Le roman de la rose

with a great Poem. This conjecture is based on what is said of Pierre Abelard The famous medieval philosopher and lover of Heloise., that he had in former times composed amorous Songs that were the delight of his day. This date, which is only a few years after the year 1100, shows that we were versifying and consequently rhyming among ourselves at the beginning of the 12th century. It would be very glorious for rhyme to draw its origin from such a great personage; but I believe it to be much older, and people torment themselves uselessly to know from whom we received it. I am persuaded that as there have always been Poets in the nation, there has always been rhyme. It is the character of all the ancient Languages of the North, such as ours was in its beginnings, to distinguish their Verses not only by measure but also by rhyme; and I imagine that it is from us that the Latins of the barbarian ages drew the rhyme they introduced into most of the Hymns of the Church.

What is known to us of these early times of our Poetry are the Alexandrine Verses original: "Vers Alexandrins," twelve-syllable lines, that is to say, of twelve full syllables, which took

took their name from the Romance of Alexander in which they were employed. But as the harmony of our Language was not yet formed enough to succeed in this type of Verse, which requires much of it, they had less success than the Verses of eight syllables, which have been used since in most works. There is even a reason that appears to have given a great run to these latter Verses: our first Poetry was less Verses than rhymed Prose, and our first Authors were versifiers rather than poets. Thus, eight-syllable Verses are much better suited to their manner of versifying, which required more facility than elevation.

These are the Verses that our ancient Romancers used the most; this did not, however, cause Alexandrine Verses to be entirely neglected. Jean de Meun himself, who had made himself familiar with eight-syllable Verses, used the others in his Codicil, but one does not find there that correctness and ease seen reigning in the versification of his Romance.

In those early times, they were so exact