3?2 ROMANCES. 



which have not yet been published, and most of which contain from six to 

 eight thousand lines, will give an idea of the extent to which the romance 

 literature nourished from the twelfth to the thirteenth century. There are, 

 in addition to the above, some twenty romances which belong to the Brittany 

 cycle, and four or five very long ones which should be included in the cycle 

 of Rome or of antiquity : amongst others, the " Romance of the Seven Sages" 

 and the well-known " Romance of Alexander," begun in the twelfth century 

 by Lambert " li Tors," and continued by Alexandre de Bernay. Most of the 

 romances which are given above are in ten-syllable verse, arranged in 

 couplets, or la! fuses, with assonances, which were not replaced by rhymes until 

 the second age of romances. Many others, less ancient, are in lines of twelve 

 syllables, called Alexandrines, because the first attempt to write lines with 

 this. metre was made in the "Romance of Alexander." There are a few in 

 lines of eight syllables, rhymed- in couplets, and this system of versification 

 seems to have been applied, in the first instance, to romances of a more homelv 

 kind, which, like the well-known " Roman de Renard," have the vivacity and 

 sprightliness of the fabliau, and appeal more to the wit than to the imagina- 

 tion of the readers, or, it should rather be said, of the listeners. 



The jugglers were very loath to part with the manuscripts of their chanson* 

 de yesfe and romances, and it was not for some time that these manuscripts 

 were to be found in the libraries of monasteries and castles. Many of these 

 manuscripts, as one can see, have been copied from the original at the cost of 

 some wealthy noble. The jugglers themselves were always eager to procure 

 good romances, which they learnt by heart and sang in public, to the accom- 

 paniment of the violin or the rote. Those who had the best repertory were 

 certain of meeting with the most numerous audiences during their peregrina- 

 tions through the country. These jugglers, although in the Middle Ages 

 they formed one vast association, had many points of difference the one with 

 the other, and preserved the distinctions of rank, which were dependent in the 

 main upon their talent and fortune. Some of them would not sing other than 

 national songs, and only condescended to appear in the houses of the great 

 nobles. They travelled about on horseback, accompanied by their servants, 

 received a warm welcome at the castles and abbeys which they visited, and 

 were handsomely paid. Others, again, excited suspicion by their mean and 

 hungry appearance, and were often ordered away from the door of the houses 

 before which they halted to sing for their supper. It may be taken for 



