Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/48

 PROVENCAL LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE only somewhat softer in pronunciation. The first monument of the Provencal language be- longs to the middle of the 10th century. It is a fragment of 257 ten-syllable verses on Boethius, and has been preserved in a manu- script of the llth century, which, according to Paul Meyer, and as appears from the lan- guage and mode of writing, originated in Li- mousin or Auvergne. Next in historical order come a few partly Provencal poems, including a long poem on the passion of Christ, and the legend of St. Leodegar, published in Cham- pollion-Figeac's Documents hiatoriqv.es. Ray- nouard has collected several Latin documents with sentences of Provencal interspersed, da- ting from about 860 to 1080 ; and other docu- ments in part or entirely Provencal, of a later date, have been embodied in Bartsch's Chret- tomathie. Several minor poems on religious subjects and several sermons, dating from about the llth century, have been collected by Paul Meyer. Of the same date, or perhaps of the beginning of the 12th century, is a manu- script recently published by Konrad Hoffmann, containing a paraphrase of the discourse of Christ in John xiii. The main feature of the flourishing period of Provencal literature is the poetry of the troubadours. According to Quiraut Riquier, it would seem that the trou- badours were in a measure the successors and disciples of tho jongleurs, who made a sort of trade of rhyming and singing and dancing. Some account of the art d trobar (art of in- venting) is necessary for an adequate idea of the main characteristic of Provencal poetry. In one class of versification, the canson (canzo, canzoneta), the rhymes, pauses, and general manner of the first stanza had to be main- tained through all the succeeding stanzas, and at the close came a commiato, or summary of the whole, addressed by the poet to his friends, patrons, or mistress. The sircente permitted greater ease of composition, and while the canson was used chiefly for moral and amorous effusions, the office of the lat- ter poetic form was to serve as a vehicle for attacks on the secular and spiritual lords, as well as for love songs of a satirical or light nature. In the tensons, or poetic combats, two or more persons support opposite sides on some subject of philosophy or love. Though these combats were originally extemporary, in later times several troubadours would choose a common subject and metre ; the first would compose a stanza and transmit it to another, who would compose the second stanza, and so on ; and when each of the disputants had added his part, the whole would be submitted to competent judges, forming what was called a "court of love." There are also epistolary treatises on the subjects of love, friendship, and chivalry, which were called donaire, sa- lutz, and ensenhamen. The plarih is a kind of elegy celebrating the memory of a fallen knight, or mourning over disappointments in love. Little poems sung during the dance were called balada and dansa ; they were mostly of a very simple nature. The serena, serenade or evening song, gives utterance to the most passionate love, but only one has come down to us. The alba, or waking song, reminds the lovers that it is dawn. The pastoreta or pas- torela generally gives a conversation held be- tween a knight and a shepherdess, one com- plimenting the other, and always on the sub- ject of love. The earliest troubadour of whom any poetic remains have been preserved ia William IX. of Poitiers (1071-1127). Among the most important Provencal poets subsequent to him must be mentioned first of all Giraud de Borneil (1170-1220), who in the opinion of his contemporaries was the greatest of all. Richard Coeur de Lion of England, Alfonso II. of Aragon, and Robert I. of Anvergne were also celebrated troubadours. They were excelled, however, by Bertrand de Born, their contemporary, whom Dante and Uhland would have immortalized if his own fiery and warlike rhymes had not. Other famous troubadours toward the end of the 12th century were Mar- cabrnn, Jaufre, Randal, Count Rambaut III. of Orange, Peire of Auvergne, Peire Rogier, Peire Raimon of Toulouse, Arnaut de Marueil, Peire Vidal, Rambaut de Vaqueiras, Peirol, the monk of Montauban, and Arnaut Daniel. To the 13th century belong the names of Faidit> Raimon of Miraval, Savarik of Mauleon, Uk of Saint Cyr, Aimerik of Peguilain, Peiro Cardinal, Gnillem Figueiras, Sordel, Bonifaci Calvo, Bertolome Zorgi, and Quiraut Riquier. Among the treatises on the troubadour's art stands foremost La dreita maniera de trobar, " The Correct Art of Versifying," by Raimon Vidal, who seems to have been a famous trou- badour of the middle of the 18th century. Another, but more of a grammatical nature, is the Donatut Provincialis by Uk Faidit, extant in two editions, one Romance, the other Latin ; both have been published in Guessard's Gram- maires romanes inedites. A full grammar and science of poetry was published by the con- sistory del gay saber of Toulouse, and edited by Moulinier, entitled Leys d'amors, " Laws of Love," t. ., of the poetry of love. A portion of it, Lasflors del gay saber, appeared in 1856. But by this time Provencal verse was almost extinct. The troubadours had lost their most eminent patrons, and the attempt to revive them by distributing prizes for the best com- position in the floral games of Toulouse failed to establish the name of any Provencal poet. Still, there have always been some who used Provencal for their poetic compositions, and in the 19th century several have even gained celebrity as Proven9al poets. Foremost among these stands Jacques Jasmin, the barber of Agen (1798-1864), and after him come Jos6 Roumanille, Theodore Aubanel, and the mar- quis de la Fare-Alais. The most eminent liv- ing Provencal poet undoubtedly is Frd6rio Mistral, the pupil of Roumanille, and one of the largest contributors to Li Prouvenfalo