Dugué's Rudel opus: Chapter 1

Having done a bit of digging on Ferdinand Dugué, the illustre inconnu of 19th-century French literature, I took it upon myself to translate a bit of his two-volume novel, Geoffroy Rudel (see my previous post). It's heavy on the florid sighing and, as one might expect from a dramatist, stuffed with monologues. But not without interest.

'Chapter 1: Le premier mai' in parallel French / English text is available as a PDF.

Don't mention it.

Concerning Tripoli (no, the other one...)

There are two cities called Tripoli; the Rudel legend is concerned with the less famous of the two. This Tripoli is now the largest city in northern Lebanon. I recently came across a website with plenty of information on its history and images of its architecture, including some examples from the Crusades era.

The site also has a section on Jaufré Rudel and the treatment of the legend by the Lebanese/French writer Amin Maalouf in his libretto for the opera L'Amour de Loin (mentioned in an earlier post). Included is the complete text of the libretto.

The photograph (from Wikimedia Commons, taken by 'Heretiq') shows a view of the Citadel from the Nahr Abu Ali river.