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283 
these few will he enough to show how universally music was 
esteemed and practised by our early ancestors. We will pass on 
to the Norman period. 
The Normans, or Northmen, left their dreary home in the 
Vigten Islands, on the Norwegian coast, under Rollo, or Roland, 
in the year 912, and took possession of a part of Northern France, 
Neustria, which they named Normandy. At the time of their 
invasion of England, one hundred and fifty years after, they had 
adopted the French language, and were the most renowned 
warriors in Europe. They brought with them the music of the 
Troubadours, or Trouveres (inventors, as we have poets or 
makers). ‘The home of the Troubadour was in the warmer climes 
of Southern France, but the chill air of the north did not hush their 
harps or voices. The man who struck the first blow in the battle 
of Hastings, was the minstrel Taillefer,—a warrior of great stature 
and prowess, as well as askilful harper. He led the van, recounting 
the deeds of Roland and Charlemagne. As he neared the foe, he 
threw away jhis harp, brandished his axe, and rushing into the 
fight—bravely fell. 
Every baron in those days had his minstrel, who kept the 
world well informed of the good deeds and qualities of his patron. 
We may be sure that a fair share of flattery was well-bestowed and 
amply remunerated. The characters of these old Norman knights, 
as painted by their minstrels, are far too highly coloured: the 
lights are all there, but the shadows are wanting. 
There was now in England another division in the music :— 
1. The music of the court and nobility; 2. The popular music. 
In all high places everything was Norman—the language, the 
laws, and the music. The English people, however, clung 
tenaciously to their own customs, and not in vain; for when the 
fusion of the two races became complete (about the time of 
Edward III.) the English language and music came again to the 
front, though both were slightly tinged with Norman. 
The Normans introduced the ‘ Cantus mensurabiles,” or 
measured music, invented at Cologne shortly before their invasion 
of England. In this, each note denoted, as now, its duration, 
