A Literary History of the English People

his new domains--Unification--The successors of William--Their practical mind and their taste for adventures--Taste for art--French families settled in England--Continental possessions of English kings--French ideal--Unification of origins--Help from chroniclers and poets--The Trojan ancestor 104

CHAPTER II.

LITERATURE IN THE FRENCH LANGUAGE UNDER THE NORMAN AND ANGEVIN KINGS.

I. Diffusion of the French Language.--The French language superimposed on the English one--Its progress; even among "lowe men"--Authors of English blood write their works in French 116

II. The French Literature of the Normans and Angevins.--It is animated by their own practical and adventurous mind--Practical works: chronicles, scientific and pious treatises 120

III. Epic Romances.--The Song of Roland and the Charlemagne cycle--Comparison with "Beowulf"--The matter of Rome--How antiquity is translated--Wonders--The matter of Britai