1890-91.] CELTIC, HOMAN AND GREEK TYPES. 187 



because the peopte of Provence commonly used it in their compositions. The trouba- 

 dours and chanters, the tellers of stories and the conjurers of Provence — in fine, all 

 who followed ' the gay science,' began, from the time of Capet down, to romance to 

 good purpose, inditing their tales and novels in the Roman language, for the Proven- 

 cals were then more versed in literature and poesy than all the rest of the French 

 together^ 



1. L'Abbe Leboeuf states that " in most of the provinces of Gaul a language was 

 commonly spoken very similar to that of the Provencals, and it lasted until the trade 

 of the northern Provinces with the Germans, and of Armorica with the English, caused 

 towards the eleventh century a harshness which did not previously exist." Thus we 

 find the Frangisque idioms re-inforced and perceive the origin of modern French, 

 which has probalily prevailed over Provencal because, the seat of the French kings 

 being in the north, at Paris, public documents were edited in the northern forms." 



3. The authors of the Literary History of France tell us very clearly, '■'' After this 

 date we must distinguish French Poetry., properly so called., from Provencal ; the 

 genius of the latter tongue remaining almost pure Roman, while French, although pure 

 Roman in its origin, was gradually changed, as much by new inflections and termina- 

 tions as by other improvements which brought it into harmony with the French spirit. 

 This was the tongue which the poets north of the Loire chiefly used ; those to the 

 south of it rhymed in Provengal." 



Now from Genoa to Carthagena, Romanesque dialects are still the 

 mother tongue of the common folk. They are still so allied that the 

 intimate relationship is perceived by even the illiterate, who can under- 

 stand them without much difficulty. There seems to be a somewhat 

 marked division at the Italian frontier on the one hand, and at the 

 Spanish frontier on the other. The Genoese dialect verges more on the 

 Italian language ; perhaps in appearance rather than in fact, because 

 Italian orthography is used in spelling it. Then we have Vintimillioso, 

 Mentonasque, Monegasque, Nigois, Proven9al proper, langue docien, 

 Montpelierien, Toulousain, Cevenois, Gascon, Rouergat, Lozerien, 

 Dauphinois, Auvergnat, Limousin, etc.,* and a number of Pyrenaean 

 dialects. Passing the Pyrenees where again the Spanish spelling gives a 

 different look to similar words, we get Catalan, which merges into Spanish 

 proper. The people of the heart of Languedoc speak of the French 

 language as a foreign and intrusive one ; they call it " Franchiman." It 

 is but recently that the Government has resolved that instruction in the 

 Public schools must be given in French, and has prohibited the use of 

 Provencal in the school premises. 



These local dialects are largely meant when our correspondents in 



* Many of these being collectively called " Gabachs." 



