King Gilardin/Re Gilardin in Latin - European Folk Ballad | The Skaldic Bard

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Re Gilardin is a traditional Italian ballad – and one of my favourite European folk songs – that I translated to Latin from the Italian regional language Piedmontese, sung with Italianate Latin pronunciation. Arrangement by The Skaldic Bard. The performance is by me, my wife, and as a first, also my dear mother and father - my mother joined us to sing the parts sung by the mother of King Gilardin/the mother-in-law of his wife, and my father narrated the spoken proverbs towards the final part of the song. I think the song reminds us of the importance of family, so I quite wanted to make this a little family project.

The song is quite a heart-wrencher. King Gilardin is wounded while fighting and returns to his mother’s home to die. His mother greets him and attempts to conceal the fact that he is going to die from his wife, who is still in bed recovering having recently given birth to their son. Her mother-in-law tries to give plausible explanations for the singing, music and candles, which are in fact all elements of the king’s funeral. Unwittingly, on her way to church, the wife encounters an altar boy who informs her that her husband is, in fact, no longer alive and was recently buried. At the end, the spirit of her husband comes to her, telling her that she must go on living while he has returned to the earth.

There are similar folk ballads in different European languages that touch upon the same themes, such as Le Roi Renaud. I highly recommend you listen to the original in the beautiful Piedmontese - my favourite is a version by a band called Tendachent which can be found here on YouTube.

Many thanks to my friend Louis for checking my Latin.

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Lyrics:
REX GILARDINUS VADIT AD BELLUM
VADIT AD BELLUM GLADIUM FERENS.

ET CUM IN MEDIA VIA ESSET
REX GILARDINUS VULNERATUS EST.

REX GILARDINUS DOMUM REDIT
DOMI MATRIS MORI VOLEBAT.

O TUN TUN TUN, IANUAM PULSAT
“O MAMMA MEA, MORITURUS SUM.”

“PULSA MOLLITER, FIILI CARE,
QUIA UXOR TUA FILIUM PEPERIT.”

“MEA DOMINA, MEA DOMINA,
QUID TANTUS CANTUS SIBI VULT?”

“O MEA NURUS, O MEA NURUS,
MILITES LAETIFICARE VOLUNT.”

“MEA DOMINA, MEA DOMINA,
DIC MIHI, QUID INDUAM OPORTET?”

“INDUE VESTES VEL RUBRAS VEL ATRAS,
QUAM PULCHRE DECENT VIRGINES FUSCAS.”

CUM PER PORTAM ECCLESIAE INTRARET
ACOLYTHO OCCURRIT IUVENI.
“BONUM DIEM TIBI OPTO, VIDUA.”

“O, NEQUAQUAM VIDUA SUM,
FILIUS MIHI IN CUNIS ET VIR IN BELLO.”

“O, VERE, VERE, VIDUA ES,
ABHINC TRES DIES VIR TUUS SEPULTUS.”

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