Ebook Mediæval France

"The story of a nation," we conceive, is read, not only in its political annals, in the records of the battle-field, and the details of treaties of peace; but in its social life, in the development of commerce, industry, literature, and the fine arts. Accordingly, whilst attempting throughout the following pages to give the history of Mediæval France, we have allowed a large share to what may be called the intellectual side of the subject, more especially to the formation and progress of national literature. Without pretending to exhaust the topic, we have illustrated it by extracts from several authors, accompanied, whenever necessary, by a translation in English. The reader will thus be able to follow at the same time the development of the language; and the glossary at the end of the volume will help him to understand the archaisms used in the original passages quoted in the text.

We have consulted the best sources for the preparation of this work, especially the histories of Messrs.