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GERMANY. 



GERS. 



IS 



nt the courts of Genuan prince?, who were fond of poetrj', and many 

 of whom were poets themselves. Love and the praise of ladies were 

 the principal themes of their compositions, in which howerer were 

 intermingled thedesciiptionof chivalrons exploits generally performed 

 either in defence of religion or for the honour of the fair. The vcrai- 

 fication of these poems is exceedingly varied, and they were generally 

 set to music and sung by their authors. The most ancient Minne- 

 singer whose works have reached us is Henry von Veldek ; next to 

 him the most celebrated are Walter von der Vogelweyde, Reimar 

 the Old, Reimar von Zweter, Ulrich von Lichtenstein, Wolfram von 

 Kshenbach, Hartman von der Aue, and some others, who all lived 

 cither at the end of the 12th or at the beginning of the 13tli century. 

 The last of these poets who deserve notice are John of WUrzberg and 

 John Hadloup, who both lived at the end of the 13th century. 



The most remarkable production of that time is the celebrated 

 ' Nibelungen Lied,' which is quite different from the poems of the 

 Minnesintrcrs, aurl whose origin is by many ascribed to a much more 

 rcinot*! period. It is a kind of epic poem, of which the chief heroes 

 are Attila, or Etzel, king of the Huns, and Dietrich, or Thedoric, of 

 licme, king of the Goth.s. There are several minor poems of the same 

 kind and on similar svibjects, which were collected and published for 

 the first time in 1490 under the title of ' Heldenbuch,' or heroic book. 

 This collection has been reprinted several times in the old language, 

 and also translated into modem German. The decline of chivaliy 

 put an end to the Minnesingers, and the art of poetry descended from 

 the nobles to the burghers of cities : welfare and civilisation being 

 secured by their fortified towns, gave them a decided advantage over 

 the nobles, who abandoned themselves to the greatest excesses, and 

 lived in a most lawless state, being constantly engaged in mutual feuds 

 and depredations during the troubles which agitated the German 

 empire in the latter part of the 13th century, after the death of 

 Fretlerick It. ' • 



The cultivation of poetry by tlie burghers became a kind of trade, 

 and the poets, who formed a corporation like other artisans and 

 tradesmen, were called Heistersingers, or master singers. They had 

 their rules like other corporations, and the members were obliged to 

 Fubmit to an apprenticeship. Their poetry was of a different kind 

 from that of the Minnesingers. The exploits of chivalry and the 

 euthosinstic love or rather worship of ladies were no longer the 

 exclusive themes of their compositions, although they prwluced some 

 metrical chronicles. Tlie general subjects of the poems of this period 

 are of a moral and satirical character, bnt there are also some of the 

 didactic kind. The most celebrated productions of this school are 

 the well-known poems, ' Reineke der Fuchs,' translated into English 

 and published by Caxton ; and the ' Narrenschiff.' which has also 

 been translated (not from the German original, but from a T^atin 

 troDslation entitled ' Stultifcra Kavis') into English under the title of 

 the ' Shippe of Fooles,' by Alexander Barclay. 



There are many other )>roductions of a similar kind, all character- 

 ised by an overflowing comic and satirical humour. The best specimen 

 of this national humour is the celebrated production called ' Eulcn- 

 apiegel,' translated into Eqglish under the title of 'Owleglass,' 

 London, 1709. 



To this epoch belongs the commencement of the original dramatic 

 literature of Germany, which is due to the Heistersingers' school 

 of Niimberg. Before that period the Germans were only acquainted 

 with the so-called mysteries or dramatised biblical stories, written 

 and performed for the most part in Latin. About the middle of the 

 15th ccuttiry, Hans Volz,a barber by profession, Rosenblut, and some 

 others, introduced a kind of farce called ' Carnival Plays.' They 

 were all excelled by Hans Sachs, a shoemaker by profession, who 

 lived from 1494 to 1576: his works are full of wit and invention, 

 and next to the Spaniard Lope de Vega, he is the most fertile of 

 ilramatic writers. 



Many historical and allegorical poems were written during the 15th 

 r. nttiry, and several bollads and other metrical productions were 

 It ndered into prose, which may be considered as the commencement 

 t>f the novel in Germany. Amongst the historical works which 

 belong to this period we may mention the chronicles of Bishop Otho, 

 of Freisingcn, and his ' History of Frederick I. ; ' the works of Henry 

 •if Krfurt, who died in 1370; those of Gobelinus, who died about 

 1420; and some others, all written in Latin. The ' Fiirstenbuch,' or 

 ' I'ook of Princes," by John Enenkel, 1250; the 'Metrical Chronicle' 

 iif Oltokor, of ilomeck, bom about 1264; the 'Chronicles' of 

 .Iniiies von Koenicshofen, of John Rothe, of John Thurmayr 

 (,\v.ntinus) ; the ' Pomerian Chronicle,' by Kantzow, and that of 

 I.ubcck, by Detmar, were written in German. The 'Chronicle of 

 the World,' by .Sebastian Frank, is the first universal history in the 

 German langnnge. Among the scholastic philosophers several 

 Germans distinguished themselves from the beginning of the 13th 

 rentury ; we may mention as one of the most celebrated Albert 

 'Ir •. or Grot, Ijetter known under the name of Albertus Magnu.', 

 li^tingui8hed himself also by a knowledge of natural philosophy 



• 1 }iiT to that of his contemjioraries, and who in many respects 

 may be compared with Roger Bacon. Many collections of laws were 

 also made during this period, of which the most celebrated are the 

 ' .Sachsciispiegel ' and the 'Scwalienspiegel,' that is, the Saxon and 

 the Swal ian Mirror, both compiled in the 13th century. The 



OEOO. DIT. vol.. in. 



inveulicm of the art of ju-iiitiug, of wljicli llio Gcruiaus are so justly 

 proud, g.ive a new impulse to the national literature, and prepared 

 the way for the Reformation. From this period dates the rise of the 

 modem literature of Germany, rendered illustrious in all branches by 

 a uiimerous array of writers of the highest eminence, in whoso 

 biographies, in another section of this English Cyolopsedia, the 

 further progress of German literature will be treated. 



GERONA. [Cataluna.] 



GERS, a department in the south of France, situated between 

 43° 17' and 44° 4' N. lat., 1° 11' E. and 0° 16' W. long., is bounded 

 N. by the department of Lot-et-Garonne, N.E. by that of Tarn-et- 

 Garonne, E. and S.E. by Haute-Garoune, S. by Hautes-Pyrdndes, and 

 W. by Basses-Pyrcndes and Landes. The form of the department is 

 very compact; its greatest length from east to west is 73 miles, from 

 north to south 53 miles : the area is 2425 square miles, and the popu- 

 lation in 1851 was 307,479, which gives ]26'79 to the square mile, 

 being 47'79 below the average population per scpiare mile for the 

 whole of France. According to the census of 1S41 the population of 

 the department amoimted to 311,447. The department is formed out 

 of the old districts of Condomois and Armagnac, and a small part 

 of Comminges — territories formerly comprised in Gascony and 

 Quienne. 



Surface, Jlydro^ajthy, and Communicationt, — The department is 

 hilly ; the lower slopes of the Pyrenees, rtmning generally from south 

 to north, cover the greater part of the surface. The mo.st important 

 of these ridecs runs north by west, and separates the basin of the 

 Garonne from that of the Adour. Thirty-eight watercourses mark 

 out as many valleys of great beauty and fertility, o])ening in width 

 from a few yards in their southern, to three or four miles in the 

 northern extremities, and separated from each other by the ridges of 

 hills before mentioned. The rivers Save, Gimone, Arratz, Gers, 

 Baise, and Losse flow northward through the department on their 

 way to join the Garonne. The Gers from which the department is 

 named rises in the heathy moor of Pinas, in the aiToudissemeut of 

 Bagndres, and department of Hautes-Pyrdndes. It passes Maul(5on, 

 Auch, and Lectoure, and enters the Garonne on the left bank about 

 five miles above the city of Agen, after a course of above 90 miles : 

 no part of its course is available for navigation or floatage except 

 during the spring floods, when timber is sent down it to the Garonue. 

 The Midou and the Douze flow north-westward, and unite at Mcnt- 

 de-Marsan in the department of Landes to form the Midouze, a feeder 

 of the Adour. The Arros joins the Adour in this department a little 

 below Plaisance. The Adour itself crosses the south-western angle 

 of the department, receiving several mountain streams on its left 

 bank. All these rivers ai-e subject to inundations at the time of the 

 melting of the snows on the Pyrenees ; none of them is navigable 

 within this department. The gradual rise of the country from north 

 to south is seen by the height of the hills inclosing the valley of the 

 Gers. On the confines of Lot-et-Garonne these hills are 318 feet, at 

 Auch 721 feet, and at Mont d'Astarac in the south of the department 

 1180 feet above the sea-level The department is traversed by 8 

 imperial, 19 departmental, aud 4G parish roads. 



'I'he climate is very changeable. From October to May rain, snow, 

 and frost alternate, the cold being most intense in January; from 

 May to the end of June the weather is warmer, and thunder and 

 hailstorms are frequent ; July and August are very hot ; September 

 is the most agreeable month, but even then the mornings and 

 evenings are cold. The prevailing winds blow from east and 

 west. 



The department contains 1,651,954 acres. Of this surface 824,836 

 acres are arable: 160,406 are natural pasture; 1.^0,075 are covered 

 with woods and forests; 216,897 are occupied with vineyaids; 49,999 

 are covered with ponds, rivers and canals of irrigation ; 88,347 aro 

 heath and moorland. The soil consists of a stifl' loam resting on 

 thick layers of clay of great depth, which are separated in some 

 instances by thin strata of sand or tufa. The nucleus of the hills is 

 argillaceous limestone. Breadstuffs aro grown in quantity more than 

 enough for the consumption ; wheat, maize, oats, and rye aro tho 

 principal grain cro])8 ; peas and beans, cabbage of various kinds, garlic, 

 and onions are cultivated extensively. Horned cattle, sheep of 

 inferior breed, mules for the Spanish market, swine, game, and poultry- 

 arc abundant. Geese and ducks especially aro very numerous, and 

 of large size ; their wings and legs are salted for export. Marble, 

 building-stone, gypsum, marl, potters' clay, and a fusible spar used 

 in glass and china works are found. Some mineral springs, but no 

 metals, are found in the department. 



Of manufacturing industry there is little. Coarse woollens, bricks, 

 glass, pottery, and other articles of common necessity are made for 

 home use. 'I'he quantity of leather tanned is in excess of the con- 

 sumption, and some of it is exported. Tho other exi)orts are brandy, 

 wine, c<im, flour, wool, poultry, and cattle. The mflnber of wiiid- 

 niills and water-mills exceeds 1000. 



The quantity of wine produced in this department yearly is about 

 25,000,000 gallons, about one-fourth of which is used for home con- 

 sumption, and the greater part of the remainder is distilled into 

 brandy, known by the name of Armagnac, from the former name of 

 the district. In quantity of alcohol, the Armagnac br.andies bear to 

 the Cognac the ratio of 19'5 to 22. But for mildness and delicacy of 



C 



