Chapter XIII: Part 13

This kind of composition has found more favor in the nineteenth century. First among the writers of this age is Manzoni, whose "Betrothed" is a model of romantic literature. The variety, originality, and truthfulness of the characters, the perfect knowledge of the human heart it displays, the simplicity and vivacity of its style, form the principal merits of this work. The "Marco Visconti" of Grossi is distinguished for its pathos and for the purity and elegance of its style.

The "Ettore Fieramosca" of Massimo d'Azeglio is distinguished from the works already spoken of by its martial and national spirit. His "Nicolò de Lapi," though full of beauties, partakes in some degree of the faults common to the French school. After these, the "Margherita Pusterla" of Cantil, the "Luisa Strozzi" of Rosini, the "Lamberto Malatesta" of Rovani, the "Angiola Maria" of Carcano, are the best historical romances of Italian literature. Both in an artistic and moral point of view, they far excel those of Guerrazzi, which represent the French school of George Sand in Italy, and whose "Battle of Benevento," "Isabella Orsini," "Siege of Florence," and "Beatrice Cenci," while they are written in pure language and abound in minor beauties, are exaggerated in their characters, bombastic and declamatory in style, and overloaded in description.

The "Last Letters of Jacopo Ortis," by Foscolo, belongs to that kind of romance which is called sentimental. Overcome by the calamities of his country, with his soul full of fiery passion and sad disappointment, Foscolo wrote this romance, the protest of his heart against evils which he could not heal.

8. HISTORY.--Among the most prominent of the numerous historians of this period, a few only can be named. Muratori (1672-1750), for his vast erudition and profound criticism, has no rivals. He made the most accurate and extensive researches and discoveries relating to the history of Italy from the fifth to the sixteenth century, which he published in twenty- seven folio volumes; the most valuable collection of historical documents which ever appeared in Italy. He wrote, also, a work on "Italian Antiquities," illustrating the history of the Middle Ages through ancient monuments, and the "Annals of Italy," a history of the country from the beginning of the Christian era to his own age. Though its style is somewhat defective, the richness and abundance of its erudition, its clearness, and arrangement, impart to this work great value and interest.

Maffei, already spoken of as the first reformer of Italian tragedy, surpassed Muratori in the purity of his style, and was only second to him in the extent and variety of his erudition. He wrote several works on the antiquities and monuments of Italy.

Bianchini (1662-1729), a celebrated architect and scholar, wrote a "Universal History," which, though not complete, is characterized as a work of great genius. It is founded exclusively on the interpretations of ancient monuments in marble and metal.

Vico (1670-1744), the founder of the philosophy of history, embraced with his comprehensive mind the history of all nations, and from the darkness of centuries he created the science of humanity, which he called "Scienza Nuova." Vico does not propose to illustrate any special historical epoch, but follows the general movement of mankind in the most remote and obscure times, and establishes the rules which must guide us in interpreting ancient historians. By gathering from different epochs, remote from each other, the songs, symbols, monuments, laws, etymologies, and religious and philosophical doctrines,--in a word, the infinite elements which form the life of mankind,--he establishes the unity of human history. The "Scienza Nuova" is one of the great monuments of human genius, and it has inspired many works on the philosophy of history, especially among the Germans, such as those of Hegel, Niebuhr, and others.

Giannone (1676-1748) is the author of a "Civil History of the Kingdom of Naples," a work full of juridical science as well as of historical interest. Having attacked with much violence the encroachments of the Church of Rome on the rights of the state, he became the victim of a persecution which ended in his death in the fortress of Turin. Giannone, in his history, gave the first example in modern times of that intrepidity and courage which belong to the true historian.

Botta (1766-1837) is among the first historians of the present age. He was a physician and a scholar, and devoted to the freedom of his country. He filled important political offices in Piedmont, under the administration of the French government. In 1809 he published, in Paris, his "History of the American Revolution," a work held in high estimation both in this country and in Italy. In the political changes which followed the fall of Napoleon, Botta suffered many pecuniary trials, and was even obliged to sell, by weight, to a druggist, the entire edition of his history, in order to pay for medicines for his sick wife. Meanwhile, he wrote a history of Italy, from 1789 to 1814, which was received with great enthusiasm through Italy, and for which the Academy della Crusca, in 1830, granted to him a pecuniary reward. This was followed by the "History of Italy," in continuation of Guicciardini, from the fall of the Florentine Republic to 1789, a gigantic work, with which he closed his historical career. The histories of Botta are distinguished by clearness of narrative, vividness and beauty of description, by the prominence he gives to the moral aspect of events and characters, and by purity, richness, and variety of style.

Colletta (1775-1831) was born in Naples; under the government of Murat he rose to the rank of general, and fell with his patron. His "History of the Kingdom of Naples," from 1734 to 1825, is modeled after the annals of Tacitus. The style is simple, clear, and concise, the subject is treated without digressions or episodes; it is conceived in a partial spirit, and is a eulogium of the administration of Joachim; but no writer can rival Colletta in his descriptions of strategic movements, of sieges and battles.

Balbo (1789-1853) was born in Turin; during the administration of Napoleon he filled many important political offices, and afterwards entered upon a military career. Devoted to the freedom of his country, he strove to promote the progress of Italian independence. In 1847 he published the "Hopes of Italy," the first political work that had appeared in the peninsula since the restoration of 1814; it was the spark which kindled the movements of 1848. In the events of that and of the succeeding year, he ranked among the most prominent leaders of the national party. His historical works are a "Life of Dante," considered the best on the subject; "Historical Contemplations," in which he developed the history of mankind from a philosophical point of view; and "The Compendium of the History of Italy," which embraces in a synthetic form all the history of the country from the earliest times to 1814. His style is pure, clear, and sometimes eloquent, though often concise and abrupt.

Cantù, a living historian, has written a universal history, in which he attempts the philosophical style. Though vivid in his narratives, descriptions, and details, he is often incorrect in Ms statements, and rash in his judgments; his work, though professing liberal views, is essentially conservative in its tendency. The same faults may be discovered in his more recent "History of the Italians."

Tiraboschi (1731-1794) is the great historian of Italian literature; his work is biographical and critical, and is the most extensive literary history of Italy. His style is simple and elegant, and his criticism profound; but he gives greater prominence to the biographies of writers than to the consideration of their works. This history was continued by Corniani (1742-1813), and afterwards by Ugoni (1784-1855).

9. AESTHETICS, CRITICISM, PHILOLOGY, AND PHILOSOPHY.--Italian literature is comparatively deficient in aesthetics, the science of the beautiful. The treatise of Gioberti on the "Beautiful," the last work which has appeared on this subject, is distinguished for its profound doctrines and brilliant style. Philology and criticism first began to flourish at the close of the seventeenth century, and are well represented at the present time. The revival of letters was greatly promoted by the criticism of Gravina (1664-1718), one of the most celebrated jurisconsults and scholars of his age, who, through his work, "The Poetical Reason," greatly contributed to the reform of taste. Zeno, Maffei, and Muratori also distinguished themselves in the art of criticism, and by their works aided in overthrowing the school of Marini. At a later date, Gaspar Gozzi, through his "Observer," a periodical publication modeled after the "Spectator" of Addison, undertook to correct the literary taste of the country; for its invention, pungent wit, and satire, and the purity and correctness of its style, it is considered one of the best compositions of this kind. Baretti (1716-1789) propagated in England the taste for Italian literature, and at the same time published his "Literary Scourge," a criticism of the ancient and modern writers of Italy. His style, though always pure, is often caustic. He wrote several books in the English language, one of which is in defense of Shakspeare against Voltaire. Cesarotti (1730-1808), though eminent as a critic, introduced into the Italian language some innovations, which contributed to its corruption; while the nice judgment, good taste, and pure style of Parini place him at the head of this department. In the latter part of this period we find, in the criticisms of Monti, vigorous logic and a splendid and attractive style. Foscolo is distinguished for his acumen and pungent wit. The works of Perticari (1779-1822) are written with extreme polish, erudition, judgment, and dignity. In Leopardi, philosophical acumen equals the elegance of his style. Giordani (d. 1848), as a critic and an epigraphist, deserves notice for his fine judgment and pure taste, as do Tommaseo and Cattaneo, who are both epigrammatic, witty, and pungent.

The golden age of philology dates from the time of Lorenzo de' Medici to the seventeenth century. It then declined until the eighteenth, but revived in the works of Maffei, Muratori, Zeno, and others. In the same century this study was greatly promoted by Foscolo, Monti, and Cesari (1760-1828), who, among other philological works, published a new edition of the Dictionary della Crusca, revised and augmented. Of the modern writers on philology, Gherardini, Tommaseo, and Ascoli are the most prominent.

The revival of philosophy in Italy dates from the age of Galileo, when the authority of the Peripatetics was overthrown, and a new method introduced into scientific researches. From that time to the present, this science has been represented by opposite schools, the one characterized by sensualism and the other by rationalism. The experimental method of Galileo paved the way to the first, which holds that experience is the only source of knowledge, a doctrine which gained ground in the seventeenth century, became universally accepted in the eighteenth, through the influence of Locke and Condillac, and continued to prevail during the first part of the nineteenth. Gioja (1767-1829), and Romagnosi (1761-1835) are the greatest representatives of this system, in the last part of this period. But while the former developed sensualism in philosophy and economy, the latter applied it to political science and jurisprudence. The numerous Works of Gioja are distinguished for their practical value and clearness of style, though they lack eloquence and purity; those of Romagnosi are more abstract, and couched in obscure arid often incorrect language, but they are monuments of vast erudition, acute and profound judgment, and powerful dialectics.

Galluppi (1773-1846), though unable to extricate himself entirely from the sensualistic school, attempted the reform of philosophy, which resulted in a movement in Italy similar to that produced by Reid and Dugald Stewart in Scotland.

While sensualism was gaining ground in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, rationalism, having its roots in the Platonic system which had prevailed in the fifteenth and sixteenth, was remodeled under the influence of Descartes, Leibnitz, and Wolf, and opposed to the invading tendencies of its antagonist. From causes to be found in the spirit of the age and the political condition of the country, this system was unable to take the place to which it was entitled, though it succeeded in purifying sensualism from its more dangerous consequences, and infusing into it some of its own elements. But the overthrow of that system was completed only by the works of Rosmini and Gioberti. Rosmini (1795-1855) gave a new impulse to metaphysical researches, and created a new era in the history of Italian philosophy. His numerous works embrace all philosophical knowledge in its unity and universality, founded on a new basis, and developed with deep, broad, and original views. His philosophy, both inductive and deductive, rests on experimental method, reaches the highest problems of ideology and ontology, and infuses new life into all departments of science. This philosophical progress was greatly aided by Gioberti (1801-1851), whose life, however, was more particularly devoted to political pursuits. His work on "The Regeneration of Italy" contains his latest and soundest views on Italian nationality. Another distinguished philosophical and political writer is Mamiani, whose work on "The Rights of Nations" deserves the attention of all students of history and political science. As a statesman, he belongs to the National party, of which Count Cavour (1810-1861), himself an eminent writer on political economy, was the great representative, and to whose commanding influence is to be attributed the rapid progress which the Italian nation was making towards unity and independence at the time of his death.

FROM 1860 TO 1885.

During the last twenty-five years the rapid progress of political events in Italy seems to have absorbed the energies of the people, who have made little advance in literature. For the first time since the fall of the Roman empire the country has become a united kingdom, and in the national adjustment to the new conditions, and in the material and industrial development which has followed, the new literature has not yet, to any great extent, found voice. Yet this period of national formation and consolidation, however, has not been without its poets, among whom a few may be here named. Aleardo Aleardi (d. 1882) is one of the finest poetical geniuses that Italy has produced within the last century, but his writings show the ill effects of a poet sacrificing his art to a political cause, and when the patriot has ceased to declaim the poet ceases to sing. Prati (1815-1884), on the other hand, in his writings exemplifies the evil of a poet refusing to take part in the grand movement of his nation. He severs himself from all present interests and finds his subjects in sources which have no interest for his contemporaries. He has great metrical facility and his lyrics are highly praised. Carducci, like Aleardi, is a poet who has written on political subjects; he belongs to the class of closet democrats. His poems display a remarkable talent for the picturesque, forcible, and epigrammatic. The poems of Zanella are nearly all on scientific subjects connected with human feeling, and entitle him to a distinguished place among the refined poets of his country. A poet of greater promise than those already spoken of is Arnaboldi, who has the endowment requisite to become the first Italian poet of a new school, but who endangers his position by devoting his verse to utilitarian purposes.

The tendency of the younger poets is to realism and to representing its most materialistic features as beautiful. Against this current of the new poetry Alessandro Rizzi, Guerzoni, and others have uttered a strong protest in poetry and prose.

Among historians, Capponi is the author of a history of Florence; Zini has continued Farina's history of Italy; Bartoli, Settembrini, and De Sanctis have written histories of Italian literature; Villari is the author of able works on the life of Machiavelli and of Savonarola, and Berti has written the life of Giordano Bruno. In criticism philosophic, historical, and literary, Fiorentino, De Sanctis, Massarani, and Trezza are distinguished. Barili, Farina, Bersezio, and Giovagnoli are writers of fiction, and Cossa, Ferrari, and Giacosa are the authors of many dramatic works. The charming books of travel by De Amicis are extensively translated and very popular.

FRENCH LITERATURE.

INTRODUCTION.--1. French Literature and its Divisions.--2. The Language.

PERIOD FIRST.--1. The Troubadours.--2. The Trouvères French Literature in the Fifteenth Century.--4. The Mysteries and Moralities: Charles of Orleans, Villon, Ville-Hardouin, Joinville, Froissart, Philippe de Commines.

PERIOD SECOND.--1. The Renaissance and the Reformation: Marguerite de Valois, Marot, Rabelais, Calvin, Montaigne, Charron and others.--2. Light Literature: Ronsard Jodelle, Hardy, Malherbe, Scarron, Madame de Rambouillet, and others.--3. The French Academy.--4. The Drama: Corneille.--5. Philosophy: Descartes, Pascal; Port Royal.--6. The Rise of the Golden Age of French Literature: Louis XIV.--7. Tragedy: Racine.--8. Comedy: Molière.--9. Fables, Satires, Mock-Heroic, and other Poetry: La Fontaine, Boileau.--10. Eloquence of the Pulpit and of the Bar: Bourdaloue, Bossuet, Massillon, Fléchier, Le Maître, D'Aguesseau, and others.--11. Moral Philosophy: Rochefoucault La Bruyère, Nicole.--12. History and Memoirs: Mézeray, Fleury, Rollin, Brantôme the Duke of Sully, Cardinal de Retz.--13. Romance and Letter Writing: Fénelon, Madame de Sévigné.

PERIOD THIRD.--1. The Dawn of Skepticism: Bayle, J. B. Rousseau, Fontenelle, Lamotte.--2. Progress of Skepticism: Montesquieu, Voltaire. --3. French Literature during the Revolution: D'Holbach, D'Alembert, Diderot, J. J. Rousseau, Buffon, Beaumarchais, St. Pierre, and others.--4. French Literature under the Empire: Madame de Staël, Châteaubriand, Royer- Collard, Ronald, De Maistre.--5. French Literature from the Age of the Restoration to the Present Time. History: Thierry, Sismondi, Thiers, Mignet, Martin, Michelet, and others. Poetry and the Drama; Rise of the Romantic School: Béranger, Lamartine, Victor Hugo, and others; Les Parnassiens. Fiction: Hugo, Gautier, Dumas, Mérimée, Balzac, Sand, Sandeau and others. Criticism: Sainte-Beuve, Taine, and others. Miscellaneous.

INTRODUCTION.

1. FRENCH LITERATURE AND ITS DIVISIONS.--Towards the middle of the fifth century the Franks commenced their invasions of Gaul, which ended in the conquest of the country, and the establishment of the French monarchy under Clovis. The period from Clovis to Charlemagne (487-768) is the most obscure of the Dark Ages. The principal writers, whose names have been preserved, are St. Rémy, the archbishop of Rheims (d. 535), distinguished for his eloquence, and Gregory of Tours (d. 595), whose contemporary history is valuable for the good faith in which it is written, in spite of the ignorance and credulity which it displays. The genius of Charlemagne (r. 768-814) gave a new impulse to learning. By his liberality he attracted the most distinguished scholars to his court, among others Alcuin, from England, whom he chose for his instructor; he established schools of theology and science, and appointed the most learned professors to preside over them. But in the century succeeding his death the country relapsed into barbarism.

In the south of France, Provence early became an independent kingdom, and consolidating its language, laws, and manners, at the close of the eleventh century it gave birth to the literature of the Troubadours; while in the north, the language and literature of the Trouvères, which were the germs of the national literature of France, were not developed until a century later.

In the schools established by Charlemagne for the education of the clergy, the scholastic philosophy originated, which prevailed throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. The most distinguished schoolmen or scholastics in France during this period are Roscellinus (fl. 1092), the originator of the controversy between the Nominalists and Realists, which occupied so prominent a place in the philosophy of the time; Abelard (1079-1142), equally celebrated for his learning, and for his unfortunate love for Héloïse; St. Bernard (1091-1153), one of the most influential ecclesiastics of the Middle Ages; and Thomas Aquinas (1227-1274) and Bonaventure (1221-1274), Italians who taught theology and philosophy at Paris, and who powerfully influenced the intellect of the age.

Beginning with the Middle Ages, the literary history of France may be divided into three periods. The first period extends from 1000 to 1500, and includes the literature of the Troubadours, the Trouvères, and of the fifteenth century.

The second period extends from 1500 to 1700, and includes the revival of the study of classical literature, or the Renaissance, and the golden age of French literature under Louis XIV.

The third period, extending from 1700 to 1885, comprises the age of skepticism introduced into French literature by Voltaire, the Encyclopaedists and others, the Revolutionary era, the literature of the Empire and of the Restoration, of the Second Empire, and of the present time.

2. THE LANGUAGE.--After the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar, Latin became the predominant language of the country; but on the overthrow of the Western Empire it was corrupted by the intermixture of elements derived from the northern invaders of the country, and from the general ignorance and barbarism of the times. At length a distinction was drawn between the language of the Gauls who called themselves Romans, and that of the Latin writers; and the _Romance_ language arose from the former, while the Latin was perpetuated by the latter. At the commencement of the second race of monarchs, German was the language of Charlemagne and his court, Latin was the written language, and the Romance, still in a state of barbarism, was the dialect of the people. The subjects of Charlemagne were composed of two different races, the Germans, inhabiting along and beyond the Rhine, and the Wallons, who called themselves Romans. The name of _Welsch_ or _Wallons_, given them by the Germans, was the same as _Galli_, which they had received from the Latins, and as _Keltai_ or Celts, which they themselves acknowledged. The language which they spoke was called after them the _Romance-Wallon_, or rustic Romance, which was at first very much the same throughout France, except that as it extended southward the Latin prevailed, and in the north the German was more perceptible. These differences increased, and the languages rapidly grew more dissimilar. The people of the south called themselves _Romans- provençaux_, while the northern tribes added to the name of Romans, which they had assumed, that of _Wallons_, which they had received from the neighboring people. The Provençal was called the _Langue d'oc_, and the Wallon the _Langue d'oui_, from the affirmative word in each language, as the Italian was then called the _Langue de sí_, and the German the _Langue de ya_.

The invasion of the Normans, in the tenth century, supplied new elements to the Romance Wallon. They adopted it as their language, and stamped upon it the impress of their own genius. It thus became Norman-French. In 1066, William the Conqueror introduced it into England, and enforced its use among his new subjects by rigorous laws; thus the popular French became there the language of the court and of the educated classes, while it was still the vulgar dialect in France.

From the beginning of the twelfth century, the two dialects were known as the _Provençal_ and the _French_. The former, though much changed, is still the dialect of the common people in Provence, Languedoc, Catalonia, Valencia, Majorca, and Minorca. In the thirteenth century, the northern French dialect gained the ascendency, chiefly in consequence of Paris becoming the centre of refinement and literature for all France. The _Langue d'oui_ was, from its origin, deficient in that rhythm which exists in the Italian and Spanish languages. It was formed rather by an abbreviation than by a harmonious transformation of the Latin, and the metrical character of the language was gradually lost. The French became thus more accustomed to rhetorical measure than to poetical forms, and the language led them rather to eloquence than poetry. Francis I. established a professorship of the French language at Paris, and banished Latin from the public documents and courts of justice. The Academy, established by Cardinal Richelieu (1635), put an end to the arbitrary power of usage, and fixed the standard of pure French, though at the same time it restricted the power of genius over the language. Nothing was approved by the Academy unless it was received at court, and nothing was tolerated by the public that had not been sanctioned by the Academy. The language now acquired the most admirable precision, and thus recommended itself not only as the language of science and diplomacy, but of society, capable of conveying the most discriminating observations on character and manners, and the most delicate expressions of civility which involve no obligation. Hence its adoption as the court language in so many European countries. Among the dictionaries of the French language, that of the Academy holds the first rank.

PERIOD FIRST.

PROVENÇAL AND FRENCH LITERATURES IN THE MIDDLE AGES (1000-1500).

1. THE TROUBADOURS.--When, in the tenth century, the nations of the south of Europe attempted to give consistency to the rude dialects which had been produced by the mixture of the Latin with the northern tongues, the Provencal, or _Langue d'oc_, was the first to come to perfection. The study of this language became the favorite recreation of the higher classes during the tenth and eleventh centuries, and poetry the elegant occupation of those whose time was not spent in the ruder pastimes of the field. Thousands of poets, who were called troubadours (from _trobar_, to find or invent), flourished in this new language almost contemporaneously, and spread their reputation from the extremity of Spain to that of Italy. All at once, however, this ephemeral reputation vanished. The voice of the troubadours was silent, the Provençal was abandoned and sank into a mere dialect, and after a brilliant existence of three centuries (950-1250), its productions were ranked among those of the dead languages. The high reputation of the Provençal poets, and the rapid decline of their language, are two phenomena equally striking in the history of human culture. This literature, which gave models to other nations, yet among its crowds of agreeable poems did not produce a single masterpiece destined to immortality, was entirely the offspring of the age, and not of individuals. It reveals to us the sentiments and imagination of modern nations in their infancy; it exhibits what was common to all and pervaded all, and not what genius superior to the age enabled a single individual to accomplish.

Southern France, having been the inheritance of several of the successors of Charlemagne, was elevated to the rank of an independent kingdom in 879, by Bozon, and under his sovereignty, and that of his successors for 213 years, it enjoyed a paternal government. The accession of the Count of Barcelona to the crown, in 1092, introduced into Provence the spirit both of liberty and chivalry, and a taste for elegance and the arts, with all the sciences of the Arabians. The union of these noble sentiments added brilliancy to that poetical spirit which shone out at once over Provence and all the south of Europe, like an electric flash in the midst of profound darkness, illuminating all things with the splendor of its flame.

At the same time with Provençal poetry, chivalry had its rise; it was, in a manner, the soul of the new literature, and gave to it a character different from anything in antiquity. Love, in this age, while it was not more tender and passionate than among the Greeks and Romans, was more respectful, and women were regarded with something of that religious veneration which the Germans evinced towards their prophetesses. To this was added that passionate ardor of feeling peculiar to the people of the South, the expression of which was borrowed from the Arabians. But although among individuals love preserved this pure and religious character, the license engendered by the feudal system, and the disorders of the time, produced a universal corruption of manners which found expression in the literature of the age. Neither the _sirventes_ nor the _chanzos_ of the troubadours, nor the _fabliaux_ of the trouvères, nor the romances of chivalry, can be read without a blush. On every page the grossness of the language is only equaled by the shameful depravity of the characters and the immorality of the incidents. In the south of France, more particularly, an extreme laxity of manners prevailed among the nobility. Gallantry seems to have been the sole object of existence. Ladies were proud of the celebrity conferred upon their charms by the songs of the troubadours, and they themselves often professed the "Gay Science," as poetry was called. They instituted the Courts of Love where questions of gallantry were gravely discussed and decided by their suffrages; and they gave, in short, to the whole south of France the character of a carnival. No sooner had the Gay Science been established in Provence, than it became the fashion in surrounding countries. The sovereigns of Europe adopted the Provençal language, and enlisted themselves among the poets, and there was soon neither baron nor knight who did not feel himself bound to add to his fame as a warrior the reputation of a gentle troubadour. Monarchs were now the professors of the art, and the only patrons were the ladies. Women, no longer beautiful ciphers, acquired complete liberty of action, and the homage paid to them amounted almost to worship.

At the festivals of the haughty barons, the lady of the castle, attended by youthful beauties, distributed crowns to the conquerors in the jousts and tournaments. She then, in turn, surrounded by her ladies, opened her Court of Love, and the candidates for poetical honors entered with their harps and contended for the prize in extempore verses called _tensons_. The Court of Love then entered upon a grave discussion of the merits of the question, and a judgment or _arrêt d'amour_ was given, frequently in verse, by which the dispute was supposed to be decided. These courts often formally justified the abandonment of moral duty, and assuming the forms and exercising the power of ordinary tribunals, they defined and prescribed the duties of the sexes, and taught the arts of love and song according to the most depraved moral principles, mingled, however, with an affected display of refined sentimentality. Whatever may have been their utility in the advancement of the language and the cultivation of literary taste, these institutions extended a legal sanction to vice, and inculcated maxims of shameful profligacy.

The songs of the Provençals were divided into _chanzos_ and _sirventes_; the object of the former was love, and of the latter war, politics, or satire. The name of _tenson_ was given to those poetical contests in verse which took place in the Courts of Love, or before illustrious princes. The songs were sung from château to château, either by the troubadours themselves, or by the _jongleur_ or instrument player by whom they were attended; they often abounded in extravagant hyperboles, trivial conceits, and grossness of expression. Ladies, whose attractions were estimated by the number and desperation of their lovers, and the songs of their troubadours, were not offended if licentiousness mingled with gallantry in the songs composed in their praise. Authors addressed prayers to the saints for aid in their amorous intrigues, and men, seemingly rational, resigned themselves to the wildest transports of passion for individuals whom, in some cases, they had never seen. Thus, religious enthusiasm, martial bravery, and licentious love, so grotesquely mingled, formed the very life of the Middle Ages, and impossible as it is to transfuse into a translation the harmony of Provençal verse, or to find in it, when stripped of this harmony, any poetical idea, these remains are valuable since they present us with a picture of the life and manners of the times.

The intercourse of the Provençals with the Moors of Spain, which, as we have seen, was greatly increased by the union of Catalonia and Provence (1092), introduced into the North an acquaintance with the arts and learning of the Arabians. It was then that rhyme, the essential characteristic of Arabian poetry, was adopted by the troubadours into the Provençal language, and thence communicated to the nations of modern Europe.

The poetry of the troubadours borrowed nothing from history, mythology, or from foreign manners, and no reference to the sciences or the learning of the schools mingled with their simple effusions of sentiment. This fact enables us to comprehend how it was possible for princes and knights, who were often unable to read, to be yet ranked among the most ingenious troubadours. Several public events, however, materially contributed to enlarge the sphere of intellect of the knights of the _Langue d'oc_. The first was the conquest of Toledo and Castile by Alphonso VI., in which he was seconded by the Cid Rodriguez, the hero of Spain, and by a number of French Provençal knights; the second was the preaching of the Crusades. Of all the events recorded in the history of the world, there is, perhaps, not one of a nature so highly poetical as these holy wars; not one which presents a more powerful picture of the grand effects of enthusiasm, of noble sacrifices of self-interest to faith, sentiment, and passion, which are essentially poetical. Many of the troubadours assumed the cross; others were detained in Europe by the bonds of love, and the conflict between passion and religious enthusiasm lent its influence to the poems they composed. The third event was the succession of the kings of England to the sovereignty of a large part of the countries where the _Langue d'oc_ prevailed, which influenced the manners and opinions of the troubadours, and introduced them to the courts of the most powerful monarchs; while the encouragement given to them by the kings of the house of Plantagenet had a great influence on the formation of the English language, and furnished Chaucer, the father of English literature, with his first models for imitation.

The troubadours numbered among their ranks the most illustrious sovereigns and heroes of the age. Among others, Richard Coeur de Lion, who, as a poet and knight, united in his own person all the brilliant qualities of the time. A story is told of him, that when he was detained a prisoner in Germany, the place of his imprisonment was discovered by Blondel, his minstrel, who sang beneath the fortress a _tenson_ which he and Richard had composed in common, and to which Richard responded. Bertrand de Born, who was intimately connected with Richard, and who exercised a powerful influence over the destinies of the royal family of England, has left a number of original poems; Sordello of Mantua was the first to adopt the ballad form of writing, and many of his love songs are expressed in a pure and delicate style. Both of these poets are immortalized in the Divine Comedy of Dante. The history of Geoffrey Rudel illustrates the wildness of the imagination and manners of the troubadours. He was a gentleman of Provence, and hearing the knights who had returned from the Holy Land speak with enthusiasm of the Countess of Tripoli, who had extended to them the most generous hospitality, and whose grace and beauty equaled her virtues, he fell in love with her without ever having seen her, and, leaving the Court of England, he embarked for the Holy Land, to offer to her the homage of his heart. During the voyage he was attacked by a severe illness, and lost the power of speech. On his arrival in the harbor, the countess, being informed that a celebrated poet was dying of love for her, visited him on shipboard, took him kindly by the hand, and attempted to cheer his spirits. Rudel revived sufficiently to thank the lady for her humanity and to declare his passion, when his voice was silenced by the convulsions of death. He was buried at Tripoli, and, by the orders of the countess, a tomb of porphyry was erected to his memory. It is unnecessary to mention other names among the multitude of these poets, who all hold nearly the same rank. An extreme monotony reigns throughout their works, which offer little individuality of character.

After the thirteenth century, the troubadours were heard no more, and the efforts of the counts of Provence, the magistrates of Toulouse, and the kings of Arragon to awaken, their genius by the Courts of Love and the Floral Games were vain. They themselves attributed their decline to the degradation into which the jongleurs, with whom at last they were confounded, had fallen. But their art contained within itself a more immediate principle of decay in the profound ignorance of its professors. They had no other models than the songs of the Arabians, which perverted their taste. They made no attempt at epic or dramatic poetry; they had no classical allusions, no mythology, nor even a romantic imagination, and, deprived of the riches of antiquity, they had few resources within themselves. The poetry of Provence was a beautiful flower springing up on a sterile soil, and no cultivation could avail in the absence of its natural nourishment. From the close of the twelfth century the language began to decline, and public events occurred which hastened its downfall, and reduced it to the condition of a provincial dialect.

Among the numerous sects which sprang up in Christendom during the Middle Ages, there was one which, though bearing different names at different times, more or less resembled what is now known as Protestantism; in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries it was called the faith of the Albigenses, as it prevailed most widely in the district of Albi. It easily came to be identified with the Provençal language, as this was the chosen vehicle of its religious services. This sect was tolerated and protected by the Court of Toulouse. It augmented its numbers; it devoted itself to commerce and the arts, and added much to the prosperity which had long distinguished the south of France. The Albigenses had lived long and peaceably side by side with the Catholics in the cities and villages; but Innocent III. sent legates to Provence, who preached, discussed, and threatened, and met a freedom of thought and resistance to authority which Rome was not willing to brook. Bitter controversy was now substituted for the amiable frivolity of the _tensons_, and theological disputes superseded those on points of gallantry. The long struggle between the poetry of the troubadours and the preaching of the monks came to a crisis; the severe satires which the disorderly lives of the clergy called forth became severer still, and the songs of the troubadours wounded the power and pride of Rome more deeply than ever, while they stimulated the Albigenses to a valiant resistance or a glorious death. A crusade followed, and when the dreadful strife was over, Provençal poetry had received its death-blow. The language of Provence was destined to share the fate of its poetry; it became identified in the minds of the orthodox with heresy and rebellion. When Charles of Anjou acquired the kingdom of Naples, he drew thither the Provençal nobility, and thus drained the kingdom of those who had formerly maintained its chivalrous manners. In the beginning of the fourteenth century, when the Court of Rome was removed to Avignon, the retinues of the three successive popes were Italians, and the Tuscan language entirely superseded the Provençal among the higher classes.

2. THE TROUVÈRES.--While the Provençal was thus relapsing into a mere dialect, the north of France was maturing a new language and literature of an entirely different character. Normandy, a province of France, was invaded in the tenth century by a new northern tribe, who, under the command of Rollo or Raoul the Dane, incorporated themselves with the ancient inhabitants. The victors adopted the language of the vanquished, stamped upon it the impress of their own genius, and gave it a fixed form. It was from Normandy that the first writers and poets in the French language sprang. While the Romance Provençal spoken in the South was sweet, and expressive of effeminate manners, the Romance-Wallon was energetic and warlike, and represented the severer manners of the Germans. Its poetry, too, was widely different from the Provençal. It was no longer the idle baron sighing for his lady-love, but the songs of a nation of hardy warriors, celebrating the prowess of their ancestors with all the exaggerations that fancy could supply. The _Langue d'oui_ became the vehicle of literature only in the twelfth century,--a hundred years subsequent to the Romance Provençal. The poets and reciters of tales, giving the name of Troubadour a French termination, called themselves Trouvères. They originated the brilliant romances of chivalry, the _fabliaux_ or tales of amusement, and the dramatic invention of the Mysteries. The first literary work in this tongue is the versified romance of a fabulous history of the early kings of England, beginning with Brutus, the grandson of AEneas, who, after passing many enchanted isles, at length establishes himself in England, where he finds King Arthur, the chivalric institution of the Round Table, and the enchanter Merlin, one of the most popular personages of the Middle Ages. Out of this legend arose some of the boldest creations of the human fancy. The word "romance," now synonymous with fictitious composition, originally meant only a work in the modern dialect, as distinguished from the scholastic Latin. There is little doubt that these tales were originally believed to be strictly true. One of the first romances of chivalry was "Tristam de Léonois," written in 1190. This was soon followed by that of the "San Graal" and "Lancelot;" and previously to 1213 Ville-Hardouin had written in the French language a "History of the Conquest of Constantinople." The poem of "Alexander," however, which appeared about the same time, has enjoyed the greatest reputation. It is a series of romances and marvelous histories, said to be the result of the labors of nine celebrated poets of the time. Alexander is introduced, surrounded not by the pomp of antiquity, but by the splendors of chivalry. The high renown of this poem has given the name of _Alexandrine verse_ to the measure in which it is written.

The spirit of chivalry which burst forth in the romances of the trouvères, the heroism of honor and love, the devotion of the powerful to the weak, the supernatural fictions, so novel and so dissimilar to everything in antiquity or in later times, the force and brilliancy of imagination which they display, have been variously attributed to the Arabians and the Germans, but they were undoubtedly the invention of the Normans. Of all the people of ancient Europe, they were the most adventurous and intrepid. They established a dynasty in Russia; they cut their way through a perfidious and sanguinary nation to Constantinople; they landed on the coasts of England and France, and surprised nations who were ignorant of their existence; they conquered Sicily, and established a principality in the heart of Syria. A people so active, so enterprising, and so intrepid, found no greater delight in their leisure hours than listening to tales of adventures, dangers, and battles. The romances of chivalry are divided into three distinct classes. They relate to three different epochs in the early part of the Middle Ages, and represent three bands of fabulous heroes. In the romances of the first class, the exploits of Arthur, son of Pendragon, the last British king who defended England against the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons, are celebrated. In the second we find the Amadises, but whether they belong to French literature has been reasonably disputed. The scene is placed nearly in the same countries as in the romances of the Round Table, but there is a want of locality about them, and the name and the times are absolutely fabulous. "Amadis of Gaul," the first of these romances, and the model of all the rest, is claimed as the work of Vasco Lobeira, a Portuguese (1290-1325); but no doubt exists with regard to the continuations and numerous imitations of this work, which are incontestably of Spanish origin, and were in their highest repute when Cervantes produced his inimitable "Don Quixote." The third class of chivalric romances, relating to the court of Charlemagne and his Paladins, is entirely French, although their celebrity is chiefly due to the renowned Italian poet who availed himself of their fictions. The most ancient monument of the marvelous history of Charlemagne is the chronicle of Turpin, of uncertain date, and which, though fabulous, can scarcely be considered as a romance. This and other similar narratives furnished materials for the romances, which appeared at the conclusion of the Crusades, when a knowledge of the East had enriched the French imagination with all the treasures of the Arabian. The trouvères were not only the inventors of the romances of chivalry, but they originated the allegories, and the dramatic compositions of southern Europe. Although none of their works have obtained a high reputation or deserve to be ranked among the masterpieces of human intellect, they are still worthy of attention as monuments of the progress of mind.

The French possessed, above every other nation of modern times, an inventive spirit, but they were, at the same time, the originators of those tedious allegorical poems which have been imitated by all the romantic nations. The most ancient and celebrated of these is the "Romance of the Rose," though not a romance in the present sense of the word. At the period of its composition, the French language was still called the Romance, and all its more voluminous productions Romances. The "Romance of the Rose" was the work of two authors, Guillaume de Lorris, who commenced it in the early part of the thirteenth century, and Jean de Meun (b. 1280), by whom it was continued. Although it reached the appalling length of twenty thousand verses, no book was ever more popular. It was admired as a masterpiece of wit, invention, and philosophy; the highest mysteries of theology were believed to be concealed in this poetical form, and learned commentaries were written upon its veiled meaning by preachers, who did not scruple to cite passages from it in the pulpit. But the tedious poem and its numberless imitations are nothing but rhymed prose, which it would be impossible to recognize as poetry, if the measure of the verse were taken away.

In considering the popularity of these long, didactic works, it must not be forgotten that the people of that day were almost entirely without books. A single volume was the treasure of a whole household. In unfavorable weather it was read to a circle around the fire, and when it was finished the perusal was again commenced. No comparison with other books enabled men to form a judgment upon its merits. It was reverenced like holy writ, and they accounted themselves happy in being able to comprehend it.

Another species of poetry peculiar to this period had at least the merit of being exceedingly amusing. This was the _fabliaux_, tales written in verse in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. They are treasures of invention, simplicity, and gayety, of which other nations can furnish no instances, except by borrowing from the French. A collection of Indian tales, translated into Latin in the tenth or eleventh century, was the first storehouse of the trouvères. The Arabian tales, transmitted by the Moors to the Castilians, and by the latter to the French, were in turn versified. But above all, the anecdotes collected in the towns and castles of France, the adventures of lovers, the tricks of gallants, and the numerous subjects gathered from the manners of the age, afforded inexhaustible materials for ludicrous narratives to the writers of these tales. They were treasures common to all. We seldom know the name of the trouvère by whom these anecdotes were versified. As they were related, each one varied them according to the impression he wished to produce. At this period there were neither theatrical entertainments nor games at cards to fill up the leisure hours of society, and the trouvères or relators of the tales were welcomed at the courts, castles, and private houses with an eagerness proportioned to the store of anecdotes which they brought with them to enliven conversation. Whatever was the subject of their verse, legends, miracles, or licentious anecdotes, they were equally acceptable. These tales were the models of those of Boccaccio, La Fontaine, and others. Some of them have had great fame, and have passed from tongue to tongue, and from age to age, down to our own times. Several of them have been introduced upon the stage, and others formed the originals of Parnell's "Hermit," of the "Zaïre" of Voltaire, and of the "Renard," which Goethe has converted into a long poem. But perhaps the most interesting and celebrated of all the _fabliaux_ is that of "Aucassin and Nicolette," which has furnished the subject for a well-known opera.

It was at this period, when the ancient drama was entirely forgotten, that a dramatic form was given to the great events which accompanied the establishment of the Christian religion. The first to introduce this grotesque species of composition, were the pilgrims who had returned from the Holy Land. In the twelfth or thirteenth centuries, their dramatic representations were first exhibited in the open streets; but it was only at the conclusion of the fourteenth that a company of pilgrims undertook to amuse the public by regular dramatic entertainments. They were called the Fraternity of the Passion, from the passion of our Saviour being one of their most celebrated representations. This mystery, the most ancient dramatic work of modern Europe, comprehends the whole history of our Lord, from his baptism to his death. The piece was too long for one representation, and was therefore continued from day to day. Eighty-seven characters successively appear in this mystery, among whom are the three persons of the Trinity, angels, apostles, devils, and a host of other personages, the invention of the poet's brain. To fill the comic parts, the dialogues of the devils were introduced, and their eagerness to maltreat one another always produced much laughter in the assembly. Extravagant machinery was employed to give to the representation the pomp which we find in the modern opera; and this drama, placing before the eyes of a Christian assembly all those incidents for which they felt the highest veneration, must have affected them much more powerfully than even the finest tragedies can do at the present day.

The mystery of the Passion was followed by a crowd of imitations. The whole of the Old Testament, and the lives of all the saints, were brought upon the stage. The theatre on which these mysteries were represented was always composed of an elevated scaffold divided into three parts,--heaven, hell, and the earth between them. The proceedings of the Deity and Lucifer might be discerned in their respective abodes, and angels descended and devils ascended, as their interference in mundane affairs was required. The pomp of these representations went on increasing for two centuries, and, as great value was set upon the length of the piece, some mysteries could not be represented in less than forty days.

The "Clerks of the Revels," an incorporated society at Paris, whose duty it was to regulate the public festivities, resolved to amuse the people with dramatic representations themselves, but as the Fraternity of the Passion had obtained a royal license to represent the mysteries, they were compelled to abstain from that kind of exhibition. They therefore invented a new one, to which they gave the name of "Moralities," and which differed little from the mysteries, except in name. They were borrowed from the Parables, or the historical parts of the Bible, or they were purely allegorical. To the Clerks of the Revels we also owe the invention of modern comedy. They mingled their moralities with farces, the sole object of which was to excite laughter, and in which all the gayety and vivacity of the French character were displayed. Some of these plays still retain their place upon the French stage. At the commencement of the fifteenth century another comic company was established, who introduced personal and even political satire upon the stage. Thus every species of dramatic representation was revived by the French. This was the result of the talent for imitation so peculiar to the French people, and of that pliancy of thought and correctness of intellect which enables them to conceive new characters. All these inventions, which led to the establishment of the Romantic drama in other countries, were known in France more than a century before the rise of the Spanish or Italian theatre, and even before the classical authors were first studied and imitated. At the end of the sixteenth century, these new pursuits acquired a more immediate influence over the literature of France, and wrought a change in its spirit and rules, without, however, altering the national character and taste which had been manifested in the earliest productions of the trouvères.