chansons, rondeaux, tençons, lays, virelays, triolets, sirventes, dicts, and complaintes. The ballad differed from the chanson only in having its refrain at the end of each verse. The rondeau generally consists of fifteen lines with only two rhymes; the first words of the first line are repeated in the ninth and the last line. The best specimens of this laboured and artificial form are certainly Clément Marot's. Examples of the rondeau will be found in the following pages. The tençons were questions and answers on matters relating to the science of love, and were greatly in vogue at the time of the Cours d'Amour, 'les plaids et gieux sous l' orme.' The triolet was another common form. This pretty little poem consisted of eight verses with two rhymes. The first two verses are repeated at the end to form a sort of refrain, and sometimes in the middle, for example: "Le premier jour du mois de Mai Fut le plus heureux de ma vie." Sirventes were generally gallant or satirical pieces with a kind of invocation: reverdies were little songs of spring time and love: chansons, lais, virelais, were different forms of songs, some with a refrain, and some without. The laws of these were altered from time to time. My aim is to form an introduction to French poetry; to shew by what means, and through what varying standards of taste the language of poetry came down to Boileau. With this object I have abstained from treating on the Langue d'Oil and the earlier versifiers, save in the brief examples given above; and I have considered that the best means of attaining my purpose was to take the poets singly -they have, as a rule, little connection with each otherand discuss their works and their genius. I begin with Jean Froissart, in whom many of the older forms and idioms are dropping out, and who is certainly the first that can be considered as having written in modern French-I include all the poets of the fifteenth century, and one or two of the early part of the sixteenth. And I conclude with Clément Marot, because, 'on retrouve en lui la couleur de Villon, la gentillesse de Froissart, la delicatesse de Charles d'Orleans, le bon sens d'Alain Chartier, et la verve mordante de Jean de Meung." He sums up the middle ages; he heralds the new style; he is the last of the old poets in thought, and the first of the new in language. 66 With regard to the language of the fifteenth century, I do not think it necessary or desirable to enter into any detailed account of its peculiarities. Should I find time. and opportunity, I propose a separate Treatise on the History and Formation of the Langue d'Oil. I hope there will be no difficulty in understanding the extracts which I have given; with a view to facilitate the reading, I have given brief foot notes. Words occur which have been lost, such as het-hilaritas; aie-aide; antan-ante annum; sade, sadinet-agreeable; mie-mica. Words are spelt differently, apuys is appui; poy is peu; karesme is carême. These are always distinguishable. Grammatical forms are sometimes more difficult, thus: lairroy is laisserai; oy is ai; tiengne is tienne; querra is cherchera; tu ne congnois is tu ne connais pas; the pronoun is not indispensable, and is as often as not omitted; si is sic, while se is generally si; o is avec; soubs is sub; sus is super; luy, moy, suys, ung, and such words explain themselves. One very simple rule is that, whenever a circumflex occurs in modern French there will be an s in old French. Thus, 'fête is feste. NOTE I. THE OATH OF Louis de GERMANIQUE. This is curious as shewing the state of the popular language in the ninth century. It is as follows Pro Deo amur et pro christian poplo, et nostro commun salvament dist di in avant, in quant Deus savir et podir me dunat, si salvarai eo cist meon fradre Karlo et in adjudha, et in cadhuna cosa, si cum om per dreit son fradra Salvan dist, in o quid il mi altresi fazet, et ab Ludher nul plaid numquam prindrai, qui, meon vol, cist meon fradre Karle in damno sit. SERMENT DES SEIGNEURS FRANÇAIS, SUJETS DE CHARLES-LE-CHAUVE. Si Lodhuwigs sagrament, que son frade Karlo jurat, conservat, et Karlus meos sendra de suo part non lo stanit, si io returnar non l'int pois, ne io ne neuls, cui eo returnar int pois, in nulla adjudha contra Lodhuwig nun li iner. NOTE II. RONSARD AND THE PLEIAD. This curious movement sprang from the eagerness with which Classical literature was studied. Ronsard, himself an enthusiast in one direction as much as Malherbe subsequently in the opposite, initiated with others as zealous as himself, a sort of Perpetual Adoration of study. Their lamp was never extinguished, the work never stopped; and after years of labour they were prepared, not to improve the language, but to remodel it altogether. It seems ridiculous to us that one man, or one small body of men should propose to themselves this gigantic task, but so it was. The kind of language they tried to introduce is ridiculed by Rabelais. Pantagruel meets a Limousin scholar who informs him how they spend their time in Paris. "We transfretate the Sequane at the dilucul and crepuscul; we deambulate by the compites and quadrives of the urb; we despumate the Latial verbocination, and like verisimilary amorabons, we captat the benevolence of the omnijugal, omniform, and omnigenal feminine sex. And if by fortune there be rarity, or penury of pecune in our marsupies, and that they be exhausted of ferruginean metal, for the shot we demit our codices, and oppignerat our vestiments, whilst we prestolate the coming of the Tabellaries from the Penates and patriotic Lares." To which Pantagruel answers“What devilish language is this? by the Lord, I think thou art some kind of heretic." CHAPTER I. FROISSART-ALAIN CHARTIER-CHRISTINE DE PISAN -EUSTACHE DESCHAMPS. It is impossible of course to name any year, or any short period, when the Langue d' Oil changed into French. As, however, the child grows into the man, so the young language grows into the mature. Further, as children rejoice in tales of feats of arms, of wonders, of travels; as a young man's mind lightly turns to thoughts of love; as wisdom and reflection come with age, so French literature, which begins with those wonderful old contes et fabliaux, where Alexander and Hector are knights; where Aristotle, overcome by love, consents to carry a lady sitting on his back, as if he were an ass; where love has all its grossness, but none of its passion; where the thing to be said is plainly said without the veil of decency and the assistance of the imagination; where fact and fancy are mixed up in that delicious and dreamlike mess, which children love:— goes on to the reign of Love, when poetry becomes a collection of songs and ballads all on one theme; and, tired at last of this, drops down into the quiet maturity of life, when it has acquired knowledge, suffered enough |