Noël nouvelet
Par douze vers, voici mon chant fini
Chant de Noël du moyen âge finissant (XVème siècle). Much information can be had at Hymns and Carols of Christmas. Recordings and sheet music are widely available online.
Versions are plentiful on Youtube, mostly in modern settings for choir in which it is very difficult to pick out the words. The following version is rather better than others in this respect (though they only get through the first four verses): Anuna Singing Noël Nouvelet
On the Language
This Middle French text (Middle French covers the 14th through 16th centuries) has the following notable features:
- The pronoun subject is regularly omitted (something that is impossible in modern French).
- In spelling, an y can substitute for an i.
- The verbs are mostly in (what we today call) the passé simple. Verbs of the –ir type may follow the modern pattern of endings for this tense: (je) finis, (tu) finis, (il) finit, or the older: (je) fini, (tu) finis, (il) fini. (See the form ouï in stanza 4.)
On the Content
This dream vision starts out with:
- the image of the tree of Jesse and its flower (Isaiah 11:11)
then passes through:
- the Good News proclaimed by the angels, what the shepherds found in Bethlehem,
- the three Magi and their gifts,
- the Presentation in the Temple (Simeon)
– in other words, the high points of the Christmas season (the twelve days from Christmas, December 25, to Epiphany, January 6) plus the feast occurring one month later, the Purification (February 2nd).
French Lyrics (English Translation Follows)
1 Chan-antons Noël, Noël, chan-an-tons ici,2
Dé-évotes gens, crions à-à Dieu merci !
Chantons Noël pour le Roi nouvelet
Noël nouvelet3, Noël chantons ici.
2 Quand je m’éveillai, et j’eus assez dormi,4
Ouvris les yeux, vis un arbre fleuri,
Dont5 il sortait un bouton vermeillet.6
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
3 Quand je le vis, mon cœur fut resjouy
Car grande clarté resplendissait de luy
Comme le soleil qui luit au matinet.
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
4 D’un oyselet après le chant ouï,7
Qui aux pasteurs disait: “Partez d’ici”
En Bethléem trouvèrent l’agnelet
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
5 En Bethléem, Marie et Joseph vis,
L’âne et le boeuf, l’Enfant couché au lit,
La crèche était au lieu d’un bercelet.
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
6 L’Etoile y vis, qui la nuit éclairait,
Qui d’Orient, dont5 il était sorti,
En Bethléem, les trois rois amenait.
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
7 L’un portait l’or, et l’autre myrrhe aussi
Et l’autre encens, qui faisait bon senti,
De paradis semblait le jardinet,
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
8 Quarante jours, la nourrice attendit,8
Entre les bras de Siméon tendit
Deux tourterelles dedans un paneret.
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
9 Quand Siméon le vit, fit un haut cri,
Voici mon Dieu; mon sauveur Jésus-Christ
Voici celui qui gloire au peuple met.
Noël nouvelet. Noël chantons ici.
10 Un prêtre vint, dont je fus ébahi,
Qui les paroles hautement entendit.9
Puis les mussa dans un petit livret.
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
11 Et puis me dis, Frère crois-tu ceci,
Si tu y crois, au ciel seras ravi,
Si tu n’y crois va d’Enfer au gibet.
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
12 Voici mon Dieu, mon Sauveur Jésus-Christ
Voici celui qui gloire au peuple met.
En trente jours fut Noël accompli.10
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
13 En trente jours, Noël fut accompli,
Par douze vers, voici mon chant fini,
Par chaque jour j’en ai fait le couplet.11
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
French Lyrics With English Translation
1 Chan-antons Noël, Noël chan-an-tons ici, Dé-évotes gens, crions à-à Dieu merci ! Chantons Noël pour le Roi nouvelet Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 1 Let us sing Noel, let us sing Noel here! Pious people, let us cry to God for mercy! Let us sing Noel for the new little King! Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. |
2 Quand je m’éveillai, et j’eus assez dormi, Ouvris les yeux, vis un arbre fleuri, Dont il sortait un bouton vermeillet. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 2 When I woke up, and had slept enough, I opened my eyes and saw a tree in flower From which there emerged a little red bud. Noël, etc. |
3 Quand je le vis, mon cœur fut resjouy Car grande clarté resplendissait de luy Comme le soleil qui luit au matinet. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 3 When I saw it, my heart rejoiced, For a great light shown from it Like the sun that shines in the early morning. Noël, etc. |
4 D’un oyselet après le chant ouï,12 Qui aux pasteurs disait: “Partez d’ici” En Bethléem trouvèrent l’agnelet. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 4 Afterwards I heard the song of a little bird Who was saying to the shepherds: “Go from here.” In Bethlehem they found the little lamb. Noël, etc. |
5 En Bethléem, Marie et Joseph vis, L’âne et le boeuf, l’Enfant couché au lit, La crèche était au lieu d’un bercelet. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 5 In Bethlehem I saw Mary and Joseph, The ox and the ass, the child laid on its bed, The manger was in place of a little crib. Noël, etc. |
6 L’Etoile y vis, qui la nuit éclairait, Qui d’Orient, dont il était sorti, En Bethléem, les trois rois amenait. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 6 The Star I saw, which lit up the sky, That from the Orient, whence it had come, Was leading the three kings to Bethlehem. Noël, etc. |
7 L’un portait l’or, et l’autre myrrhe aussi Et l’autre encens, qui faisait bon senti, De paradis semblait le jardinet, Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 7 One carried gold, and the other myrrh, And the other incense, that smelled so good; Of paradise it seemed the little garden. Noël, etc. |
8 Quarante jours, la nourrice attendit. Entre les bras de Siméon tendit Deux tourterelles dedans un paneret. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 8 Thirty days the nurse waited. Into the arms of Simeon she handed Two turtle-doves in a little basket. Noël, etc. |
9 Quand Siméon le vit, fit un haut cri Voici mon Dieu; mon sauveur Jésus-Christ Voici celui qui gloire au peuple met. Noël nouvelet. Noël chantons ici. | 9 When Simeon saw him, he made a loud cry: “Behold my God, my savior Jesus-Christ. Behold him who places glory on the people.” Noël, etc. |
10 Un prêtre vint, dont je fus ébahi, Qui les paroles hautement entendit. Puis les mussa13 dans un petit livret. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 10 A priest came, by whom I was astonished, Who deeply understood these words. Then he hid them away in a little book. Noël, etc. |
11 Et puis me dit, Frère crois-tu ceci, Si tu y crois, au ciel seras ravi, Si tu n’y crois va d’Enfer au gibet. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 11 And then he said to me: “Brother, do you believe this? If you believe it, you will be rapt up to heaven; If you don’t, go to Hell’s gibbet.” Noël, etc. |
12 Voici mon Dieu, mon Sauveur Jésus-Christ Voici celui qui gloire au peuple met. En trente jours fut Noël accompli. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 12 “Behold my God, my Savior Jesus Christ; Behold him who places glory on the people.” In thirty days was Noël accomplished. Noël, etc. |
13 Et trente jours, Noël fut accompli, Par douze vers, voici mon chant fini, Par chaque jour j’en ai fait le couplet. Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici. | 13 In thirty days was Noël accomplished. In 12 stanzas behold my song finished. For each day I have made one stanza. Noël, etc. |
- The tree of Jesse was interpreted by Christians to refer to the genealogical tree of Christ[↩]
- What I give as the first stanza is in fact used as the refrain after every verse.[↩]
- The word “Noël,” we learn, comes from Latin natalis (dies), meaning “birth(day)”; “nouvelet” is a diminutive of “nouveau”: so the whole means something like “New little nativity.” Why is this Noël new? Because 1) it’s new this year; 2) the earthly Nativity is an image of the eternal (and so ever-new) generation of the Son.[↩]
- A possibly illogical sequence, but such is an allowed figure in traditional rhetoric[↩]
- In modern French, “d’où.”[↩][↩]
- See Isaiah 11:1. The tree was interpreted as representing the ancestors of Jesus; the topmost branch is the Blessed Virgin; the flower is Jesus.[↩]
- The “little bird” is an angel. Perhaps based on pictures in which the angels, with wings, would be high up in the sky and rather small.[↩]
- The “nurse” may be a character that occurs in apocryphal accounts of the Nativity; or it may refer to the Blessed Virgin.[↩]
- Possibly St Luke is meant, who in his Infancy narrative gives an account of the Presentation in the Temple (Lk 2:21-39).[↩]
- December 25 to February 2 is more than thirty days. Perhaps we should take “thirty” as meaning, loosely, “forty”; or perhaps the month is meant between Epiphany and the Purification (at the end of which period Christmas gets really, really finished).[↩]
- Do the twelve stanzas, which cover the “thirty” days of Christmas, then correspond to the “twelve days of Christmas”???? Bizarre…[↩]
- “ouïr” is the old verb for “to hear” (from Latin audire).[↩]
- A purely medieval word, from late Latin *muciare, based on a Gallic word meaning “to hide.”[↩]

Dear MB ….
Can you please do me a huge favour? I do not speak French and I have spent hours trying to find the lyrics to the SECOND and THIRD verse to Delphine Gallay’s “Noel Nouvelet” (in the link below). It does not match any lyrics I can find, according to my ears.
The first verse I can find. But I cannot find the lyrics to the 2nd and 3rd verse anywhere after hours of searching. Can you please help?
I appreciate your time. Thank you,
/Joseph
Dear Joseph, or Dear SilentK, I woud happily take a stab at translating the verses you speak of, which I presume are different from the 2nd and 3rd verses in the version of the song given on this page, but I do not find any link in your comment of October 30, and have not been able to locate lyrics for the song associated with Delphine Gallay. Could you put the verses in a reply to this comment, or send them to me in an email?
Thank you for your wonderful research and publishing the English translation for all the verses!
One of my favorite versions of this song is by Peter Buffett, featuring Kim Robertson singing. It was, in fact, the very first time I heard this song. I don’t think she’s a native/fluent French speaker, and her voice is rather nasally, making it rather difficult to hear/understand what she’s singing. I didn’t know the name of the song at the time and so I had to find someone who spoke French to help me find out what she was singing, whereupon I discovered this beautiful Christmas carol. Still, even after having listened to many different versions, I think this is my favorite. I think it’s mostly the absolutely beautiful piano that gets me, and it’s a bright and cheery rendition whereas most other versions I’ve heard are rather somber. That and it combines another song I love – Pat-A-Pan.
https://youtu.be/SPTUuZMtKEY
In regards to Delphine Gallay’s version of “Noel Nouvelet,” I presume this is the song:
Thanks for your comments and links. The Buffet-Robertson version does indeed have a very effective accompaniment.
Having listened to Delphine Gallay’s version a few more times it seems as though she isn’t singing any new verses or version. I think what’s throwing Joseph off (and threw me off originally too) is: 1) she’s singing the 5th verse in place of the second, and the 3rd verse is indeed the 3rd verse; 2) She makes a few minor changes in both of these verses so that they are slightly different; 3) we don’t speak French, and so the problems with #1 and #2 exacerbate the issue making us think she is singing something different; and 4) the fact that the song and words are being echoed or sung in a round makes it difficult to focus on what is being sung.
I don’t speak French, but this is what I’m hearing her sing for the second and third verses (changes she makes and what I’m hearing (phonetically) I’ll put in [brackets]):
2. [Deva?] Bethléem, [vis Joseph et Marie],
L’âne et le boeuf, l’Enfant couché [Paris?],
La crèche était au lieu d’un bercelet.
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
3. [Loska?] je le vis, mon cœur fut resjouy
Car [Cur?] grande clarté resplendissait de luy
[Tur?] le soleil qui luit au matinet.
Noël nouvelet, Noël chantons ici.
I’ve listened to the recording. Stanza 2 of the recording does more or less = stanza 5 of the longer version, but with retouched first line. The whole line might be “Devers Bethléhem vis Joseph et Marie.” (Devers means more or less the same as vers, i.e., “towards.”). Line two I think is as in the longer version, that is, “L’âne et le bœuf, l’Enfant couché au lit,” except that there is a t-sound (adventitious?) between “couché” et “au.” Translation: “In the direction of Bethlehem, I saw J and M, the ass and the ox, the child put to bed.” Stanza 3 is identical, except for: “Lorsque” instead of “Quand” in the first line (same meaning) and “en” instead of “de” in the second line. Voilà.