1798.]° 
Naples was fo pleafed with this noble 
{cience, that he highly favoured Petrarca, 
the poet-laureat, who flourifhed in his 
time ; nay regarded him as his particular 
friend. At Naples Petrarea is faid to 
haye compofed his Latin work Rerum Me- 
morcndarum ;, his eclogues; and many 
of his fonnets, particularly that on the 
death of this king, beginning 
Rota & alta Colonna, e’l verde lauro. 
John Boccacio, an excellent poet, and 
eminent orator, affirms that the kihg John 
et Cyprus was more engaged in this 
ftudy than any other. 
But how, or in what manuer, moft 
virtuous lord, this art firit fell into the 
hands of the romancers or vulgar poets, 
may appear a difficult inquiry. We only 
know that it is cultivated in all countries, 
and in the moft diftant regions, under its 
three defcriptions of the Sublime, the 
Middling, and the Low. The Sublime 
is referred to thofe who write in Greek 
er Latin verfe. The Middling is ufed by 
thofe who compofe in the vulgar tongue, 
as Guido Januncello of Bolagna, and 
Arnold Daniel cf Provence: and though 
I have not feen any work of theirs, it is 
faid they were the firft who wrote terza 
vima, and fonnets. “The Low is reftridied 
to thofe who, without rule or meafure, 
write romances and fongs, for the enter- 
fainment of the common and fervile clafs 
of people. 
After Guido and Daniel, Dante wrote 
elegantly, in lerza rima, his three come- 
dies of Hell, Purgatory, and Paradile : 
Petrarca his Triumphs; Checo Darcolt 
the book De Praprigtativus Rerum. Boc- 
cacio interfperied with this meafure his 
Nintale ; other parts being in prole, after 
the manner of Boethius. ‘Thofe, and 
many. others, alfo wrote Italian poetry 
in other forms, ftyled Sonnets, and Moral 
Songs. 
I believe that this art paffed frem the 
‘ZLimofins to the French, and*to this 
moft weftera segion our Spain. The 
French ufe various and difcrepant mea- 
’ * Ss 
fures; their terz2 riza, fonnets, and. 
moral fongs, are of the ballad icale; and 
mm all of them they admit tome lame feet,- 
which we call middle-feet,' the Limofiis, 
French, and Catalans, (7295. 
Several French poets have fignatized 
themfelves, as. John Lorris, and Jon 
Copinet of Meun, authors of the Romance 
of the Rofe. Michaut wrote a large book 
of ballads, fongs, roundelays, lays, and 
virolais. Otto de Grantfon, a brave and 
virtuous knight, allo diitinguifhed him- 
f&if, . Allan “Chartier, a famous modern 
Letter of Marquis Santillana. 
431 
poet, fecretary to Louis [king*] of 
France, has written moft elegantly the 
Debate of the Four Ladies, and other 
pieces, beautiful and pleafant. 
In one, but that a chief refpe&t, I pres 
fer the Italians to the French, becaute 
the former difplay higher genius, ‘and 
adorn and compofe beautiful and uncom- 
mon ftories. But with regard to art, I 
muft prefer the French to the Italians, 
who feem only to attend to the accent and 
rime. The French carefully fet their 
pieces to mufic, and fing them in {weet 
and variegated ftrains; mufc being 
among them fo familiar that one would 
imagine the great mufical philofophers 
Orpheus, Pythagoras, and Empedocles, 
had been their countrymen; who, as fome 
write, could appeafe not only the rage 
of men, but even the infernal furies with 
the fonorous melodies, and fweet modu- 
lations of their fongs. And what doubt 
that, as the green leaves in {pring decorate 
the trees, fo iweet voices, and fair founds, 
fhould accompany all rime, ail metre, all 
verfe, of whatever form or meafure ? 
The Catalans, Valencians, and a few 
of the kingdom of Arragon, are great 
proficients in this art. They firft wrote 
in troves rimadas, which are lines of 
many fyliables, fome riming, others not. 
They have fince ufed couplets of two fyl- 
lables, in the Limofin manner. Several 
of their poets are eminent, both in in- 
vention and verfification. Guillen de 
Berguedo, a generous and noble knight, 
and Pao de Benlibren acquired great re- 
putation. Pero March, the elder, a va- 
liant and noble knight, compofed elegant 
poems ; and, among others, wrote pro- 
verbs of pure morality. In thefe our 
times flourifhed Jorde de Sant Jorde, a 
prudent kuight, who wrote excellent 
pieces, and fet them to mufic, being an 
eminent mufictan. He wrote the Paflions 
of Love, in which he intermingled many 
good ancient fongs. Febler tranflated 
Dante into the Catalan language, in the 
fame lines and rimes. Anfias March, 
who is {till alive, isa great trovader, and 
‘a man of elevated mind. 
Among us metre firft appeared in va- 
rious forms, as inthe book of Alexander, 
the Vows of the Peacock, and the. book 
of the Archprieft of Hita. In this man- 
ner alfo Pero Lopez de Ayala, the elder, 
wrote a byok on the Manners of the Pa- 
lace, which he called Rimes. That mode 
* This word fems an interpolation ; Louis 
was not king till July 1461. © Don Luis de 
Francia implies the Dauphin. 
ftyled 


