The Ballad of the White Horse — Page 4

English → Fr BOOK I. THE VISION OF THE KING Level 7/10

For earthquake swallowing earthquake

Car tremblement de terre engloutissant tremblement de terre

Uprent the Wessex tree;

Déracina l'arbre du Wessex ;

The whirlpool of the pagan sway

Le tourbillon de l'emprise païenne

Had swirled his sires as sticks away

Avait emporté ses aïeux comme des brindilles

When a flood smites the sea.

Quand un déluge frappe la mer.

And the great kings of Wessex

Et les grands rois du Wessex

Wearied and sank in gore,

Se lassèrent et sombèrent dans le carnage,

And even their ghosts in that great stress

Et même leurs fantômes dans cette grande détresse

Grew greyer and greyer, less and less,

Devinrent de plus en plus gris, de moins en moins présents,

With the lords that died in Lyonesse

Avec les seigneurs qui moururent en Lyonesse

And the king that comes no more.

Et le roi qui ne revient plus.

And the God of the Golden Dragon

Et le Dieu du Dragon d'Or

Was dumb upon his throne,

Était muet sur son trône,

And the lord of the Golden Dragon

Et le seigneur du Dragon d'Or

Ran in the woods alone.

Courait seul dans les bois.

And if ever he climbed the crest of luck

Et s'il parvenait jamais au sommet de la fortune

And set the flag before,

Et plantait l'étendard en avant,

Returning as a wheel returns,

Revenant comme une roue revient,

Came ruin and the rain that burns,

Venaient la ruine et la pluie qui brûle,

And all began once more.

Et tout recommençait.

And naught was left King Alfred

Et il ne restait au roi Alfred

But shameful tears of rage,

Que de honteux pleurs de rage,

In the island in the river

Dans l'île dans la rivière

In the end of all his age.

À la fin de tout son âge.

In the island in the river

Dans l'île dans la rivière

He was broken to his knee:

Il fut brisé jusqu'au genou :

And he read, writ with an iron pen,

Et il lut, écrit d'une plume de fer,

That God had wearied of Wessex men

Que Dieu s'était lassé des hommes du Wessex

And given their country, field and fen,

Et avait donné leur pays, champs et marais,

To the devils of the sea.

Aux démons de la mer.

And he saw in a little picture,

Et il vit dans une petite image,

Tiny and far away,

Minuscule et lointaine,

His mother sitting in Egbert's hall,

Sa mère assise dans la salle d'Egbert,

And a book she showed him, very small,

Et un livre qu'elle lui montrait, tout petit,

Where a sapphire Mary sat in stall

Où une Marie de saphir siégeait en majesté

With a golden Christ at play.

Avec un Christ d'or en train de jouer.

It was wrought in the monk's slow manner,

Il était façonné dans la manière lente du moine,

From silver and sanguine shell,

D'argent et de coquille de pourpre,

Where the scenes are little and terrible,

Où les scènes sont infimes et terribles,

Keyholes of heaven and hell.

Trous de serrure du paradis et de l'enfer.

Vocabulary

Car: Because; for (conjunction introducing reason)
tremblement: Trembling, shaking, or earthquake
de: Of; from (preposition)
terre: Earth, land, or ground
engloutissant: Swallowing, engulfing, or devouring
Déracina: Uprooted (past tense of déraciner)
arbre: Tree
du: Of the; from the (contraction)
Le: The (masculine singular article)
tourbillon: Whirlwind, whirlpool, or swirling motion
emprise: Enterprise, undertaking, or power held over
païenne: Pagan (feminine adjective)
Avait: Had (past tense of avoir)
emporté: Carried away, swept away (past participle)
ses: His, her, or its (plural possessive adjective)
aïeux: Ancestors or forefathers
comme: Like, as, or just as
brindilles: Twigs or small branches
Quand: When (conjunction)
un: A, an (masculine singular article)
déluge: Deluge, flood, or great downpour
frappe: Strikes, hits, or raps (present tense)
la: The (feminine singular article)
mer: Sea or ocean
Et: And (conjunction)
grands: Great, large, or big (plural adjective)
rois: Kings (plural noun)
Se: Themselves, oneself (reflexive pronoun)
lassèrent: Grew weary, tired (past tense reflexive)
sombèrent: Sank, foundered, or collapsed (past tense)
dans: In, into, or within (preposition)
carnage: Slaughter, massacre, or mass killing
même: Even, same, or very (adverb/adjective)
leurs: Their (plural possessive adjective)
fantômes: Ghosts, phantoms, or specters
cette: This, that (feminine singular demonstrative)
grande: Great, large (feminine singular adjective)
détresse: Distress, anguish, or suffering
Devinrent: Became (past tense of devenir)
plus: More, anymore, or plus (adverb)
gris: Gray or grey (adjective)
moins: Less, fewer, or minus (adverb)
présents: Present, here, or appearing (adjective)
Avec: With (preposition)
seigneurs: Lords or gentlemen (plural noun)
qui: Who, whom, or that (relative pronoun)
moururent: Died (past tense of mourir)
roi: King (singular noun)
ne: Not (negative particle)
revient: Returns, comes back (present tense)
Dieu: God (noun)
Dragon: Dragon (noun)
Or: Gold; or (conjunction/noun)
Était: Was (past tense of être)
muet: Silent, mute, or quiet (adjective)
sur: On, upon, or over (preposition)
trône: Throne (noun)
Courait: Ran, was running (past tense)
seul: Alone, only, or sole (adjective)
bois: Woods, forest, or wood (noun)
il: He, it (masculine singular pronoun)
parvenait: Reached, managed, or succeeded (past tense)
jamais: Never, ever (adverb)
au: To the, at the (contraction)
sommet: Summit, peak, or top
fortune: Fortune, luck, or wealth
plantait: Planted, was planting (past tense)
étendard: Banner, standard, or flag
avant: Before, in front of (preposition)
Revenant: Returning, coming back (present participle)
une: A, an (feminine singular article)

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