446 ROMANCE LITERATURE 



Little by little the literature of the " langue d'oil " awoke from 

 its centuries of sleep: and we can say that the literature of the 

 " langue d'oc " arose and walked. Francis Raynouard, mature and 

 well known in other lines, was prompted by love for his native 

 region to give himself up to his studies with great zeal; and this zeal 

 proved very fruitful. It is a grievous error for the French to con- 

 sider him the founder of Romance philology. And the title of 

 Gramma/ire comparee, which was read for the first time on one of his 

 volumes, 1 and which Raynouard owes to Frederick Schlegel, 2 no 

 longer misleads any one. The author lacked scholarly training; 3 but 

 the lucid choice of Provencal texts which he edited, and the Lexique 

 Roman on which he labored so long, constitute an imperishable work. 

 A comparison with the contemporary Parnasse Occitanien enhances 

 the merit of Raynouard's work far more than it diminishes its 

 originality. The difference is seen in the effect. The Parnasse Oc- 

 citanien had none; 4 the works of Raynouard became known in France 

 and abroad, and everywhere (unfortunately accompanied by erron- 

 eous ideas) they spread a knowledge of the Provencal. Even our 

 Giovanni Galvani owed them much, 5 although his incentive to work 

 in this language came, not from them, but from his ancient fellow 

 citizen Giovan Maria Barbieri and from Francesco Redi. Italian 

 tradition had not ceased to work. 8 



cation to de la Rue boars the date of 1819, while most of the copies bear on the 

 title-page " 1832." The book was not easily sold. 



1 Tome sixilme, contenant la Grammaire comparee des langucs de I' Europe latine, 

 dans lews rapports avec la langue des troubadours. The date of this volume is 1821 . 

 And the verb " comparer " appears often in the text. In the same way appears in 

 it '' comparaison." 



2 As known, he was the first who spoke of " vergleichende Grammatik," in the 

 memorable book Ueber die Sprache und Weisheit der Indier, Heidelberg, 1808, 

 p. 28. However, it was not from this book, but from conversations with the 

 author and with his brother William, both his friends, that the inspiration must 

 have come to Raynouard. 



3 " Raynouards arbeiten scheinen mir nur bis zu einem gewissen punct lobens- 

 werth," declared Jakob Grimm to Diez (Zeit. /. roman. Philol., vol. vi, p. 501). And 

 J)icz in return: "Was Raynouard betrifft, so stimme ich Ihrern Urtheile bri: die 

 vornehme Halturg des Verfassers scliadet dem Werke erstaunlich; er sagte mir 

 s"lbst. or habe nicht mehr geben wollen, als was er nicht selbst vorstanden habe, 

 das Qbrigo sci unverstandlich und des Abdrucks nicht worth und so vormisst 

 man moiirore wichtige und bei don Troub. berufone Liedor. Seine Litteratur- 

 k'-nntnisso in diesem Fach sind mir selir zweideutig, ich glaube, er ist boi Millot 

 stehon tr- bliohon" (Ibid. vol. vn, p. 486.) 



4 Dii /.. in January, 1826, seven years after the publication, had not yet been 

 able to get it. He received it shortly after from Grimm. 



5 I \<~ acknowledges it speaking, " Ai Lottori " of his Osservazioni sulla pocsia de' 

 Trm-rtftiri. Modona, 1829, p. 7: " Le Oprre del ch. Raynouard sono per le mani 

 di tutti. ( -d io non che ne fugga, ne desidoro anzi il confronto, e me gli confcsso 

 discepolo c iiin.-simo ammiratore." Those words would bear us farther than the 

 truth, if th"v had not as corrective a letter which Galvani wrote in the last years 

 of his life to Pietro Bortolotti, and which has been printed by Bertolotti in the 

 Notizic iritnrno nlla ritn cd alle opere di Mans. Celestino Caredoni, and reprinted by 

 Antonio Masinolli in the Xotizie intornti alia vita cd alle opere of Galvani himself, 

 Modena, 1874. p. 10. In that letter Galvani relates, with many particulars, the 

 origin and progress of his Provencal studies. 



8 Therefore Cavedoni also, as an offset of Galvani, proceeds from the Italian 



