f medieval
France; it is the voice of the individuality of the great vassal, who,
in the decay of the empire, stands alone with himself and with his
sword.

AUTHORITIES,--Leon Gautier, _Les Epopees francaises_ (4 vols.,
1878-1894); Gaston Paris, _La Litterature francaise au moyen age_
(1890); Paul Meyer, _Recherches sur l'epopee francaise_ (1867); G.
Paris, _Histoire poetique de Charlemagne_ (1865); A. Longnon, _Les
Quatre Fits Aimon_, &c. (1879). (E. G.)

CHANT (derived through the Fr. from the Lat. _cantare_, to sing; an old
form is "chaunt"), a song or melody, particularly one sung according to
the rules of church service-books. For an account of the chant or
_cantus firmus_ of the Roman Church see PLAIN-SONG. In the English
church "chants" are the tunes set to the unmetrical verses of the psalms
and canticles. The chant consisted of an "intonation" followed by a
reciting note of indefinite length; a "mediation" closed the first part
of the verse, leading to a second reciting note; a "termination" closed
the second part of the verse. In the English chant the "intonation"
disappeared. Chants are "single," if written for one verse only,
"double," if for two. "Quadruple" chants for four verses have also been
written.

CHANTABUN, or CHANTABURI, the principal town of the Siamese province of
the same name, on the E. side of the Gulf of Siam, in 102 deg. 6' E., 12
deg. 38' N. Pop. about 5000. The town lies about 12 m. from the sea on a
river which is navigable for boats and inside the bar of which there is
good anchorage for light-draft vessels. The trade is chiefly in rubies
and sapphires from the mines of the Krat and Pailin districts, and in
pepper, of which about 500 tons are exported annually. Cardamoms and
rosewood are also exported. In 1905 Chantabun was made the headquarters
of a high commissioner with jurisdiction extending over the coast
districts from the Nam Wen on the East to Cape Liant on the West, which
were thus united to form a provincial division (_Monton_). In 1893
Chantabun was occupied by a French force of four hundred men, a step
taken by France as a guarantee for the execution by Siam of undertakings
entered into by the treaty of that year. The occupation, which was
merely military and did not affect the civil government, lasted until
January 1905, when, in accordance with the provisions of the
Franco-Siamese treaty of 1904, the garrison of occupation was withdrawn.
Chant