er of lives of saints. Of books of Eastern
origin, one of the most important was the _Castoiement d'un Pere a son
Fils_, which comes from the _Panchatantra_, though not directly. The
translated work had great vogue, and set the example of other
_Castoiements_ or warnings. The monk Helinand at the end of the twelfth
century composed a poem on 'Death,' and a vast number of similar poems
might be mentioned. The commonest perhaps of all is a dialogue _Des
trois Morts et des trois Vifs_, which exists in an astonishing number of
variants. Gradually the tone of all this work becomes more and more
allegorical. _Dreams, Mirrors, Castles_, such as the 'Castle of Seven
Flowers,' a poem on the virtues, make their appearance.

[Sidenote: Allegorical verse.]

[Sidenote: The Roman de la Rose.]

The question of the origin of this habit of allegorising and
personification is one which has been often incidentally discussed by
literary historians, but which has never been exhaustively treated. It
is certain that, at a very early period in the middle ages, it makes its
appearance, though it is not in full flourishing until the thirteenth
century. It seems to have been a reflection in light literature of the
same attitude of mind which led to the development of the scholastic
philosophy, and, as in the case of that philosophy, Byzantine and
Eastern influences may have been at work. Certain it is that in some of
the later Greek romances[85], something very like the imagery of the
_Roman de la Rose_ is discoverable. Perhaps, however, we need not look
further than to the natural result of leisure, mental activity, and
literary skill, working upon a very small stock of positive knowledge,
and restrained by circumstances within a very narrow range of
employment. However this may be, the allegorising habit manifests itself
recognisably enough in French literature towards the close of the
twelfth century. In the _Meraugis de Portlesguez_ of Raoul de Houdenc,
the passion for arguing out abstract questions of lovelore is
exemplified, and in the _Roman des Eles_ of the same author the knightly
virtues are definitely personified, or at least allegorised. At the same
time some at all events of the Troubadours, especially Peire Wilhem,
carried the practice yet further. _Merci_, _Pudeur_, _Loyaute_, are
introduced by that poet as persons whom he met as he rode on his
travels. In Thibaut de Champagne a still further advance was made. The
representative