t 
Retrospect of French Literature— History. 
“ Whether the Normans, during the 
different successive invasions of France, 
introduced among us the method of har- 
pooning whales, or whether this process 
was. known, to and practised here an- 
terior to those incursions, I pretend not 
to decide; but certain it is, that men- 
tion is made of a fishery for these cetace- 
ous animals on our coast, in the book 
entitled “ La Livre de la Translation: et 
des Miracles de Saint Vaast,” under the 
date of 875. A Life of St. Arnould, Big 
shop of Soissous, in the eleventh century, 
makes particular mention of the. har- 
poon, on the occasion of a miracle ef- 
fected on the part of the holy personage. 
Certain Flemish fishermen having wound- 
ed a very large whale, with arrows and 
lances, his capture,we are told, was deem- 
ed certain, when ail of a sudden, acquiring 
new strength and vigour, 
hunself with such activity, that he was 
on the point of escaping. In this criti- 
cal posture of affairs, adds the writer of 
this legendary tale, the whole resource of 
the fishermen consisted in the invocation 
of the hoty bishop, to whom they pro- 
mised part of the fish in question, pro- 
vided he assisted them in securing him, 
The pious prelate accepted the offering, 
and at that very moment. the whale 
calmly permitted himself to be bound, 
and was immediately brought-on shore 
by ropes, without any farther resist- 
ance. 
“ The fabours of our ancient monks, 
have not been entirely Jost, so far as the 
history ot those ages is a subject of consi- 
deration.” Their charters and other 
papers have become the depositaries of 
all the little science which had been ac- 
quired during former times ; and it is 
from a knowledge of such rude periods, 
that we are enabled to trace the pro- 
gress of the arts. We accordingly learn, 
that the whales, at the epoch. to which 
we now allude, were accustomed to visit 
even the coasts of Normandy, as well as 
the shores of Flanders. I haye also dis- 
covered, that in the eleventh century, a 
donation was made tothe Abbey of the 
Holy Trinity at Caen, by William the 
Conqueror, of the tithe of whales, either 
—taken-at;—er-earried to Dive. * 
* © Yn abull issued by, Pope Eugenius 
“HI. dated in 1145, besides, I find a do- 
nation in favour of the church of Cou- 
tances, of the tithe of the tongues of 
—————_—+ 
_ _* Decimam Dive —de balenisetids sale, &c. 
(Gall. Christ. XL, Instrum. 39s 5 
he exerted. 
69% 
whalest taken at Merry, agrant which 
was contirmed to that church, by an act 
of Philip, King of France, in 1319. It 
does not follow indeed, from the text, 
that the whale was caught at sea; 
but there is every reason to suppose, 
that the Normaus, familiarized in the 
Worth with these hardy enterprizes, did 
not hesitate to renew them in the Chan. 
nel with a superiority, for which they: 
were indebted to both habit and cou- 
rage. 
‘¢ While national industry, thus direct~ 
ed by an uncommon portion pf intrepi- 
dity, subjugated to the wants of man 
those living nrasses, which balanced them- 
selves like so many mountains amidst 
the seas; our neighbours the English did 
not remain indifferent spectators. It is. 
evident, however, that there are but few 
historical monuments now existing, which 
describe their first efforts, if we except 
-an act of Edward If. by which it isce- 
creed, that all the whales that may run 
on shore, on the coast of England, shall 
appertain tothe king.f The greater part 
are of a still more recent date. Another 
act, referred to by Dugdale§ confers A.D. 
1415, on the church of Rochester, the 
tithe of all the whales, which may arrive 
on the shores of that bishoprick, but 
whether stranded fish, or such as had 
been taken in the open sea, were al- 
luded to, I cannot determine. Accord- 
ing to Fleta, the tithe consisted in the 
head, and the tail, of which the king had 
the former, and the queen the latter por- 
tion. || I am fully persvaded, that on 
searching the records of those times, 
may similar donations will be found to 
have been recorded. 
“« | have already observed, that in the 
north, the people fed on this immense ani- 
mal; and it may be now added, that the 
same thing occurred with respect to our- 
selves, Legrand d’ Aussi,who has written a 
much esteemed work, entitled “ Sur la Vie. 
privée des Francois,” quotes a manuscript 
of the thirteenth century, im which men- 
tiuiris made of the baleigne, as a sea fish, 
which was then eaten. Healso cites a ta~ 
ble entitled Bataille de Charnage et 
de Caréme, in which the whale 1s men- 
bea Uh SRSA a AY Mla eS SN Re 
+ Gall. Christ. XI. Instrum. 240 —27 3. 
+ Stat. de Prarog. reg. anno. 17 Ed. OT. 
eo. 
 § Decimam balenarum que capte fuerint 
iu Episcopatu Roffensi. Monast. Auglic. I. 30. 
id. Uf. 4. ; 
|| Cougs. Auglo-Norm. 152. 
tioned 
