The Perilous Fountain with the Charter of Love

Upon a river which gently
Guided it through the calm wave,
Neither pole nor oar had I
To steer it to a certain place;
Rather, it seemed to me to follow the way
Which was granted to me by God.
The narrator emphasizes his lack of "baston" (pole) or "auiron" (oar), suggesting that his journey is not directed by human will, but by divine providence. In medieval allegory, being adrift in a boat often represents the soul's journey through life or a spiritual transition.

¶ For a long time the ship led me,
Until I approached a rock;
The water guided it softly,
Whereby I easily drew near
To a long branch which I touched,
original: "rain." This refers to a branch or bough of a tree, likely overhanging the water, which the narrator uses to pull himself ashore.
Pulling it firmly toward me,
And then the ship I moored there,
original: "nef." A common term for a large vessel or ship, often used symbolically in 15th-century French poetry.
And leaped out lightly.

¶ When I had walked some hundred paces,
I saw a place then uninhabited,
Which formerly, by subtle design,
Had been nobly laid out;
I believe that the Divinity
Honored this place more than others,
Or at least of great dignity
Was the one who once dwelled there.
The narrator describes a "subtil compas" (subtle compass/design), implying the ruins or landscape he sees were created with great mathematical and artistic skill, typical of a Locus Amoenus—an idealized "pleasant place" in literature.

¶ The place was so delightful,
For the sweet fruits I saw growing there,
That I felt greatly comforted;
Then I looked a little to the right...
original: "destre." In the symbolic language of the Middle Ages, looking to the "right" often signifies turning toward virtue, truth, or the correct path of the narrative.