and of Virgil himself.
Henry of Ghent, who wrote about 1280, says that it "was of such dignity
in the schools, that for it the reading of the ancient poets was
neglected."[49] This testimony is curiously confirmed by the condition
of the manuscripts which have come down to us, most of which are loaded
with glosses and interlinear explanations, doubtless for public use in
the schools.[50] It is sometimes supposed that Dante repaired to Paris.
It is certain that his excellent master, Brunette Latini, passed much
time there. This must have been at the very period when the new poem was
taught in the schools. Perhaps it may be traced in the "Divina
Commedia."

Next after the tale of Troy, the career of Alexander was at this period
the most popular subject for poetry, romance, or chronicle. The Grecian
conqueror filled a vast space in the imagination. He was the centre of
marvel and of history. Every modern literature, according to its
development, testifies to this predominance. Even dialects testify. In
France, the professors of grammar at Toulouse were directed by statutes
of the University, dated 1328, to read to their pupils "De Historiis
Alexandri."[51] In England, during the reign of Henry I., the sheriff
was ordered to procure the Queen's chamber at Nottingham to be painted
with the History of Alexander,--"_Depingi facias Historiam Alexandri
undiquaque_."[52] Chaucer, in his "House of Fame," places Alexander with
Hercules, and then again shows the universality of his renown:--

"Alisaundres storie is so commune,
That everie wight that hath discrecioune
Hath herde somewhat or al of his fortune."

We have the excellent authority of the poet Gray for saying that the
Alexandrine verse, which "like a wounded snake drags its slow length
along," took its name from an early poem in this measure, called "La
View d'Alexandre." There was also the "Roman d'Alexandre," contemporary
with the "Alexandreis," which Gray thinks was borrowed from the latter
poem, apparently because the authors say that they took it from the
Latin.[53] There was also "The Life and Actions of Alexander the
Macedonian," originally written in Greek, by Simeon Seth, magister and
protovestiary or wardrobe-keeper of the palace at Constantinople in
1070, and translated from Greek into Latin, and then into French,
Italian, and German.[54] Arabia also contributed her stories, and the
Grecian conqueror became a hero of romance. Like Charlemagne, he