Bertran de Born (c.1140-1202), lord of Autofort, was one of the most famous French troubadours of the Twelfth century. His poetry covers a wide variety of topics, including warfare.
Be’m plai lo gais temps de pascor
Well do I love the cheerful spring,
which brings the leaves and flowers;
and I also love to hear the merriment of the birds,
who send their song ringing through the woods;
and I am glad to see tents and pavilions
pitched in the meadows.
Great is my joy when I see knights and armored horses
ranged on the battlefield.
And I like to see the foragers
send the people and the cattle fleeing before them
and it pleases me when I see many soldiers
come running after them;
and it warms my heart to see strong castles besieged,
the palisades smashed and broken down,
and to see the army on the river-bank
protected on all sides by ditches,
and strong, tight-made palisades.
And I am well pleased by a lord
when he is the first to attack,
on horseback, armored, fearless:
thus does he inspire his men
with boldness, and worthy courage.
And when the battle is joined
each man must be ready
to follow him with joy:
for no man is held to be worthy
until he has taken and given many blows.
Maces and swords, colorful helms,
shields riven and cast aside:
these shall we see at the start of the battle,
and also many vassals struck down,
the horses of the dead and wounded running wild.
And when he enters the combat,
let every man of good lineage
think of nothing but splitting heads and hacking arms;
for it is better to die than to live in defeat.
I tell you, I find no such savor
in eating or drinking or sleeping
as when I hear the cries of “attack!”
from both sides, and the noise
of riderless horses in the shadows;
and I hear screams of “Help! Help!”
and I see great and small alike
falling into the grassy ditches
and the dead
with splintered lances, bedecked with pennons
through their sides.
Love wants a chivalrous lover
skilled at arms and generous in serving
who speaks well and gives greatly,
who knows what he should do and say,
in or out of his hall,
as befits his power.
He should be full of hospitality, courtesy, and good cheer.
A lady who lies with such a lover as that
is clean of all her sins.
Al nou doutz termini blanc
In the sweet white time
of early spring, I see the signs
of the fresh season, which delights the senses
the most gentle, most charming,
and best time of the year,
when a man should be at his happiest,
and I enjoy everything the most.
That’s why I’m depressed, for I am standing still…
A sty in his eye and a canker-sore
to the man who now counsels [King Philip of France].
Miserable mourning is never the equal
of noble action;
nor are rest and relaxation
as good as war, trouble and action.
Let [King Philip] know that!
Never have we seen him smash an arm or a side
nor inflict a severe wound on a leg or head!
Nor have we seen him at Rouen or Sées
at the head of his men, or a great army.
He should remember what men say of him:
that he has never broken a lance on a shield.
Without fire and without blood,
waged for a king of no great power
who is scorned and made a liar,
war is then no noble word;
yet he can just lie around and grow fat!
A youth who does not feed on war
soon becomes fat and detestable.
 Occitan text from The Poems of the Troubadour Bertran de Born, ed. W.D. Paden et al. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), 339-343, 357-359. Translation by Clifford J. Rogers.