CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

THE END OP COURT-POETRY.

Causes of decline — Enfances — Revolutionary spirit — Cyclical

poems—Franco-Italian epics—French patriotic verse—Romans

tiCAventure—Cento Notelle Antiche— The Avoenturoso Cicili-

ano—The Reali di Francia—German epics—Icelandic rimur

—Fornsijgur and li/pisGgur—English romances—Alliterative

poetry—Scottish romances—The Bruce—Laurence Minot

CHAPTER IT.

TOWN-VER8E AND FOLK-SONO.

Decline of the Troubadour art—The Leys tit'Amors—Legend of
Clemence Isaure—Old Portuguese poetry—Catalonian verse—
German love of song — The Meistersingers— Volkslieder—
Minnesingers in legend—Rcimsprechcr—The Low Countries
-English minstrels—Welsh bards—Robin Hood — Scottish

ballads- North French puis—Italy .... 60
CHAPTER III.

RISE OF A NEW LYRIC.

Italy and Provence — Italian verse-forms — Childhood of Italian

poetry—Party spirit—Guittone of Arezzo—Early Florentine

poets—Brunetto Latini—The sweet new style—Guido Caval-

canti—Cino da Pistoia—Modish and realistic poetry—The

Vila Nuova—Problems—Dante's dream—Petrarch—Character

of his passion—His style and influence—Welsh verse—New

French school—Machault-rDeschamps—Froissart—Christine

de Pisan—The Litre des Cent Ballades . . .98

CHAPTER IV.

DANTE.

Early biographers—Life—The Convivio—The De Monorchia—The

De Vulgari JSloquentia— Epistles, eclogues, &c. — The Corn-

media ........ 172

CHAPTER V.

DAWN OF THE RENAISSANCE.

Eccerinis—Latin histories—Richard Aungerville—Petrarch—His

popularity and aims—Rienri—Petrarch's epistles and eclogues

—His epic—Historical writings—Philosophy—Petrarch and

Boccaccio—Boccaccio's verse — The Decameron — Sources—

Style—Francesco Sacchetti ..... 236

CHAPTER VI.

THE WELL OF ENGLISH.

Metre—Chaucer's youth—The Soke of the Duchesse—Chaucer and

the great Italians — Prose translations — The influence of

Boethius—The House of Fame—The Legende of Ooode Women

—The Canterbury Tales—John Gower .... 285

CHAPTER VII.

TIME AND SPACE.

Dino Compagni—The Villani—Froissart—Lopez Ayala—Ramon

Muntaner—Marco Polo—Sir John Maundeville . . 325

CHAPTER VIII.

ALLEGORY, MY8TICI8M, AND REFORM.

Italian allegories—Spanish and Judaso-Spanish moralists—Arabian

culture—Piers Plowman—Religious poetry—The Fioretti of

St Francis—Italian preachers—St Catherine of Siena—German

mystics—Jean Uerson—John Wiclif .... 363

How came the old poetry—epic, romance, minnesong —to die out as it did in the fourteenth century 2 Was who killed it suffocated by adverse outward conditions, *** or had it completed its natural term of life 2 Perhaps it is not necessary to choose between these solutions. It seems probable that more than one cause was at work. That there were hostile agencies abroad cannot be doubted. In this task of A