of thirteen, fourteen,
or fifteen lines, is arranged in stanzas of five, four, and four, five,
or six lines, the last line of the second and third stanzas consisting
of the first words of the first line of the poem. The _triolet_ is a
sort of rondel of eight lines only, repeating the first line at the
fourth, and the first and second at the seventh and eighth. Lastly, the
_villanelle_ alternates one of two refrain lines at the end of each
three-lined stanza. These are the principal forms, though there are many
others.

[111] Ed. Montaiglon. Paris, 1855.

[112] The Rondeau is not in Lescurel systematised into any regular form.

[113] Ed. L. de Mas Latrie. Societe de l'Orient Latin, Geneva, 1877.
This is a poem not much shorter than the _Voir Dit_, but continuously
octosyllabic and very spirited. The final account of the murder of
Pierre (which he provoked by the most brutal oppression of his vassals)
is full of power.

[114] Ed. P. Paris. Societe des Bibliophiles, Paris, 1875. This is a
very interesting poem consisting of more than 9000 lines, mostly
octosyllabic couplets, with ballades, etc. interspersed, one of which is
given at the end of this chapter. It is addressed either to Agnes of
Navarre, or, as M. P. Paris thought, to Peronelle d'Armentieres, and was
written in 1362, when the author was probably very old.

[115] Deschamps is said to have been also named Morel. A complete
edition of his works has been undertaken for the Old French Text Society
by the Marquis de Queux de Saint Hilaire.

[116] Ballades, 147, 149. Ed. Queux de St. Hilaire.

[117] Ed. Scheler. 3 vols. Brussels, 1870-1872.

[118] Ed. Hericault. 2 vols. Paris, 1874. Charles d'Orleans was the son
of the Duke of Orleans, who was murdered by the Burgundians, and of
Valentina of Milan. He was born in 1391, taken prisoner at Agincourt,
ransomed in 1449, and he died in 1465. His son was Louis XII.

[119] Ed. Queux de St. Hilaire. Paris, 1868.

CHAPTER X.

THE DRAMA.

[Sidenote: Origins of Drama.]

The origins of the drama in France, like most other points affecting
mediaeval literature, have been made the subject of a good deal of
dispute. It has been attempted, on the one hand, to father the mysteries
and miracle-plays of the twelfth and later centuries on the classical
drama, traditions of which are supposed to have been preserved in the
monasteries and other homes of learning. On the other hand, a more
probable and historical s