ow how to twang a harp. Aimery, soon to be Sire Aimery, can sing and play as well as many minstrels. A

s which Conon gives on every possible occasion.[33] You cannot linger long around the castle without hearing the lu

ORGAN OF THE TH

t in the Bibliot

sometimes causes the barons to fret with a pent-up energy and to precipitate new wars merely to get relief. As for a great fête like the present, obviously a large corps of entertainers must be mobilized. The mere news through the region that mess

ies of

and faster until the revelers cease and almost sink of exhaustion. Then there are variations when the cavaliers decorously drop from the ring and bow to their ladies; or the "dance of the chaplet," at the end of which each cavalier ceremoniously kisses his lady on the cheek-kissing between equals being quite proper if it is not on the lips. It takes rather more skill, as at present, when young Aimery d

tricks and sleight-of-hand accomplishments, which appeal more to the groundlings than do high-flown poetic recitals. If he can reach the summit of his profession he will be received at castles almost as the equal of the seigneur, and be able to retire rich, after having been showered with such gifts as palfreys, furs, jewels, mantles of red cloth,

ed Mou

RO

logist Strutt, from various fourtee

s to "ah-ing!" by swallowing knives and by apparently eating red brands right out of the fireplace. Next the twain joined in a witty dialogue presenting a clutching priest wheedling money out of a miserly burgher; and finally Tue-B?uf began telling stories so outrageous that Adela (not more squeamish than most dames) bade her sister-in-law to retire. So the two kept the whole hall laughing through a rainy afternoon, and Conon contented his entertainers each with a denier.[34] They slept on the straw under the table

lds h

olds h

nfolding

lds h

With them are frequently low jongleuresses, women capable of corrupting a whole monastery. The Church denounces this entire breed, male and female, as "ministers of the devil." All

es. They bring an orchestra of music-viols,[35] guitars, and gigues-long, slim, stringed instruments shaped like a figure eight-and, of course, including flutes, harps, and even little portable organs on which you work the

Type of

r acrobatic feats. She can even dance on her hands and kick her feet in the air, to the great delight of all but the more sanctimonious guests. Vainly did the holy St. Bernard inveigh against the seigneurs who receive such troupes in their castles: "A man fond of jongl

THE TWEL

llet-Le-Duc (Mu

. He is no common performer. Messire sent all the way to Chalons for him, promising ample reward. Ma?tre Edmond boasts that he is a Christian-meaning he takes his profession as a kind of lay priesthood. He is on friendly terms with great prelates. He never recites the scurrilous little fabliaux assailing the clergy. He knows by heart, however, nearly all the g

Artus (Arthur) of Brittany (really Britain) and his Knights of the Round Table; still another cycle tells of the Trojan War, and Sire Hector, Sire Achilles, and Sire Ulysses, making the ancient Ilium into a North French castle besieged by decidedly feudal methods; while others rehearse the mighty deeds of Alexander. In

Charlemagne took terrific vengeance both on the Infidels and on Ganelon. It is an epic which in later days will be rated equal, if not superior, to its German rival, the "Nibelungenlied." But the "Song of Roland" is now nearly two centuries old and is very familiar. Besides, it is too long for one afternoon, and it is hard to pick out episodes. Ma?tre Edmon

ums a harp with silver frets. The high jongleur begins his story in an easy recitative which occasionally breaks into me

Tristan

NTH-CEN

in the cathed

ch compels them to fall in love, and any sinful deeds which follow are excused by the enchantment. King Mark suffers for long, trying to forgive, but at last, catching Tristan playing the lute in the queen's bower, smites him with a pois

our trusty lord. I now take leave of knighthood, which I have honored. Alas! my friends, to-day Tristan is vanquished!" Then, with tears, he bequeathes his sword to his comrade in arms. Next he turns to the queen. "Very dear lady," he gasps, "what will you do when I die? Will you not die with me?" "Gentle friend," says Ysolt, "I call God to witness that nothing would afford me so much joy as to bear you company this day. Assuredly, if ever a woman could die of

lightfully tragic story! Although the minstrel is of too high a quality to cry "largesse!" when he concludes, like all the humbler jongleurs, there are many deniers thrown his way (which the harpist duly gathers), the

erary

he is too much interested in matters which are primarily only for villeins or at best for the women, and neglects his hawks, tourneys, and even his proper feuds with his neighbors. Nevertheless, Orri de Harvengt is an extremely "gentle" man. He possesses a considerable number of books in Latin-Virgil, Ovid, Lucan, and others-although a visiting monk has grumbled th

th Crusade, in which he participated; and although the churchmen complain that "his abandonment of Latin mea

hich have a flavor extremely French. Here you can find many a saying that will long survive the thirteenth century, although it is doubtless much more ancient. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush"; "All is not gold that glitters"; "God helps those who help the

citals of war and adventure; but in the later, though they continue in the North French dialect, the South French (troubadour) influence appears. We have stories turning about lawful or illicit love rather than about lance thrusts. The troubadours of the Langeudoc language find now compeers in the trouvères of the n

ch Epics a

. To-day, at a quiet interval, Ma?tre Edmond takes him aside. "Fair baron, you know that we master jongleurs seldom wish to set written copies of the poems we chant before strangers, but how can I deny anything to so liberal a seigneur as you? I have with

anson is worth its weight in silver. The monks complain that the capital letters are as carefully elaborated in gold, and the miniature illustrations are as delicately executed, as those in a copy of the Go

ft three lady loves in three different castles; that he has had a most romantic duel with a jealous husband, which ended however, in a reconciliation on proof that the friendship had been only platonic; and that he is a past master in all the thirty-four di

, the poems of slower movement; sirventes, poems of praise or satire; and also are master of the tenso, the debate on some tender subje

ugh many of you, I fear, do not speak the beautiful Languedoc tongue, yet in so noble a company I am sure most of you will at least understand me. What shall it be, a tenso by Bernart de Ventadorn discussing most

e love song!" c

ow I pray Queen Venus to inspire me. Here, boy, my harp!" He takes a small lute and touches t

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me is Apr

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es their m

stars sere

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oy in sky

rting with

the world

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vain to try

akes my joys

not worth

o such be

rl, the trut

heeks, a n

ike a gol

rms, for ba

ade her th

her way made

fternoon. Her husband looks somewhat awkward, but at the end he joins in the warm applause. So the entertainment at the wedding feast ends; and the g

peace; now we must gradually turn toward its gr

TNO

rd would probably have allowed himself the luxury of a prof

f this recital must haste to open his purse; for now it is high time to give me something." The company would thus be straightway held up. Or the entertainer would announce, "It was too near vesp

a violin, although more round and m

Smith. Reprinted by kind perm