Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 19.djvu/900

Rh 876 is originally an account of an event &quot;newly&quot; happened. The novel must have beeu at first in the south what, as we see by the Decameron, it was in Italy, a society pastime, the wits hi turn relating anecdotes, true or imaginary, which they think likely to amuse their auditors. But before long this kind of production was treated in verse, the form adopted being that of the romances of adventure octosyllabic verses rhyming in pairs. Some of those novels which have come down to us may be ranked with the most graceful works in Provengal literature ; two are from the pen of the Catalan author Raimon Vidal de Besalu. One, the Castia-gilos (the Chastisement of the Jealous Man), is a treatment, not easily matched for elegance, of a frequently-handled theme the story of the husband who, in order to entrap his wife, takes the disguise of the lover whom she is expecting and receives with satisfaction blows intended, as he thinks, for him whose part he is playing ; the other, The Judgment of Love, is the recital of a question of the law of love, departing considerably from the subjects usually treated in the novels. Mention may also be made of the novel of Tlw Parrot by Arnaut de Carcassonne, in which the principal character is a parrot of great i eloquence and ability, who succeeds marvellously in securing the success of the amorous enterprises of his master. Novels came to be extended to the proportions of a long romance. Flamcnca, which belongs to the novel type, has still over eight thousand verses, though the only MS. of it has lost some leaves both at the beginning and at the end. This poem, composed in all probability in 1234, is the story of a lady who by very ingenious devices, not unlike those employed in the Miles Gloriosus of Plautus, succeeds in eluding the vigilance of her jealous husband. No analysis can be given here of a work the action of which is so highly complicated ; suffice it to remark that there is no book in mediaeval literature which betokens so much quickness of intellect and is so instructive in regard to the manners and usages of polite society in the 13th century. We know that novels were in great favour in the south of France, although the specimens preserved are not very numerous. Statements made by Francesco de Bar- berino (early part of 14th century), and recently brought to light, give us a glimpse of several works of this class which have been lost. From the south of France the novel spread into Catalonia, where we find in the 14th century a number of novels in verse very similar to the Provenal ones, and into Italy, where in general the prose form has been adopted. Didactic and Religious Poetry. Compositions intended for instruction, correction, and edification were very numerous in the south of France as well as elsewhere, and, in spite of the enormous losses sustained by Proven9al literature, much of this kind still remains. But it is seldom that such works have much originality or literary value. Originality was naturally absent, as the aim of the writers was mainly to bring the teachings contained in Latin works within the reach of lay hearers or readers. Literary value was not of course excluded by the lack of originality, but by an unfortunate chance the greater part of those who sought to instruct or edify, and attempted to substitute moral works for secular pro ductions in favour with the people, were persons of limited ability. It is needless to enumerate all the lives of saints, all the treatises of popular theology and morals, all the books of devotion, all the pious canticles, composed in Provencal during the Middle Ages. Enough to recall the Boetius poem (unfortunately a mere fragment) already mentioned as one of the oldest documents of the language, and really a remarkable work. From the multitude of saints lives we may single out that of St Honorat of Lerins by Raimon Feraud (about 1300), which is distinguished by variety and elegance of versification, but is almost entirely a&quot; translation from Latin. Among poems strictly didactic one stands out by reason of its great extent (nearly thirty-five thousand verses) and the somewhat original conception of its scheme the Brcviari ffamor, a vast encyclopedia, on a theological basis, composed by the Minorite friar Matfre Errnengaut of Beziers between 1288 and 1300 or thereabout. Drains. Twenty years ago it might have been questioned whether dramatic representation was known in the south of France, but within that time several short dramatic pieces have been pub lished or described ; and a considerable number of actual theatrical representations have been found mentioned in the local records. Everything of this kind that we know of belongs to the religious drama, the oldest form in every medieval literature. The period at which a purely secular theatre takes its rise in most quarters is the 15th century ; and by that time there was hardly any Proven9al literature left. We possess in Provengal mysteries of Saint Agnes, of the Passion, of the Marriage of the Virgin, all belonging to the close of the 13th century or the first half of the Hth. In the lf&amp;gt;th century there is a fragment of a mystery of St James. Provence properly so-called, especially the eastern portion of it, seems to have been particularly fond of representations of this sort, to ju&amp;lt;lge by the entries in the local records. At the close of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century many mysteries were played in that part of Dauphine which corresponds to the present depart ment of Hautes-Alpes. Five mysteries of this district, composed and played somewhere about 1500 (the mysteries of St Eustace, of [LITERATURE. St Andrew, of St Pons, of Sts Peter and Paul, and of St Anthony of Yienne), have come down to us, and are now (1S85) being edited. The influence of the contemporary French sacred drama may to some extent be traced in them. Prose Prose composition in the south of France belongs to a comparatively late stage of literary development ; and the same remark applies to the other Romanic countries, particularly to northern France, where prose hardly comes into fashion till the 13th century, the prose of the preceding century being little else than translations of the books of the Bible (especially the Psalter). As early as the 12th century we find in the south sermons, whose importance is more linguistic than literary. To the 13th century belong certain lives of the troubadours intended to be prefixed to, and to explain, their poems. They were written before 1250. when the first anthologies of troubadour poetry were com piled ; and some of them are the work of the troubadour Hugh of Saint Circq. To the same period must be assigned Las JKazos de trobar of the troubadour Raimon Vidal de Besalu (an elegant little treatise touching on various points of grammar and the poetic art), and also the Donatz Proensals of Hugh Faidit, a writer otherwise unknown, who drew up his purely grammatical work at the request of two natives of northern Italy. Of about the same date are two translations of the New Testament, one of which, preserved in MS. at Lyons, seems to have been made for Albigensians. A remark able work, both in style and thought, is the Life of St Douceline, who lived at the close of the 13th century near Marseilles, and founded an order of Bcguines. In the 14th century compositions in prose grew more numerous. Some rare local chronicles may be mentioned, the most interesting being that of Mascaro, which contains the annals of the town of Beziers from 1338 to 1390. Theological treatises and pious legends translated from Latin and French also increase in number. The leading prose work of this period is the treatise on grammar, poetry, and rhetoric known by the name of Leys d Amors. It was composed in Toulouse, shortly before 1350, by a group of scholars, and was intended to fix the rules of the language with a view to the promotion of a poetical renaissance. For this purpose an academy was founded which awarded prizes in the shape of flowers to the best compositions in verse. We still possess the collection of the pieces crowned by this academy during the 14th century, and a large part of the loth (Flors del gay saber). Unfortunately they are rather academic than poetic. The Leys d Amors, which was to be the starting point and rule of the new poetry, is the best production of this abortive renaissance. The decay of Provencal literature arrived too soon to allow of a full development of prose. The 14th and 15th centuries were in no respect a prosperous period for literature in the south of France. In the 15th century people began to write French both in verse and prose ; and from that time Provencal literature became a thing of the past. Bibliography. Fauriel, Histoire de la poe sie proren^ale (Paris ISJfi, 3 vols. 8vo), is quite antiquated. Not only are three-fourths of the works in Provencal poetry ignored, but the very idea of the book is vitiated by the author s system (now abandoned), based on the supposition that in the south of Fiance there was an immense epic literature. The articles on the troubadours iu the Histoire litteraire dp, /a France, by Ginguene, E. David, &amp;gt;fcc., must be consulted with extreme caution. F. Diez s Die Poesie der Troubadours (Zwickau, 1827, 8vo ; new ed. by Burtsch, 18S3) and his Leben und Werke der Troubadours (Zwickau, 1829, 8vo; new ed. by Bart.sch, 1882) are of groat excellence for the time at which they appeared. For the history of Provencal literature in Spain, see Mila y Fontanals, De Jos trovadores en Eapana (Barcelona, 18G1, 8vo) ; for Italy, Caveiloni. Ricerche storidie intorno ai trovatori prorenra/t (Modena, 1S44, 8vo); A. Thomas, Francesco Darberino et la litterature proven^ale en Jtalie (Paris, 188;!, 8vo) ; 0. Schultz, &quot; Die Lebensverhaltnisse der italienischen Trobadors,&quot; in Zeits. fur romanische Philologie (1883). For the bibliography consult especially Bartscli, Grundriss zur Geschichte der provenzalischen Literatur (Klberfeld, 1872, Svo). For texts the reader maybe referred to Kaynouard, Choixde poesies oriijinales des Troubadours (181G-21, C vols. 8vo), and Lc.rique roman, ou diet, de la langite d&amp;lt;&amp;gt;s troubadours, of which vol. i. (1838) is entirely taken up with texts ; nnd Kochegude, Parnnsse occitanien (Toulouse, 1819, Svo). All the pieces published by Kaynouard and Piochegudo have been reprinted without amendment by Malm, Die Werke da- Troubadours in prorenz. Sprache (Berlin, Svo, vol. i. 1846, ii. 185.5-64, iii. 1880, iv., containing an edition of the troubadour Guiraut Kiquier, 1884). The same editor s Gedichte der Troubadours (Berlin, lS5fi-73) is a collection conspicuous for its want of order and of accuracy (see Romania, iii. 303). Among editions of individual troubadours may be mentioned /&quot;et re Vidal s Lieder, by Karl Bartscli (Berlin, 18;&amp;gt;7, ]2mo); Les derniers troubadours de la Provence, by Paul Meyer (Paris, 1871, Svo); Der Troubadour Jaitfre Rudel, si in Leben und seine Werke, by A. Slimming (Kiel, 1873, Svo); nertran de Horn, sein Leben wid seine Werke, by A. Stimming (Halle, 1879, Svo); Gttilhem Fiyneira, ein prorcnzalischer Troubadour, bv E. Levy (Berlin, 1880, Svo); Dan Leben und die Lieder dis Troubadours Peire Royier,&amp;gt;y Carl Appel (Berlin, 1S82, Svo); La vita e le opt re del trovatore Arnaldo Danielle, by U. A. Canello (Halle, 1883, Svo). Among editions of Provencal works of a miscellaneous kind are Bartscli, Dcnkmciler der provenzalischen Literatur (Stuttgart, 18. r &amp;gt;(&amp;gt;, Svo); II. Suehicr, Denkmiilcr der pro- vent. Literatur und Sprache (Halle, 1883-So, 2 vols. Svo); Fr. Armitagc, Sermons dn XII siecle en i-ieux provencal (Heilbronn, 1884, 12mo); Paul Meyer, La Chanson de la Croisade contre les Albiyeois, (Paris, 187.5-79, 2 vols. Svo); Id., Daurii l et Bi ton, C/ianson de yesteproi encale (Paris, 1880, Svo); Id., Le Roman de Fiamenca (Paris, 1805, Svo); E. Stengel, Die beiden iiltesten provenzal. Gram- mat iken, lo l/onatz proensals mid las Razos de trobar (Marburg, 1878, 8vo); Bartscli, Sancta Aynes, prorenz. geistlichea Schaufpie! (Berlin, 18G7, Svo); Le . flreviari d aniorde Matfre Ermengaud, published by the Archaeological Society of Beziers (Beziers, 1802-80, 2 vols. Svo); A. L. Sardou, La Vida de Sant Ilonorat, li- yendi! en vers provenc,anx par Raymond Feraud (Xice [1875], Svo). Documents and dissertations on various points of Provencal literature will be found in almost all the volumes of Romania (Paris, in progress since 1872, Svo), and the Revue dcs Lanyues romanes (Montpellier, in progress since 1870, Svo). See also the other jour nals devoted in Germany and Italy to the Homanic languages, passim. (P. M.)