ROM 



name romance is generical, and belongs alike to the Tufcan, 

 French, and Spanifh ; inafmuch as all thefe were derived 

 from the purity of the Latin tongue, which the Romans, 

 being conquerors, introduced into thefe provinces, and 

 which, at firft, the nobles fpoke and wrote. He further 

 fays, that the Latin tongue, being admitted into Spain, was 

 fpoken as in Rome, and that there were men well Ikilled in 

 it, who fpoke and wrote it with greater refinement than the 

 vulgar ; but upon the irruption of the Goths it was re- 

 markably corrupted : that which was before Roman was 

 converted into Romance, which is equivalent to its being 

 derived from the Romans. And it farther appears, that 

 the name Romance was given to the Spanifh language, to 

 diftinguifh it from the Gothic. 



Mr. Planta, in his elaborate account of the Romanih lan- 

 guage (Phil. Tranf. vol. lxvi. part i. p. 129, &c. i, which is 

 now fpoken in the molt mountainous parts of the country 

 of the Grifons, near the fourccs oi the Rhine and the En, 

 informs us, that this language confifts of two principal dia- 

 lects ; which, though partaking of the fame general name, 

 differ fo widely as to conititute in a manner two diftinct lan- 

 guages. One dialect, he fays, which is fpoken in the En- 

 gadine, a valley extending from the fource of the En to the 

 frontiers of the Tyrolefe, is by the inhabitants called Ladin. 

 And he obferves, that the Romanfh lias never been ufed in 

 any regular compofition in writing, till the fifteenth cen- 

 tury, nor affected by any foreign invafion, or intimate con- 

 nection : but that it is at prefent the identical language that 

 was fpoken two hundred years ago. 



This learned writer obferves, that notwithilanding the 

 variety of conjectures and controvcrfies, which have oc- 

 curred with regard to the Gallic Romance, it is agreed on 

 all hands, that the vocabulary of the Roman, and the idiom 

 of the Celtic, have chiefly contributed to its formation ; 

 and, therefore, that it partakes of a common origin with 

 that of the Grifons. He adds, that there are inconteilible 

 proofs that this language was once univerfal through France, 

 and that this, and not immediately the Latin, hath been the 

 parent of the Provencal, and afterwards of the modern 

 French, the Italian, and the Spanifh. 



From a comparifon of the two Romances, as well as from 

 the fimilarity of their origin, Mr. Planta infers, that they 

 are one and the fame language. 



However, whilft the Grifons neglected to improve their 

 language, or had no opportunity for this purpofe, the taftc 

 and fertile genius of the troubadours, foftered by the coun- 

 tenance and elegance of the brilliant courts and fplendid no- 

 bility of Provence, did not leave theirs long in the rude 

 ftate in which we find it in the ninth century. But the 

 change being gradual, and almoft imperceptible, the French 

 hiflorians have fixed no epocha for the tranfition of the Ro- 

 mance into the Provencal. Neverthelefs, it appears, that 

 the former language had received no considerable alteration 

 in the twelfth century, and it ftill bore the fame name. But 

 after this era, though the name occurs, the language diflin- 

 guifhed by it is very different from the Romance of the 

 ninth century. Allowing, however, the univerfal ufe of 

 the Romance all over France till the twelfth century, and 

 that what the writers of thofe times fay of the Gallic, is to 

 be underflood of the Romance, of which there is lufficient 

 evidence, it follows, fays Mr. Planta, that the language in- 

 troduced into England under Alfred, and afterwards more 

 univerfally cftablifned by Edward the Confeflbr, and Wil- 

 liam the Conqueror, mult have been an emanation of the 

 Romance, very near akin to that which is now fpoken in the 

 Alps. 



According to Du-Cange, the Romance had alfo penetrated 

 Vol. XXX. 



R O M 



into Scotland before the twelfth century. The fame cor- 

 ruption, or coalefcencc, which gave rife to the Gallic Ro- 

 mance, and that of the Grifons, mufl alfo have produced, in 

 Italy, a language much relembling, if not perfectly limilar, 

 to thole two idioms. It appears alfo, from what has been 

 already faid, that the language of the Romans penetrated 

 very early into Spain, and that the Romance was very com- 

 mon in that kingdom. The univeriality of the Romance 

 in the French dominions, during the eleventh century, ac- 

 counts for its introduction into Paleffine, and many other 

 parts of the Levant, by Godfrey de Bouillon, and other ad- 

 venturers, who engaged under him in the crufades. 



This writer farther adds, that the heroic achievements and 

 gallantry of the knights of the Crofs gave rife to a fwarm 

 of fabulous narrations, which, though not an invention of 

 thofe days, were yet, from the name of the language in 

 which they were written, ever after diflinguiflied by the ap- 

 pellation of Romances. And he prefumes, that the Ro- 

 mance hath been preferved fo near its primitive ftate, not 

 only in the country of the Grifons but in feveral other re- 

 mote and unfrequented parts. 



Mr. Berington, in his "Literary Hiftory of the Mid- 

 dle Ages," recently publifhed, obferves, that the language 

 afterwards known by the name of French, was divided 

 into two dialects, both of which bore the name of " Ro- 

 mane,' 7 or Romance, becaufe eacli was formed on the bafis 

 of the Roman : that to the north being adulterated by a 

 mixture of Frankifh and Norman words ; whilft the dialect 

 of the fouth was vitiated by words transferred from the lan- 

 guage of the Oflrogoths, Vifigoths, and Alani. The river 

 Loire, not rigidly taken, was their common boundary. The 

 firft might be called the " French Romane," the latter the 

 " Provencal," becaufe it was fpoken by the fubjects of Rai- 

 mond, count of Provence, well known in the armies of the 

 crufaders. The characters of thefe dialects, however, 

 though owning a common fource, were marked by ftrong 

 lines of difference. The Provencal, from a milder climate, 

 from a more conftant intercourfe with ftrangers, and from a 

 cloier affinity to the mother tongue, wasfoft and harmonious : 

 the French more harfh, as retaining more of its northern 

 mixture. But if we mention the countries in which thefe 

 languages were current in the 13th century, it will be feen 

 that the Provencal was confined within the limits above 

 afiigned it ; while the French Romane, overflowing its na- 

 tural boundaries, became familiar to diftant nations. It 

 pafled with the conquerors into England, where it was pre- 

 vioufly fafhionable. The Norman fettlers rendered it fami- 

 liar at Naples and in Sicily ; though here it was foon van- 

 quifhed by the fuperior fafcination of the Italian dialect. 

 The crufaders carried it into the Eaft, and planted it in Sy- 

 ria, in Paleftine, in Cyprus, and at Conftantinople, where 

 it was at leaft as permanent as the conqucfts which they had 

 made. 



ROMANTRINO, in Geography, a town of Italy, in the 

 Novarefe ; 4 miles E.N.E. of Novara. 



ROMANUS I., Lecapenu.s, in Biography, emperor of 

 the Eaft, rofe from an obfeure origin to various employments 

 under Leo the philofopher, and was, at one time, poflefied 

 of the command of the naval armies. Having rendered liim- 

 felf all-powerful at court, he perfuaded the prince Conftan- 

 tine to marry his daughter, banilhed the emprefs-mothcr 

 Zoe to a monaftery, and in 919 caufed himfelf to be 

 crowned emperor by the patriarch. He affociatcd his three 

 fons in the imperial authority, and ordered their names, witli 

 his own, to be placed in all edicts before that of the lawful 

 emperor Conftantinc. The adherents of the latter made 

 fomc attempts to free him from tlus l'ervitude, but they 

 3 M were 



