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INTRODUCTION

vii

occurs (Bodley 264) is the well known copy of the French Romans d'Alixandre, to which is appended a copy, in another hand, of Marco Polo's travels. It is remarkable for the number and beauty of the illuminations contained in it, which have been frequently admired. Nine similar illustrations (of a later date) refer to the present poem, and are described particularly in § 17.

§ 3. The text of the French Romance is largely the same as that printed in Li Romans d'Alixandre par Lambert li Tors et Alixandre de Bernay, edited by H. Michelant, and published by the Literary Society of Stuttgart in 1846. The French version of the story varies from the English one, and out three English fragments have, I believe, little to do with it. But the condition of fol. 67 of the French MS. is very remarkable. The page is divided, as usual, into two columns. Of these, the first ends with the line—'Li veillant lieue sus si li vuet affier;" followed by the rubric—"Comment les gens alixandre firunt noies pur le moure des femmes demorant en le lew." But the second column of the page, originally left blank, contains the following note in a later hand—"Here fayleþ a prossesse of þis rommance of alixander, þe wheche prossesse þat fayleþ ȝe schulle fynde at þe ende of tthis bok y-wrete in engelyche ryme; and whanne ȝe han radde it to þe ende, turneþ hedur aȝen, and turneþ ouyr þis lef, and bygynneþ at þis reson: Che fu el mois de may que li tans renouele; and so rede forþ þe rommance to þe ende whylis þe frenche lasteþ."^[1] This note of course only occupies a few lines of the second column of the page, the rest being blank. The verso of fol. 67 is also blank. Fol. 68, col. 1, begins, as the above note states, with the line: "Che fu el mois de may que li tans renouele."

§ 4. But the really remarkable point is, that, notwithstanding the three vacant columns in the MS., there is not a "failing of a process;" there is nothing omitted whatever. At p. 333 of Michelant's edition above referred to, we read as follows:—

"li viellart salent sus, se li vont afier.
Ce fuè l'mois de Mai que li tans renovele."

↑ The first half of this note, down to "ryme", is printed in Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, ii. 103, ed. 1840. The whole note appears, with four errors, in Weber's Metrical Romances,, i. xxxi; and again, with the same four errors and six more, at p. iv of Mr. Stevenson's edition.

[1] The first half of this note, down to "ryme", is printed in Warton's Hist. of Eng. Poetry, ii. 103, ed. 1840. The whole note appears, with four errors, in Weber's Metrical Romances,, i. xxxi; and again, with the same four errors and six more, at p. iv of Mr. Stevenson's edition.

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