Une Sainte en son auréole,
Une Châtelaine en sa tour,
Tout ce que contient la parole
Humaine de grâce et d'amour.

La note d'or que fait entendre
[Un cor dans le lointain des bois]1 des bois,
Mariée à la fierté tendre
Des nobles Dames d'autrefois;

Avec cela le charme insigne
D'un frais sourire triomphant
Éclos [de]2 candeurs de cygne
Et des rougeurs de femme-enfant;

Des aspects nacrés, blancs et roses,
Un doux accord patricien:
Je vois, j'entends toutes ces choses
Dans son nom Carlovingien.

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Fauré: "Le cor dans les lointains"
² Fauré: "dans les"
Note: Verlaine's young fiancee was named Mathilde, a name of Germanic origin. The Germanic dynasty known as the Carolingian included Charlemagne, and is closely associated with a great artistic flowering.
Note provided by Shawn Thuris

Text Authorship:

• by Paul Verlaine (1844 - 1896), no title, appears in La bonne chanson, no. 8, first published 1870 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

• by Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924), "Une Sainte en son auréole", op. 61 no. 1, published 1892-3 [ voice and piano ], from La bonne chanson, no. 1, Paris, Hamelle [sung text checked 1 time]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Una santa en la seva aurèola", copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Shawn Thuris) , "A saint within her halo", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
• ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "A saint enhaloed", copyright © 2000, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Didier Pelat

This text was added to the website: 2003-10-20
Line count: 16
Word count: 86

 A saint within her halo,
 A lady in her tower,
 All that human speech contains
 Of grace and of love.
 
 The golden note by which one hears
 The horn in the depths of the woods,
 Married to the tender pride
 Of the noble ladies of the past;
 
 With this emblematic charm:
 A fresh, triumphant smile,
 Revealed with the candor of a swan
 And the blush of a woman-child,
 
 Of pearly appearance, white and pink;
 A gentle aristocratic harmony.
 I see, I hear all these things
 In your Carolingian name.