Reliques of ancient English poetry: consisting of old heroic ballads ...

AND BALLADS. he
France (d) were compofed in metre, as a rude kind of
epic fongs. In both kingdoms tales in verfe were
uiually fung by Minftrels to the harp on feftival occa-
fions : and doubtlefs both nations derived their relilh
for this fort of entertainment from their Teutonic anceitors,
without either of them borrowing it from the
other. Among both people narrative Songs on true or
fictitious fubje&s had evidently obtained from the earlieft
times. But the profefTed Romances of Chivalry
feem to have been firft compofed in France, where alfo
they had their name.
The Latin Tongue, as is obferved by an ingenious
writer (e), ceafed to be fpoken in France about the
ninth century, and was fucceeded by what was called
the Romance Tongue, a mixture of the language of
the Franks and bad Latin. As the Songs of Chivalry
became the mod popular compofitions in that language,
they were emphatically called Romans or Romants ;
tho' this name was at firft given to any piece of poetry.
The Romances of Chivalry can be traced as early as
the eleventh century (f). The famous Roman de Brut
by Maiftre Euftache was written in 1 : 155 But this was
by no means the firft poem of the kind ; others more
ancient are ftill extant fgj. And we have already
feen,
(d) The Romances on the fubjecl: ofPERCEVAt, San Graal,
Lancelot du Lac, Tristan, &c. were among the firft that
appeared in the French language in Prose, yet thefe were original-
ly compofed in Metr e : The Editor has in his poffeffion a very old
French MS. in verfe, containing Vancicn Roman ^Perceval,
and metrical copies of the others may be found in the libraries of the
curious. See a Note of Wanley's in Flarl. Catalog. Num. 2252,
p. 4.9, &c. Nicholfoh's Eng. Hift. Library, 3d Ed. p. 91. &c.
Sec alfo a curious collection of old French Romances, with Mr.
Wanley's account of this fort of pieces, in Karl. MSS. Catal. 978.
106.
(e) The Author of the Efiay on the Genius of Pope, p. 282.
Ibid.
(f) p. 283. Hift. Lit. Tom. 6. 7.
(g) Voi Preface aux " Fabliaux & Contes des Poetes Francois
" des xii, xiii, xiv, & xv fiecies, &c. Paris,, 1756. 3 Tom,
K izsao. " (A very curious work.)