
miracles par lui
En tel maniere alai a lui pour visiter men filluel
et com ie fuisse a trois iours pries de me voie
Il se hasta pour venir encontre mi atout ses freres. Car nostre sires li avoit reuele
men avenement.
Translation
This Barind started to cry and lay down on the soil

And remained for a long time in prayers.
But St. Brendan lifted him up from the ground
And kissed him and said :
Dear father why do we have sadness at your arrival ?
Did you not come to our consolation ?
You have to make us happy rather than make us sad
Show us the word of God
And repair our souls with the various miracles that you have seen on sea.
Then St. Barind started to talk to St. Brendan about an island and he said :
My son Mernoc, purveyor of the poor of Jesus Christ
Left me and a safe way of life.
He found an island next to the mountain of stone
which is called by the name delicious island.
After a long period of time I was told
That he had several monks with him.
And that God had shown many miracles through him
In such way I went to him to visit my godson
And when I was close to three days under way
He hastened in order to meet me with his brothers.
Because Our Lord had made my arrival known to him.
Grammar
46 Grammars and Dictionaries
Anglade, Joseph. 1965. Grammaire élémentaire de l'ancien français. Paris: Colin.
Buridant, Claude. 2000. Grammaire nouvelle de l'ancien français. Paris: Sedes.
Bonnard, J. and Am. Salmon. 1971. Lexique de l'ancien français. Paris: Champion.
Foulet, Lucien. 1930. Petite syntaxe de l'ancien français. Paris: Champion.
Grandsaignes d'Hauterive, R. 1947. Dictionnaire d'ancien français. Paris: Larousse.
Greimas, Algirdas. 1979. Dictionnaire de l'ancien français. Paris: Larousse.
Hindley, Alan, Frederick W. Langley, and Brian J. Levy. 2000. Old French - English Dictionary.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Kibler, William. 1984. An Introduction to Old French. New York: Modern Language Association
of America.
Raynaud de Lage, Guy. 1975. Introduction a l'ancien français. 9e éd. Paris: Sedes.
Roques, Mario. 1970. Recueil général des lexiques français du moyen âge. 12e - 15e siècles.
Paris: Champion.
Tobler, Adolf and Erhard Lommatzsch. 1925-1989. Altfranzösisches Wörterbuch. Berlin:
Weidmann and Wiesbaden: Steiner.
47 Sources
Bastin, Julia, ed. 1929. Recueil général des Isopets. Vol. 1. Paris: Société des anciens textes
français.
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21/11/2018 The Linguistics Research Center

Old French Online

1. Emergence of a New Language

3. Grammatical Characteristics of Old French

cist < ecce + iste 'this'

cil < ecce + ille 'that'

Person: 1st sg. 2nd sg. 3rd sg.

1st pl. 2nd pl. 3rd pl.

Mood: Indicative Subjunctive Imperative Conditional

Voice: Active Passive

Aspect: Imperfective Perfective

Analytic: ai chanté 'I have sung'

Synthetic: chantai 'I sang'

l'ost des Franceis

autrement ne m'amerat il mie

juntes ses mains est alet a sa fin

'his hands joined he went to his death'

li porters dou rainsel

tens est del hebergier

je ne sais quoi faire

'I do not know what to do'

ne sai que face [very common]

ne sai que faire [very rare]

abl. = ablative acc. = accusative adj. = adjective art. = article

comp. = comparative dir. = direct fem. = feminine gen. = genitive

impf. = imperfective indef. = inde nite indir. = indirect inf. = in nitive

masc. = masculine nom. = nominative obj. = object obl. = oblique

part. = participle pers. = person pf. = perfective pl. = plural

pres. = present pret. = preterite sg. = singular subj. = subject

subju. = subjunctive La(t). = Latin OF = Old French

Related Language Courses at UT

Italic Resources Elsewhere

Our Web Links (https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/lrc/extras/links.php) page includes pointers to

Old French Online

Reading and Textual Analysis

Carles li reis, nostre emperere magnes

Carles -- proper name; nominative singular <Charles> Charles, Charlemagne -- Charles

N'i ad castel ki devant lui remaigne;

n'i -- negation; <ne, nen> not + particle; <i> there -- there... no

Li reis Marsilie la tient, ki Deu nen amet,

li -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the -- ...

Li empereres se fait e balz e liez:

li -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the -- the

Mult grant eschech en unt si chevaler

En la citet nen ad remés paien

en -- preposition; <en> in, into, on, on top of -- in

Li empereres est en un grant verger,

li -- de nite article; nominative singular masculine <li> the -- the

La u cist furent, des altres i out bien:

la -- adverb; <la> there -- ...

Sur palies blancs siedent cil cevaler,

Desuz un pin, delez un eglentier,

desuz -- preposition; <desos, desous> under -- under

Blanche ad la barbe e tut flurit le chef,

blanche -- adjective; oblique singular feminine <blanc> white -- white

E li message descendirent a pied,

e -- conjunction; <e, et, ed> and -- and

Carles li reis, nostre emperere magnes

Charles the king, our great emperor,

The emperor is ebullient as well as joyful:

2 Case: Nominal Declensions, Class I and Class II

Nominal Declensions, Class I

Nom. fame 'woman' fames

Obl. fame fames