Encyclopaedia Britannica Volume 2, Part 1 Part 9

_Cat-fish_.--None of the fresh-water cat-fishes (of which no example is found in England) are what may be called sporting fish, but several may be caught with rod and line. There are several kinds in North America, and some of them are as heavy as 150 lb, but the most important is the wels (_Silurus glanis_) of the Danube and neighbouring waters. This is the largest European fresh-water fish, and it is credited with a weight of 300 lb or more. It is a bottom feeder and will take a fish-bait either alive or dead; it is said occasionally to run at a spinning bait when used very deep.

_Burbot_.--The burbot (_Lota vulgaris_) is the only fresh-water member of the cod family in Great Britain, and it is found only in a few slow-flowing rivers such as the Trent, and there not often, probably because it is a fish of sluggish habits which feeds only at night.

It reaches a weight of 3 lb or more, and will take most flesh or fish baits on the bottom. The burbot of America has similar characteristics.

_Sturgeon_.--The sturgeons, of which there are a good many species in Europe and America, are of no use to the angler. They are anadromous fishes of which little more can be said than that a specimen might take a bottom bait once in a way. In Russia they are sometimes caught on long lines armed with baited hooks, and occasionally an angler hooks one. Such a case was reported from California in _The Field_ of the 19th of August 1905.

_Shad_.--Two other anadromous fish deserve notice. The first is the shad, a herring-like fish of which two species, allice and twaite (_Clupea alosa_ and _C. finta_), ascend one or two British and several continental rivers in the spring. The twaite is the more common, and in the Severn, Wye and Teme it sometimes gives very fair sport to anglers, taking worm and occasionally fly or small spinning bait. It is a good fighter, and reaches a weight of about 3 lb. Its sheen when first caught is particularly beautiful. America also has shads.

_Flounder_.--The other is the flounder (_Pleuronectes flesus_), the only flat-fish which ascends British rivers. It is common a long way up such rivers as the Severn, far above tidal influence, and it will take almost any flesh-bait used on the bottom. A flounder of 1 lb is, in a river, a large one, but heavier examples are sometimes caught.

_Eel_.--The eel (_Anguilla vulgaris_) is regarded by the angler more as a nuisance than a sporting fish, but when of considerable size (and it often reaches a weight of 8 lb or more) it is a splendid fighter and stronger than almost any fish that swims. Its life history has long been disputed, but it is now accepted that it breeds in the sea and ascends rivers in its youth. It is found practically everywhere, and its occurrence in isolated ponds to which it has never been introduced by human agency has given rise to a theory that it travels overland as well as by water. The best baits for eels are worms and small fish, and the best time to use them is at night or in thundery or very wet weather.

_Sea Angling._

Sea angling is attended by almost as many refinements of tackle and method as fresh-water angling. The chief differences are differences of locality and the habits of the fish. To a certain extent sea angling may also be divided into three cla.s.ses--fishing on the surface with the fly, at mid-water with spinning or other bait, and on the bottom; but the first method is only practicable at certain times and in certain places, and the others, from the great depths that often have to be sounded and the heavy weights that have to be used in searching them, necessitate shorter and stouter rods, larger reels and stronger tackle than fresh-water anglers employ. Also, of course, the sea-fisherman is liable to come into conflict with very large fish occasionally. In British waters the monster usually takes the form of a skate or halibut. A specimen of the former weighing 194 lb has been landed off the Irish coast with rod and line in recent years. In American waters there is a much greater opportunity of catching fish of this calibre.

_Great Game Fishes_.--There are several giants of the sea which are regularly pursued by American anglers, chief among them being the tarpon (_Tarpon atlanticus_) and the tuna or tunny (Thunnus thynnus), which have been taken on rod and line up to 223 lb and 251 lb respectively. Jew-fish and black sea-ba.s.s of over 400 lb have been taken on rod and line, and there are many other fine sporting fish of large size which give the angler exciting hours on the reefs of Florida, or the coasts of California, Texas or Mexico. Practically all of them are taken with a fish-bait either live or dead, and used stationary on the bottom or in mid-water trailed behind a boat.

_British Game Fishes_.--On a much smaller scale are the fishes most esteemed in British waters. The ba.s.s (_Labrax lupus_) heads the list as a plucky and rather difficult opponent. A fish of 10 lb is a large one, but fifteen-pounders have been taken. Small or "school" ba.s.s up to 3 lb or 4 lb may sometimes be caught with the fly (generally a roughly constructed thing with big wings), and when they are really taking the sport is magnificent. In some few localities it is possible to cast for them from rocks with a salmon rod, but usually a boat is required. In other places ba.s.s may be caught from the sh.o.r.e with fish bait used on the bottom in quite shallow water. They may again sometimes be caught in mid-water, and in fact there are few methods and few lures employed in sea angling which will not account for them at times. The pollack (_Gadus pollachius_) and coal-fish (_Gadus virens_) come next in esteem. Both in some places reach a weight of 20 lb or more, and both when young will take a fly. Usually, however, the best sport is obtained by trailing some spinning-bait, such as an artificial or natural sand-eel, behind a boat. Sometimes, and especially for pollack, the bait must be kept near the bottom and heavy weights on the line are necessary; the coal-fish are more p.r.o.ne to come to the surface for feeding. The larger grey mullet (_Mugil capito_) is a great favourite with many anglers, as it is extremely difficult to hook, and when hooked fights strongly. Fishing for mullet is more akin to fresh-water fishing than any branch of sea-angling, and indeed can be carried on in almost fresh water, for the fish frequent harbours, estuaries and tidal pools. They can be caught close to the surface, at mid-water and at the bottom, and as a rule vegetable baits, such as boiled macaroni, or ragworms are found to answer best. Usually ground-baiting is necessary, and the finer the tackle used the greater is the chance of sport. Not a few anglers fish with a float as if for river fish. The fish runs up to about 8 lb in weight. The cod (_Gadus morhua_) grows larger and fights less gamely than any of the fish already mentioned. It is generally caught with bait used on the bottom from a boat, but in places codling, or young cod, give some sport to anglers fishing from the sh.o.r.e. The mackerel (_s...o...b..r s...o...b..r_) gives the best sport to a bait, usually a strip of fish skin, trailed behind a boat fairly close to the surface, but it will sometimes feed on the bottom. Mackerel on light tackle are game fighters, though they do not usually much exceed 2 lb. Whiting and whiting-pout (_Gadus merlangus_ and _Gadus luscus_) both feed on or near the bottom, do not grow to any great size, and are best sought with fine tackle, usually an arrangement of three or four hooks at intervals above a lead which is called a "paternoster." If one or more of the hooks are on the bottom the tackle will do for different kinds of flat fish as well, flounders and dabs being the two species most often caught by anglers. The bream (_Pagellus centrodontus_) is another bottom-feeder which resembles the fresh-water bream both in appearance and habits. It is an early morning or rather a nocturnal fish, and grows to a weight of 3 lb or 4 lb. Occasionally it will feed in mid-water or even close to the surface. The conger eel (_Conger vulgaris_) is another night-feeder, which gives fine sport, as it grows to a great size, and is very powerful. Strong tackle is essential for conger fishing, as so powerful an opponent in the darkness cannot be given any law. The bait must be on or near the bottom. There are, of course, many other fish which come to the angler's rod at times, but the list given is fairly complete as representing the species which are especially sought. Beside them are occasional (in some waters too frequent) captures such as dog-fish and sharks, skates and rays. Many of them run to a great size and give plenty of sport on a rod, though they are not as a rule welcomed.

Lastly, it must be mentioned that certain of the Salmonidae, smelts _(Osmerus eperla.n.u.s),_ sea-trout, occasionally brown trout, and still more occasionally salmon can be caught in salt water either in sea-lochs or at the mouths of rivers. Smelts are best fished for with tiny hooks tied on fine gut and baited with fragments of shrimp, ragworm, and other delicacies.

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MODERN AUTHORITIES AND REFERENCE BOOKS.--_History and Literature:_ Prof. A.N. Mayer, _Sport with Gun and Rod_ (New York and Edinburgh), with a chapter on "The Primitive Fish-Hook," by Barnet Phillips; Dr.R. Munro, _Lake Dwellings of Europe_ (London, 1890), with many ill.u.s.trations and descriptions of early fish-books, &c.; H.

Cholmondeley Pennell and others, _Fishing Gossip_ (Edinburgh, 1866), contains a paper on "Fishing and Fish-Hooks of the Earliest Date," by Jonathan Couch; C.D. Badham, _Prose Halieutics_ (London, 1854), full of curious lore, relating, however, more to ichthyophagy than angling; _The Angler's Note-Book and Naturalist's Record_ (London, 1st series 1881, 2nd series 1888), edited by T. Satch.e.l.l, the two volumes containing much valuable matter on angling history, literature, and other topics; R. Blakey, _Angling Literature_ (London, 1856), inaccurate and badly arranged, but containing a good deal of curious matter not to be found elsewhere; O. Lambert, _Angling Literature in England_ (London, 1881), a good little general survey; J.J.

Manley, _Fish and Fishing_ (London, 1881), with chapters on fishing literature, &c.; R.B. Marston, _Walton and Some Earlier Writers on Fish and Fishing_ (London and New York, 1894); _Piscatorial Society's Papers_ (vol. i. London, 1890), contains a paper on "The Useful and Fine Arts in their Relation to Fish and Fishing," by S.C. Harding; _Super Flumina_ (Anon.; London, 1904), gives _pa.s.sim_ useful information on fishing literature; T. Westwood and T. Satch.e.l.l, _Bibliotheca Piscatoria_ (London, 1883) an admirable bibliography of the sport: together with the supplement prepared by R.B. Marston, 1901, it may be considered wonderfully complete.

_Methods and Practice._--General Fresh-water Fishing: F. Francis, _A Book on Angling_ (London, 1885), though old, a thoroughly sound text-book, particularly good on salmon fishing; H.C. Pennell and others, _Fishing--Salmon and Trout and Pike and Coa.r.s.e Fish_ (Badminton Library, 2 vols., London, 1904); John Bickerd.y.k.e, _The Book of the All-Round Angler_ (London, 1900); Horace G. Hutchinson and others, _Fishing (Country Life_ Series, 2 vols., London, 1904), contains useful ichthyological notes by G.A. Boulenger, a chapter on "The Feeding of Salmon in Fresh-Water," by Dr.J. Kingston Barton, and a detailed account of the princ.i.p.al salmon rivers of Norway, by C.E.

Radclyffe.

_Salmon and Trout._--Major J.P. Traherne, _The Habits of the Salmon_ (London, 1889); G.M. Kelson, _The Salmon Fly_ (London, 1895), contains instructions on dressing salmon-flies; A.E. Gathorne Hardy, _The Salmon_ ("Fur, Feather and Fin Series," London, 1898); Sir H. Maxwell, Bt., _Salmon and Sea Trout_ (Angler's Library, London, 1898); Sir E.

Grey, Bt., _Fly Fishing_ (Haddon Hall Library, London and New York, 1899); W. Earl Hodgson, _Salmon Fishing_ (London, 1906), contains a series of coloured plates of salmon flies; Marquis of Granby, _The Trout_ ("Fur, Feather and Fin Series," London, 1898). Wet Fly Fishing: W.C. Stewart, _The Practical Angler_ (London, 1905), a new edition of an old but still valuable work; E.M. Tod, _Wet Fly Fishing_ (London, 1903); W. Earl Hodgson, _Trout Fishing_ (London, 1905), contains a series of admirable coloured plates of artificial flies. Dry Fly Fishing: F.M. Halford, _Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice_ (London, 1902), the standard work on the subject; G.A.B. Dewar, _The Book of the Dry Fly_ (London, 1897). Grayling: T.E. Pritt, The Book of the Grayling (Leeds, 1888); H.A. Rolt, _Grayling Fishing in South Country Streams_ (London, 1905).

_Coa.r.s.e Fish._--C.H. Wheeley, _Coa.r.s.e Fish_ (Angler's Library, London, 1897); J.W. Martin, _Practical Fishing_ (London); _Float-fishing and Spinning_ (London, 1885); W. Senior and others, _Pike and Perch_ ("Fur, Feather and Fin Series," London, 1900); A.J. Jardine, _Pike and Perch_ (Angler's Library, London, 1898); H.C. Pennell, _The Book of the Pike_ (London, 1884); Greville Fennell, _The Book of the Roach_ (London, 1884).

_Sea Fishing._--J.C. Wilc.o.c.ks, _The Sea Fisherman_ (London, 1884); John Bickerd.y.k.e (and others), _Sea Fishing_ (Badminton Library, London, 1895); _Practical Letters to Sea Fishers_ (London, 1902); F.G.

Aflalo, _Sea Fish_ (Angler's Library, London, 1897); P.L. Haslope, _Practical Sea Fishing_ (London, 1905).

_Tackle, Flies, &c._--H.C. Pennell, _Modern Improvements in Fishing Tackle_ (London, 1887); H.P. Wells, _Fly Rods and Fly Tackle_ (New York and London, 1901); A. Ronalds, _The Fly-Fisher's Entomology_ (London, 1883); F.M. Halford, _Dry Fly Entomology_ (London, 1902); _Floating Flies and How to Dress them_ (London, 1886); T.E. Pritt, _North Country Flies_ (London, 1886); H.G. M'Clelland, _How to tie Flies for Trout and Grayling_ (London, 1905); Capt. J.H. Hale, _How to tie Salmon Flies_ (London, 1892); F.G. Aflalo, John Bickerd.y.k.e and C.H. Wheeley. How to buy Fishing Tackle (London).

_Ichthyology, Fisheries, Fish-Culture, &c._--Dr. Francis Day, _Fishes of Great Britain and Ireland_ (2 vols., London, 1889); _British and Irish Salmonidae_ (London, 1887); Dr. A.C.L.G. Gunther, _Introduction to the Study of Fishes_ (London, 1880); Dr. D.S. Jordan, _A Guide to the Study of Fishes_ (2 vols., New York and London, 1905); F. Francis, _Practical Management of Fisheries_ (London, 1883); _Fish Culture_ (London, 1865); F.M. Halford, _Making a Fishery_ (London, 1902); J.J.

Armistead, _An Angler's Paradise_ (Dumfries, 1902); F. Mather, _Modern Fish-Culture_ (New York, 1899); Livingstone Stone, _Domesticated Trout_ (Charlestown and London, 1896).

_Angling Guide Books, Geographical Information, &c._--Great Britain: _The Angler's Diary_ (London), gives information about most important waters in the British Isles, and about some foreign waters, published annually; _The Sportsman's and Tourist's Guide to Scotland_ (London), a good guide to angling in Scotland, published twice a year; Augustus Grimble, _The Salmon Rivers of Scotland_ (London, 1900, 4 vols.); _The Salmon Rivers of Ireland_ (London, 1903); _The Salmon and Sea Trout Rivers of England and Wales_ (London, 1904, 2 vols.), this fine series gives minute information as to salmon pools, flies, seasons, history, catches, &c.; W.M. Gallichan, _Fishing in Wales_ (London, 1903); _Fishing in Derbyshire_ (London, 1905); J. Watson, _English Lake District Fisheries_ (London, 1899); C. Wade, _Exmoor Streams_ (London, 1903); G.A.B. Dewar, _South Country Trout Streams_ (London, 1899); "Hi Regan," _How and Where to Fish in Ireland_ (London, 1900); E.S.

Shrubsole, _The Land of Lakes_ (London, 1906), a guide to fishing in County Donegal. Europe: "Palmer Hackle," _Hints on Angling_ (London, 1846), contains "suggestions for angling excursions in France and Belgium," but they are too old to be of much service; W.M. Gallichan, _Fishing and Travel in Spain_ (London, 1905); G.W. Hartley, _Wild Sport with Gun, Rifle and Salmon Rod_ (Edinburgh, 1903), contains a chapter on huchen fishing; Max von dem Borne, _Wegweiser fur Angler durch Deutschland, Oesterreich und die Schweiz_ (Berlin, 1877), a book of good conception and arrangement, and still useful, though out of date in many particulars; _Ill.u.s.trierte Angler-Schule (der deutschen Fischerei Zeitung)_, Stettin, contains good chapters on the wels and huchen; H. Storck, Der Angelsport (Munich, 1898), contains a certain amount of geographical information; E.B. Kennedy, _Thirty Seasons in Scandinavia_ (London, 1904), contains useful information about fishing; General E.F. Burton, _Trouting in Norway_ (London, 1897); Abel Chapman, _Wild Norway_ (London, 1897); F. Sandeman, _Angling Travels in Norway_ (London, 1895). America: C.F. Holder, _Big Game Fishes of the United States_ (New York, 1903); J.A. Henshall, _Ba.s.s, Pike, Perch and Pickerel_ (New York, 1903); Dean Sage and others, _Salmon and Trout_ (New York, 1902); E.T.D. Chambers, Angler's Guide to Eastern Canada (Quebec, 1899); Rowland Ward, _The English Angler in Florida_ (London, 1898); J. Turner Turner, _The Giant Fish of Florida_ (London, 1902). India: H.S. Thomas, _The Rod in India_ (London, 1897); "Skene Dhu," _The Mighty Mahseer_ (Madras, 1906), contains a chapter on the acclimatization of trout in India and Ceylon. New Zealand: W.H. s.p.a.ckman, _Trout in New Zealand_ (London, 1894); Capt. Hamilton, _Trout Fishing and Sport in Maoriland_ (Wellington, 1905), contains a valuable section on fishing waters.

_Fishery Law._--G.C. Oke, _A Handy Book of the Fishery Laws_ (edited by J.W. Willis Band and A.C. M'Barnet, London, 1903).

ANGLO-ISRAELITE THEORY, the contention that the British people in the United Kingdom, its colonies, and the United States, are the racial descendants of the "ten tribes" forming the kingdom of Israel, large numbers of whom were deported by Sargon king of a.s.syria on the fall of Samaria in 721 B.C. The theory (which is fully set forth in a book called _Philo-Israel_) rests on premises which are deemed by scholars--both theological and anthropological--to be utterly unsound.

ANGLO-NORMAN LITERATURE:--The French language (_q.v._) came over to England with William the Conqueror. During the whole of the 12th century it shared with Latin the distinction of being the literary language of England, and it was in use at the court until the 14th century. It was not until the reign of Henry IV. that English became the native tongue of the kings of England. After the loss of the French provinces, schools for the teaching of French were established in England, among the most celebrated of which we may quote that of Marlborough. The language then underwent certain changes which gradually distinguished it from the French spoken in France; but, except for some graphical characteristics, from which certain rules of p.r.o.nunciation are to be inferred, the changes to which the language was subjected were the individual modifications of the various authors, so that, while we may still speak of Anglo-Norman writers, an Anglo-Norman language, properly so called, gradually ceased to exist.

The prestige enjoyed by the French language, which, in the 14th century, the author of the _Maniere de language_ calls "le plus bel et le plus gracious language et plus n.o.ble parler, apres latin d'escole, qui soit au monde et de touz genz mieulx prisee et amee que nul autre (quar Dieux le fist si douce et amiable princ.i.p.alement a l'oneur et loenge de luy mesmes. Et pour ce il peut comparer au parler des angels du ciel, pour la grand doulceur et biaultee d'icel)," was such that it was not till 1363 that the chancellor opened the parliamentary session with an English speech. And although the Hundred Years' War led to a decline in the study of French and the disappearance of Anglo-Norman literature, the French language continued, through some vicissitudes, to be the cla.s.sical language of the courts of justice until the 17th century. It is still the language of the Channel Islands, though there too it tends more and more to give way before the advance of English.

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It will be seen from the above that the most flourishing period of Anglo-Norman literature was from the beginning of the 12th century to the end of the first quarter of the 13th. The end of this period is generally said to coincide with the loss of the French provinces to Philip Augustus, but literary and political history do not correspond quite so precisely, and the end of the first period would be more accurately denoted by the appearance of the history of William the Marshal in 1225 (published for the _Societe de l'histoire de France_, by Paul Meyer, 3 vols., 1891-1901). It owes its brilliancy largely to the protection accorded by Henry II. of England to the men of letters of his day. "He could speak French and Latin well, and is said to have known something of every tongue between'the Bay of Biscay and the Jordan.' He was probably the most highly educated sovereign of his day, and amid all his busy active life he never lost his interest in literature and intellectual discussion; his hands were never empty, they always had either a bow or a book" (_Dict. of Nat. Biog._). Wace and Benoit de Sainte-More compiled their histories at his bidding, and it was in his reign that Marie de France composed her poems. An event with which he was closely connected, viz. the murder of Thomas Becket, gave rise to a whole series of writings, some of which are purely Anglo-Norman. In his time appeared the works of Beroul and Thomas respectively, as well as some of the most celebrated of the Anglo-Norman _romans d'aventure_. It is important to keep this fact in mind when studying the different works which Anglo-Norman literature has left us. We will examine these works briefly, grouping them into narrative, didactic, hagiographic, lyric, satiric and dramatic literature.

_Narrative Literature:_ (_a_) _Epic and Romance_.--The French epic came over to England at an early date. We know that the _Chanson de Roland_ was sung at the battle of Hastings, and we possess Anglo-Norman MSS. of a few _chansons de geste_. The _Pelerinage de Charlemagne_ (Koschwitz, _Altfranzosische Bibliothek_, 1883) was, for instance, only preserved in an Anglo-Norman ma.n.u.script of the British Museum (now lost), although the author was certainly a Parisian. The oldest ma.n.u.script of the _Chanson de Roland_ that we possess is also a ma.n.u.script written in England, and amongst the others of less importance we may mention _La Chancun de Willame_, the MS. of which has (June 1903) been published in facsimile at Chiswick (cf. Paul Meyer, _Romania_, x.x.xii. 597-618). Although the diffusion of epic poetry in England did not actually inspire any new _chansons de geste_, it developed the taste for this cla.s.s of literature, and the epic style in which the tales of _Horn_, of _Bovon de Hampton_, of _Guy of Warwick_ (still unpublished), of _Waldef_ (still unpublished), and of _Fulk Fitz Warine_ are treated, is certainly partly due to this circ.u.mstance. Although the last of these works has come down to us only in a prose version, it contains unmistakable signs of a previous poetic form, and what we possess is really only a rendering into prose similar to the transformations undergone by many of the _chansons de geste_ (cf. L. Brandin, _Introduction to Fulk Fitz Warine_, London, 1904).

The interinfluence of French and English literature can be studied in the Breton romances and the _romans d'aventure_ even better than in the epic poetry of the period. The _Lay of Orpheus_ is known to us only through an English imitation; the _Lai du cor_ was composed by Robert Biket, an Anglo-Norman poet of the 12th century (Wulff, Lund, 1888). The _lais_ of Marie de France were written in England, and the greater number of the romances composing the _matiere de Bretagne_ seem to have pa.s.sed from England to France through the medium of Anglo-Norman. The legends of Merlin and Arthur, collected in the _Historia Regum Britanniae_ by Geoffrey of Monmouth ([+] 1154), pa.s.sed into French literature, bearing the character which the bishop of St. Asaph had stamped upon them. Chretien de Troye's _Perceval_ (c.

1175) is doubtless based on an Anglo-Norman poem. Robert de Boron (c.

1215) took the subject of his Merlin (published by G. Paris and J.

Ulrich, 1886, 2 vols., _Societe des Anciens Textes_) from Geoffrey of Monmouth. Finally, the most celebrated love-legend of the middle ages, and one of the most beautiful inventions of world-literature, the story of Tristan and Iseult, tempted two authors, Beroul and Thomas, the first of whom is probably, and the second certainly, Anglo-Norman (see ARTHURIAN LEGEND; GRAIL, THE HOLY; TRISTAN). One _Folie Tristan_ was composed in England in the last years of the 12th century. (For all these questions see _Soc. des Anc. Textes_, Muret's ed. 1903; Bedier's ed. 1902-1905). Less fascinating than the story of Tristan and Iseult, but nevertheless of considerable interest, are the two _romans d'aventure_ of Hugh of Rutland, _Ipomedon_ (published by Kolbing and Koschwitz, Breslau, 1889) and _Protesilaus_ (still unpublished) written about 1185. The first relates the adventures of a knight who married the young d.u.c.h.ess of Calabria, niece of King Meleager of Sicily, but was loved by Medea, the king's wife. The second poem is the sequel to _Ipomedon_, and deals with the wars and subsequent reconciliation between Ipomedon's sons, Daunus, the elder, lord of Apulia, and Protesilaus, the younger, lord of Calabria.

Protesilaus defeats Daunus, who had expelled him from Calabria. He saves his brother's life, is reinvested with the dukedom of Calabria, and, after the death of Daunus, succeeds to Apulia. He subsequently marries Medea, King Meleager's widow, who had helped him to seize Apulia, having transferred her affection for Ipomedon to his younger son (cf. Ward, _Cat. of Rom._, i. 728). To these two romances by an Anglo-Norman author, _Amadas et Idoine_, of which we only possess a continental version, is to be added. Gaston Paris has proved indeed that the original was composed in England in the 12th century (_An English Miscellany presented to Dr. Furnivall in Honour of his Seventy-fifth Birthday_, Oxford, 1901, 386-394). The Anglo-Norman poem on the _Life of Richard Coeur de Lion_ is lost, and an English version only has been preserved. About 1250 Eustace of Kent introduced into England the _roman d'Alexandre_ in his _Roman de toute chevalerie_, many pa.s.sages of which have been imitated in one of the oldest English poems on Alexander, namely, _King Alisaunder_ (P. Meyer, _Alexandre le grand_, Paris, 1886, ii. 273, and Weber, _Metrical Romances_, Edinburgh).

(_b_) _Fableaux, Fables and Religious Tales_.--In spite of the incontestable popularity enjoyed by this cla.s.s of literature, we have only some half-dozen _fableaux_ written in England, viz. _Le chevalier a la corbeille, Le chevalier qui faisait parler les muets, Le chevalier, sa dame et un clerc, Les trois dames, La gageure, Le pretre d'Alison, La bourgeoise d'Orleans_ (Bedier, _Les Fabliaux_, 1895). As to fables, one of the most popular collections in the middle ages was that written by Marie de France, which she claimed to have translated from _King Alfred_. In the _Contes moralises_, written by Nicole Bozon shortly before 1320 (_Soc. Anc. Textes_, 1889), a few fables bear a strong resemblance to those of Marie de France.

The religious tales deal mostly with the Mary Legends, and have been handed down to us in three collections:

(i.) The Adgar's collection. Most of these were translated from William of Malmesbury ([+] 1143?) by Adgar in the 12th century ("Adgar's Marien-Legenden," _Altfr. Biblioth_. ix.; J.A. Herbert, _Rom_. x.x.xii. 394).

(ii.) The collection of Everard of Gateley, a monk of St. Edmund at Bury, who wrote _c_. 1250 three Mary Legends (_Rom_. xxix. 27).

(iii.) An anonymous collection of sixty Mary Legends composed _c_.

1250 (Brit. Museum Old Roy. 20 B, xiv.), some of which have been published in Suchier's _Bibliotheca Normannica_; in the _Altf. Bibl_.

See also Mussafia, "Studien zu den mittelalterlichen Marien-legenden"

in _Sitzungsh. der Wien. Akademie_ (t. cxiii., cxv., cxix., cxxiii., cxxix.).

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Another set of religious and moralizing tales is to be found in Chardri's _Set dormans_ and _Josaphat, c._ 1216 (Koch, _Altfr. Bibl._, 1880; G. Paris, _Poemes et legendes du moyen age_).

(_c_) _History_.--Of far greater importance, however, are the works which const.i.tute Anglo-Norman historiography. The first Anglo-Norman historiographer is Geoffrey Gaimar, who wrote his _Estorie des Angles_ (between 1147 and 1151) for Dame Constance, wife of Robert Fitz-Gislebert (_The Anglo-Norman Metrical Chronicle,_ Hardy and Martin, i. ii., London, 1888). This history comprised a first part (now lost), which was merely a translation of Geoffrey of Monmouth's _Historia regum Britanniae_, preceded by a history of the Trojan War, and a second part which carries us as far as the death of William Rufus. For this second part he has consulted historical doc.u.ments, but he stops at the year 1087, just when he has reached the period about which he might have been able to give us some first-hand information.

Similarly, Wace in his _Roman de Rou et des dues de Normandie_ (ed.