tends the
subjects and varies the manner of epic verse, and begins the
compositions of literary prose with the chronicles of St. Denis and of
Villehardouin, and the prose romances of the Arthurian cycle. All this
literature is so far connected purely with the knightly and priestly
orders, though it is largely composed and still more largely dealt in by
classes of men, trouveres and jongleurs, who are not necessarily either
knights or priests, and in the case of the jongleurs are certainly
neither. With a possible ancestry of Romance and Teutonic _cantilenae_,
Breton _lais_, and vernacular legends, the new literature has a certain
pattern and model in Latin and for the most part ecclesiastical
compositions. It has the sacred books and the legends of the saints for
examples of narrative, the rhythm of the hymns for a guide to metre, and
the ceremonies of the church for a stimulant to dramatic performance. By
degrees also in this twelfth century forms of literature which busy
themselves with the unprivileged classes begin to be born. The fabliau
takes every phase of life for its subject; the folk-song acquires
elegance and does not lose raciness and truth. In the next century, the
thirteenth, mediaeval literature in France arrives at its zenith and
remains there until the first quarter of the fourteenth. The early epics
lose something of their savage charm, the polished literature of
Provence quickly perishes. But in the provinces which speak the more
prevailing tongue nothing is wanting to literary development. The
language itself has shaken off all its youthful incapacities, and,
though not yet well adapted for the requirements of modern life and
study, is in every way equal to the demands made upon it by its own
time. The dramatic germ contained in the fabliau and quickened by the
mystery produces the profane drama. Ambitious works of merit in the most
various kinds are published; _Aucassin et Nicolette_ stands side by side
with the _Histoire de Saint Louis_, the _Jeu de la Feuillie_ with the
_Miracle de Theophile_, the _Roman de la Rose_ with the _Roman du
Renart_. The earliest notes of ballade and rondeau are heard; endeavours
are made with zeal, and not always without understanding, to naturalise
the wisdom of the ancients in France, and in the graceful tongue that
France possesses. Romance in prose and verse, drama, history, songs,
satire, oratory, and even erudition, are all represented and represented
worthily. Mea