explanation (razo):

This piece is the eleventh in a series of poems dedicated to my good friend (and patroness) Maitresse Aenor d'Anjou. When I entered into her service (and the service of her lord and husband, Master Efenwealt Wystle), one of our agreements was that I would compose poems in her honor. What is more medieval, I thought (and still think!) then to write love poems to a married noblewoman? As a result, I have been trying to write at least one poem a month for her. I have also attempted to make these poems work as songs by coupling the lyrics with existing tunes (technically called contrafacta). See the Old French index page for the other poems in this series.

“N’ai la foi” is based on a devotional trouvere song by Thiebaut d’Amiens, called “Je ne vueil plus de sohier” (“I do not wish to sing of foulness any longer”). “Je ne vueil” is a five-stanza piece with an ABABCCDDEE rhyme scheme (each stanza composed of 6 heptasyllabic lines, followed by a trisyllabic line, then 3 pentasyllabic lines).

Thiebaut’s song deals with a man’s plea to the virgin Mary, asking for forgiveness and peace from the foul world around him, in which he has dealt so long already (since the foulness of the world really comes from the sin within his own heart). My piece is near the end of my initial cycle for Aenor, so I decided to reflect upon the adulterous journey I have undertaken. Unlike Thiebaut’s narrator, however, mine cannot fully repent his ways: instead of turning to God and Mary for judgment and mercy, the speaker here laments only his inability to achieve his goal, and still asks for the favor of the woman he loves. In addition, my song cycle is not yet complete, so repenting now (before the twelfth and final piece) would be a copout.

Sources:
Einhorn, E. Old French: A Concise Handbook. New York: Cambridge U Press, 1974.
Epstein, Marcia Jenneth. 'Prions en Chantant': Devotional Songs of the Trouveres. Toronto: U of Toronto Press, 1997.