Dorigen 7 The dance

Then in the evening when the air was cool

And the sun’s last rays fell on the closing flowers,

Before the twilight came and the lamps were lit,

One played a lute, another played a harp

And there upon the lawn they all began to dance.

Dorigen did not stir,

But sat alone where the roses grew,

And thought of her husband far away,

And wished him there to dance with her.

And as she sat she tried,

For the sake of her friends and all that they had done,

To put her sorrow quite aside.

And in the dance, among the other men,

Danced a young squire in front of Dorigen,

And Tristan was his name.

In looks and dress he was brighter far

Than is the month of May itself.

He sang and danced better than any man,

That is or was since the world began.

One of the best-looking men alive he was,

Young, strong, virtuous, rich and wise,

And held in great esteem in all of Brittany.

The women there all smiled on him,

But he would look at none of them.

For unbeknown to Dorigen, this squire

Had loved her for two years and more,

But she had no inkling of his mad desire.