scholars, and was carried by them in the eleventh and twelfth centuries to a degree of perfection seldom equalled in later periods of the Middle Ages. But the Nobles, who contributed materially to this Early Renaissance, and began to feel the fascination of intellectual pursuits, were as a rule ignorant of Latin. To enlist their support and sympathy scholars must needs address them in French. Thus arose in Normandy a literary language which, thanks no doubt to the fruitful influence of the revival of classical studies, revealed itself in the first two masterpieces which Northern French can boast of, the Vie de S. Alexis and the Chanson de Roland, as an instrument of power and promise. This language differed little from that of educated Parisians, and underwent few changes until about the year 1160.[1] It produced the most abundant harvest of masterpieces witnessed in any period of mediaeval French, the epic songs of Roland and Guillelme, romances of classical inspiration, the love story of Tristan, the Lays which Marie de France tuned to Celtic melodies, and the remarkable Chronicles of Wace. That literary language, which was taught in the schools and spoken at the Court, could not fail to imprint a lasting character on the speech of all those who laid any claim to refinement and education.
Of greater importance, perhaps, than the influence of poets and schoolmasters, was the existence of a strong and fairly centralized government, first in Normandy and later
- ↑ Cf. G. Paris: 'Au XIe siècle il est impossible de dire ce qui sépare le normand du français pur,' Vie de S. Alexis, Paris, 1872, p. 65; and again, 'Ce n'est qu'à une période qui n'est pas antérieure au XIIe siècle que se sont manifestées entre le langage des Français et celui des Normands, certaines différences,' op. cit., p. 42. The year 1160, as marking the end of the first A.-N. period, was suggested by Suchier, and has recently been confirmed by Tanquerey, cf. Évolution du verbe en anglo-français, Paris, 1915, p. 858. See also C. de Boer, La Normandie et la renaissance classique dans la littérature française du xiie siècle, Groningue, 1912.
