voir votre copie, à l'aide du manuscrit original, car M. de la Rue avance que Charlemagne passe par la Perse pour arriver à Jérusalem, épisode qui ne se trouve pas dans votre copie. (30)

Agréez, Monsieur, l'assurance de ma considération distinguée.

Le Ministre de l'Instruction publique,

GUIZOT...

In fulfilling these orders, we will speak now of the abbé de la Rue's assertions relating to the poem under consideration. P. 24, he says: "La langue romane, dérivant de cette basse latinité, dut aussi adopter la rime, mais il arriva que nos premiers poètes français voulurent aussi, comme dans la bonne latinité, faire quelquefois des vers sans y admettre la rime; l'anonyme dont nous parlons travailla dans ce genre." The answer to these

(30) Loheregne traversent, Baivère e Hungerie, Les Turcs e les Persaunz e cele gent haïe.

v. 101.

Probably I had omitted transcribing the second of these

verses.

assertions is to be found in M. Raynouard's article cited above.

The abbé de la Rue continues: "A en juger par le style, on croirait qu'il a écrit dans le x1. siècle; les règles grammaticales qu'il observe, son orthographe, son langage en un mot est absolument le même que celui du Psautier traduit sous le règne de Guillaume-le-Conquérant.” I do not agree with the learned abbé in the opinion expressed in the first sentence of this passage; and to be able to judge whether he is right or wrong in the second, it would be necessary to know exactly to what translation of the psalter he alludes as having been executed by the orders of William the Conqueror. (31)

(31) Vol. 1, p. 265, M. de la Rue cites five manuscripts of a French translation of the psalter, which he says was made in the xith century; we think it is the same as this, which he supposes afterwards as having been done by the command of the Conqueror, although in the passage quoted in the beginning of this note, he does not mention this circumstance.

I saw several manuscripts of a very old one, (32) but there occurs in them no proof that the version which they contain was made by the orders and under the reign of this prince. Now M. l'abbé

(32) We give here a specimen thereof, borrowed from the magnificent MS. of Trinity College library, Cambridge, R. 17, I, which contains also the Latin text, a Saxon translation, and glosses:

:

Fol. 2, ro. Purquei serunt trubléé les genz e li pueple penserunt ueines choses? surdrunt lí reí de terre : é lí prince traiterunt perment encuntre le seignor. e encuntre sun crist derumpums lur liens e degetums de nus les laz. de els; lí abiterres del ciel escharnirat, li sire gaberat eals; lores parlerat á eals en sa iræ: é én sa furur trublerat eals. io acertes lordinui. ordenai men rei sur syon mun saint munt: ie recunterai le cumandement de deu; Li sires dist a mei tú ies li miens filz: ío hui engendrai tei; Reqier de mei e io durrai a tei gent la tue hereditet: é possessiun tuens termes de terre ; Tú peistras eals en verge ferrine: sicume uaissel de potier tribleras eals; Ore gieres uus rei entendez seiez apris uus iugeur de terre; Servez al seinur en crieme : é sí esléésciez alui en tremblur; Aúrez purement que par auenture ne se curruzt é perissez de ueie: cum ses prendrat apres ún petit sa forsenerie; Bonoure tuit icil chí espeirent en lui.

Fol. 3, ro. Purquei sunt multiplieth mi enemi? mult ses drecent enuers mei; Mult dient a la meie aneme :

adds: "Mais l'auteur cite le faux Turpin ; alors il a dû écrire dans les dix premières années du XIIe siècle." To this we have to answer that "le faux Turpin" is not quoted at all in our poem, and that, were

nen est salut á íceste en deu tutesures; Mais tu sire li miens escuz enuirun Mei: la meie gloríe é eshálcanz mun chief; Par ma uoiz a nostre seignur críerai: é il orrat mei de sun saint munt tutesures; Io dormi é si sumellai. io esueillai kar nostre sire sustint mei; Nient ne criendrai millers de pueple kí auirunérent mei: Esdresce tei sire. salf me fai lí miens deus kar tu afferut la maissese de tuz les miens enemis: les denz des feluns cumbruissas; de nostre seinnur est saluz sur tuen pueple la tue beneicún tutes úres.

Fol. 4, ro. Apelant oth mei deus de la meie justise; en tribulatiun purluignas a mei. aies merci de mei e oi la meie ureisun; Lí fil de barun dessiaquant li mien noble huntusement amez uus uanitet querant menchunge tutesures; E cunuissiez que merueil19 rendit li sires le suen merciable li sires orrat mei cume ío crierai á lui; Iraisez e ne uuilles pecher.

:

Fol. 4, vo. Parlez en uoz quers sur uoz liz é taisez : tutesures; Sacrifiez sacrefise de iustise: é afiez en nostre seignur; Mult dient kí nus musterat bien: Lieue sur nus la lumiere de tuen uult sire. tu dunas lééce en mun quer; En tens lur furment é lur uin serunt multiplie. En pais asembléément reposerai e dormirai. kar tu sire specialment seur me fesis habiter.

d

it cited there, no argument could be drawn from the fact.

Afterwards M. l'abbé gives an analysis of the old French poem, and cites seventynine verses, stating at the end of his first abstract, that "dans cet extrait et les suivans, les mots qui désignent les règles grammaticales du xie siècle sont en lettres italiques." These words, which are fud, seignat, reguardet, ad, (33) deus, li apostle, aprocet, reposet, turnet, citet, etc. are certainly very old, but we find them in several authors, chiefly anglo-norman, of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. After all we agree with M. de la Rue, when he says that "Ce Roman de Charlemagne

(33) This is found repeatedly in the life of S. Thomas, MS. Harl. 3775. 1. which the abbé in volume 11, p. 199, says, from its form and style, belongs to the reign of Edward III; but he mistakes: the manuscript itself is as early as the xiiith century, if not earlier, and contains many of the abbé's pretended rules for the xiith century. On the character of the antiquity of French words, see M. Raynouard's article in the Journal des Savans, May, 1817, p. 298-299.