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that a considerable number of verses have been suppressed, altered, and introduced; but in which the cramping metrical laws of the elder poet are preserved in a most remarkable manner. The contents of Heinrich's poem contribute remarkably towards the earlier history of these fables; for it must have been from the French sources, although not to be found in any of those now known to exist, that he was enabled to mention, not only Salerno, but the name of the physician of that place. Master Pendin or Bendîn is no imaginary person, but Magister Pontus, a Greek, who is recorded as one of the first founders of the school. On the other hand, the elephant's being invested with Bohemia must have been the work of Heinrich der Glichsenære himself, for it is little likely such an incident should be mentioned by the French authorities.

We shall not attempt to give an outline of the whole story contained in the "Reinhart;" but, as one of its peculiarities consists in its being the only work which tells how the sickness of the lion was occasioned, we purpose confining ourselves to such portion of it; and thereby completing that chapter of Reynard's History, of which our notice of "Isengrimus” and “Reinardus" have already furnished some particulars.

The lion proclaimed a general peace, but, the ants having refused to recognize him as their sovereign, he trod down their hillocks, killing thousands of this tiny race, and wounding as many. The lord of the ants was absent when this outrage was committed, but

on his return vowed to take bitter vengeance for the

injury done to his people:

“So spake their chief; then hunted round,

After the lion, whom he found

Under the linden fast asleep.

Close to him the ant did creep,

With an angry spirit fraught;
'Lord God of the Good,' he thought,
'How shall I my serfs avenge?'

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The pain which he caused the lion was so intense, and so little capable of being relieved, that he looked upon it as a judgment of heaven for neglecting his duties as a king and judge. A court is therefore summoned, at which Isengrim complains against Reynard, and the cock and hen bring in upon a bier the dead body of their daughter, whom the fox had bitten to death; at which misdeed the king becomes so enraged that he frightens the poor hare into a fever. The dead pullet is buried with all fitting solemnity;

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'Sprach in hêrre, und huop sich sâ ze hant

Nâch dem Lewen, biz daz er in vant

Under einer linden, dâ er slief.

Der ameise zuo im lief

Mit eime grimmigen muote,

Er gedâhte herre got der guote,

Wie sol ich rechen mine diet?'

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and the hare, having laid himself down to sleep upon her grave, awakes quite recovered from his fever, which being looked upon as a miracle, the pullet is pronounced a saint.

Messengers are now sent to summon the fox to court; who, regardless of their authority, plays them sundry scurvy tricks. At last his friend the badger goes to him, and Reynard promises him to appear before the king. He does so, and tells his majesty he has brought him a remedy from Master Pendin, the physician of Salerno, after taking which he must sweat himself in a wolf's hide, and wear a bear's skin, and a cat's-skin hat. These are speedily procured from Reynard's enemies. Reynard next asks for food, and names a fowl and a piece of boar's flesh. The poor hen, Pinto, who had complained against him, is instantly killed, and a steak is as quickly cut from the haunches of the boar who had supported her cause. In the mean time, the king takes a bath, wraps himself in a wolf's hide, throws the bear's skin over him, and puts on his cat's-skin hat. The warmth of this last draws out the ant, who creeps from the lion's head into the fur. The physician lets the sun shine upon the hat, and thereby discovers the little animal which had occasioned all the king's sufferings. He is violently incensed against the ant, who at length obtains forgiveness, by promising the fox dominion over a thousand castles. Meanwhile, the king having recovered, Reynard, who has already been revenged of his enemies, knavishly seeks to reward his friends, the

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elephant and the camel, with gifts which carry with them infinite vexation. The king, at Reynard's solicitation, bestows upon the elephant the country of Bohemia, where he gets most piteously maltreated. The camel receives a nunnery, but when she goes to take possession of it, the nuns rise up with one accord and beat her out of the place. At length Reynard having given the lion poison, he and the badger beat a retreat. By the time the fox had reached his castle, the king had grown seriously ill, and, owing to the distance of the much-desired physician, a fatal result was expected. Eventually the poison does its work, and the royal Lion dies lamented by all his subjects, who threaten vengeance against the traitor Reynard.

§ XIV. If the story of Reynard had its origin, as it undoubtedly had, among the Germans, with whom it has moreover to this day preserved its popularity, undiminished either by the influence of time, or the changes of literary taste; still, if we would point out the soil on which, during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, it was most assiduously cultivated, and most abundantly fruitful, we must place our finger on the north of France. In the Norman French poems, we find many rich and pure streams of this dearly-prized romance: in number and extent, although the oldest of them are not preserved, they far exceed all the other works to which the story of the fox has given rise.

Méon has, therefore, done good service to middle age literature by the publication of "Le Roman de Re

nart;" ;"* and M. Chabaille, his successor, has added considerably to the value of Méon's publication, by the supplementary volume to that work which he has given to the public.†

The "Roman du Renart" which Méon has published, contains no less than 30,362 lines; and if to these we add "Le Couronnemens Renart," and "Renart le Nouvel," which are contained in the fourth volume of his collection, this number will be increased to 41,748. Our readers will see, therefore, that any attempt to epitomize this work would be totally incompatible with the space which we could apply to that purpose. Nay more, we could hardly hope to give them a satisfactory analysis of one of the twenty-seven 'branches,' or divisions, of which it consists. branches, it must be understood, do not, like the several adventures of the Reinardus, form one general and perfect whole; on the contrary, they are frequently directly the opposite of one another, which is never the case with the stories in the Latin and Dutch poems.

These

Gervinus, one of the most distinguished of the living critics of Germany,‡ shows that this was a necessary result from the spirit which prevailed in French

* Le Roman du Renart, publié d'après les Manuscrits de la Bibliothèque du Roi, des XIII, XIV, et XV Siècles, par M. D. M. Méon. Paris, 8vo. 1824. Tomes 4.

† Le Roman du Renart, Supplément, Variantes et Corrections, publié d'après les MSS. de la Bibliothèque du Roi, et de la Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, par P. Chabaille. Paris, 8vo. 1835.

Geschichte der Poetischen National-Literatur der Deutschen. (B. i. s. 443, et seq.)

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