A Short History of French Literature Part 7

et Ysengrins est seur la glace et li seaus en la fontaine plains de glacons a bone estraine.

l'aive conmence a englacier et li seaus a enlacier qui a la qeue fu noez: de glacons fu bien serondez.

la qeue est en l'aive gelee et en la glace seelee.

This chapter would be incomplete without a reference to the _Ysopet_ of Marie de France[65], which may be said to be a link of juncture between the Fabliau and the _Roman du Renart_. _Ysopet_ (diminutive of Aesop) became a common term in the middle ages for a collection of fables.

There is one known as the _Ysopet of Lyons_, which was published not long ago[66]; but that of Marie is by far the most important. It consists of 103 pieces, written in octosyllabic couplets, with moralities, and a conclusion which informs us that the author wrote it 'for the love of Count William' (supposed to be Long-Sword), translating it from an English version of a Latin translation of the Greek. Marie's graceful style and her easy versification are very noticeable here, while her morals are often well deduced and sharply put. The famous 'Wolf and Lamb' will serve as a specimen.

Ce dist dou leu e dou aignel, qui beveient a un rossel: li lox a lo sorse beveit e li aigniaus aval esteit.

irieement parla li lus ki mult esteit c.u.n.tralus; par mautalent palla a lui: 'tu m'as,' dist il, 'fet grant anui.'

li aignez li ad respundu 'sire, eh quei?' 'dunc ne veis tu?

tu m'as ci ceste aigue tourblee: n'en puis beivre ma saolee.

autresi m'en irai, ce crei, c.u.m jeo ving, tut murant de sei.'

li aignelez adunc respunt 'sire, ja bevez vus amunt: de vus me vient kankes j'ai beu.'

'qoi,' fist li lox, 'maldis me tu?'

l'aigneus respunt 'n'en ai voleir.'

lous li dit 'jeo sai de veir: ce mesme me fist tes pere a ceste surce u od lui ere, or ad sis meis, si c.u.m jeo crei.'

'qu'en retraiez,' feit il, 'sor mei?

n'ere pas nez, si c.u.m jeo cuit.'

'e cei pur ce,' li lus a dit: 'ja me fais tu ore c.u.n.traire e chose ke tu ne deiz faire.'

dunc prist li lox l'engnel pet.i.t, as denz l'estrangle, si l'ocit.

_Moralite._

Ci funt li riche robeur, li vesconte e li jugeur, de ceus k'il unt en lur justise.

fausse aqoison par cuveitise truevent a.s.sez pur eus cunfundre.

suvent les funt as plaiz semundre, la char lur tolent e la pel, si c.u.m li lox fist a l'aingnel.

FOOTNOTES:

[60] The first collection of Fabliaux was published by Barbazan in 1756.

This was re-edited by Meon in 1808, and reinforced by the same author with a fresh collection in 1823. Meanwhile Le Grand d'Aussy had (1774-1781) given extracts, abstracts, and translations into modern French of many of them. Jubinal, Robert, and others enriched the collection further, and in vol. xxiii. of the _Histoire Litteraire_ M.

V. Le Clerc published an excellent study of the subject. A complete collection of Fabliaux has, however, only recently been attempted, by M.

M. A. de Montaiglon and G. Raynaud (6 vols., Paris, 1872-1888).

[61] _Fabliau_ is, of course, the Latin _fabula_. The genealogy of the word is _fabula_, _fabella_, _fabel_, _fable_, _fablel_, _fableau_, _fabliau_. All these last five forms exist.

[62] It should be noticed that this t.i.tle, though consecrated by usage, is a misnomer. It should be _Roman_ de _Renart_, for this latter is a proper name. The cla.s.s name is _goupil_ (vulpes). The standard edition is that of Meon (4 vols., Paris, 1826) with the supplement of Chabaille, 1835. This includes not merely the _Ancien Renart_, but the _Couronnement_ and _Renart le Nouvel_. _Renart le Contrefait_ has never been printed. Rothe (Paris, 1845) and Wolf (Vienna, 1861) have given the best accounts of it. Recently M. Ernest Martin has given a new critical edition of the _Ancien Renart_ (3 vols., Strasburg and Paris, 1882-1887).

[63] The necessary expression of the genitive by _de_ is later than this. Mediaeval French retained the inflection of nouns, though in a dilapidated condition. Properly speaking _Renars_ is the nominative, _Renart_ the general inflected case.

[64] This is a free translation of the last line of the original, which is as follows:--

Pour renard qui gelines tue, Qui a la rousse peau vestue, Qui a grand queue et quatre pies, N'est pas ce livre communies; Mais pour cellui qui a deux mains Dont il sont en ce siecle mains, Qui ont sous la chappe Faulx Semblant.

Wolf, _Op. cit._ p. 5.

The final allusion is to a personage of the _Roman de la Rose_.

[65] Ed. Roquefort, vol. ii. See next chapter.

[66] By Dr. W. Forster. Heilbronn, 1882.

CHAPTER VI.

EARLY LYRICS.

[Sidenote: Early and Later Lyrics.]

The lyric poetry of the middle ages in France divides itself naturally into two periods, distinguished by very strongly marked characteristics.

The end of the thirteenth century is the dividing point in this as in many other branches of literature. After that we get the extremely interesting, if artificial, forms of the Rondeau and Ballade, with their many varieties and congeners. With these we shall not busy ourselves in the present chapter. But the twelfth and thirteenth centuries are provided with a lyric growth, less perfect indeed in form than that which occupied French singers from Machault to Marot, but more spontaneous, fuller of individuality, variety, and vigour, and scarcely less abundant in amount.

[Sidenote: Origins of Lyric.]

[Sidenote: Romances and Pastourelles.]

Before the twelfth century we find no traces of genuine lyrical work in France. The ubiquitous _Cantilenae_ indeed again make their appearance in the speculations of literary historians, but here as elsewhere they have no demonstrable historical existence. Except a few sacred songs, sometimes, as in the case of Saint Eulalie, in early Romance language, sometimes in what the French call _langue farcie_, that is to say, a mixture of French and Latin, nothing regularly lyrical is found up to the end of the eleventh century. But soon afterwards lyric work becomes exceedingly abundant. This is what forms the contents of Herr Karl Bartsch's delightful volume of _Romanzen und Pastourellen_[67]. These are the two earliest forms of French lyric poetry. They are recognised by the Troubadour Raimon Vidal as the special property of the Northern tongue, and no reasonable pretence has been put forward to show that they are other than indigenous. The tendency of both is towards iambic rhythm, but it is not exclusively manifested as in later verse. It is one of the most interesting things in French literary history to see how early the estrangement of the language from the anapaestic and dactylic measures natural to Teutonic speech began to declare itself[68]. These early poems bubble over with natural gaiety, their refrains, musical though semi-articulate as they are, are sweet and manifold in cadence, but the main body of the versification is either iambic or trochaic (it was long before the latter measure became infrequent), and the freedom of the ballad-metres of England and Germany is seldom present. The Romance differs in form and still more in subject from the Pastourelle, and both differ very remarkably from the form and manner of Provencal poetry. It has been observed by nearly all students, that the love-poems of the latter language are almost always at once personal and abstract in subject. The Romance and the Pastourelle, on the contrary, are almost always dramatic. They tell a story, and often (though not always in the case of the Pastourelle) they tell it of some one other than the singer.

The most common form of the Romance is that of a poem varying from twenty lines long to ten times that length and divided into stanzas.

These stanzas consist of a certain number (not usually less than three or more than eight) of lines of equal length capped with a refrain in a different metre. By far the best, though by no means the earliest, of them are those of Audefroy le b.a.s.t.a.r.d, who, according to the late M.

Paulin Paris, may be fixed at the beginning of the thirteenth century.

Audefroy's poems are very much alike in plan, telling for the most part how the course of some impeded true love at last ran smooth. They rank with the very best mediaeval poetry in colour, in lively painting of manners and feelings, and in grace of versification. Unfortunately they are one and all rather too long for quotation here. The anonymous Romance of 'Bele Erembors' will represent the cla.s.s well enough. The rhyme still bears traces of a.s.sonance, which is thought to have prevailed till Audefroy's time:--

Quant vient en mai, que l'on dit as lons jors, Que Frans en France repairent de roi cort, Reynauz repaire devant el premier front Si s'en pa.s.sa lez lo mes Arembor, Ainz n'en designa le chief drecier a mont.

E Raynaut amis!

Bele Erembors a la fenestre au jor Sor ses genolz tient paile de color; Voit Frans de France qui repairent de cort, E voit Raynaut devant el premier front: En haut parole, si a dit sa raison.

E Raynaut amis!

'Amis Raynaut, j'ai ja veu cel jor Se pa.s.sisoiz selon mon pere tor, Dolanz fussiez se ne parla.s.se a vos.'

'Ja mesfaistes, fille d'Empereor, Autrui amastes, si obliastes nos.'

E Raynaut amis!

'Sire Raynaut, je m'en escondirai: A cent puceles sor sainz vos jurerai, A trente dames que avuec moi menrai, C'onques nul hom fors vostre cors n'amai.

Prennez l'emmende et je vos baiserai.'

E Raynaut amis!

Li cuens Raynauz en monta lo degre, Gros par espaules, greles par lo baudre; Blonde ot lo poil, menu, recercele: En nule terre n'ot so biau bacheler.

Voit l'Erembors, so comence a plorer.

E Raynaut amis!

Li cuens Raynauz est montez en la tor, Si s'est a.s.sis en un lit point a flors, Dejoste lui se siet bele Erembors.

Lors recomencent lor premieres amors.

E Raynaut amis!