because it is continual, but does not fail to be a marvellous fault.
Finally must be cited Rutilius, first because he had talent, then because
even amid the invasions of the barbarians he made an impassioned eulogy
of Rome which is, involuntarily, a funeral oration; finally, because,
despite being a bitter foe to Christianity, he once more involuntarily
defined the great and noble change from paganism to Christianity: _Tunc
mutabantur corpora, nunc animi_ ("Formerly bodies were metamorphosed,
now souls").




CHAPTER V


THE MIDDLE AGES: FRANCE

_Chansons de Geste: Song of Roland_ and Lyric Poetry. Popular
Epopee: _Romances of Renard_. Popular Short Stories: Fables.
Historians. The Allegorical Poem: _Romance of the Rose_. Drama.


_CHANSONS DE GESTE_.--The literature of the Middle Ages freed itself from
Latin about the tenth century. This was the moment when the great epopees
which are called _chansons de geste_ began to be heard. The most
celebrated is the one entitled _The Song of Roland_. It is the story
of the last struggle in which Roland engaged on returning from Spain at
the pass of Roncevaux and of his death. The form of this poem is rather
dry and a little monotonous; but there are admirable passages such as the
benediction of the dying by the Bishop Turpin, the farewell of Roland to