en probably a new
invention, designed for edification, for encouragement of faith in the
Church, war against infidels, and reverence to the shrine of St. James
of Compostella.

The Church vouched for the authorship of Turpin, Archbishop of Rheims,
"excellently skilled in sacred and profane literature, of a genius
equally adapted to prose and verse; the advocate of the poor, beloved
of God in his life and conversation, who often hand to hand fought the
Saracens by the Emperor's side; and who flourished under Charles and his
son Lewis to the year of our Lord eight hundred and thirty." But while
this work gave impulse to the shaping of Charlemagne romances with
Orlando (Roland) for their hero, there came to be a very general opinion
that, whether the author of the book were Turpin or another, he too was
a romancer. His book came, therefore, to be known as the "Magnanime
Mensonge," a lie heroic and religious.

No doubt Turpin's "Vita Caroli Magni et Rolandi" was based partly on
traditions current in its time. It was turned of old into French
verse and prose; and even into Latin hexameters. The original work
was first printed at Frankfort in 1566, in a collection of Four
Chronographers--"Germanicarum Rerum." Mr. Rodd's translation, here
given, was made from the copy of the original given in Spanheim's "Lives
of Ecclesiastical Writers."

* * * * *

Publication of the songs and ballads of Spain began at Valencia in the
year 1511 with a collection by Fernando del Castillo, who on his
title-page professed to collect pieces "as well ancient as modern." From
1511 to 1573 there were nine editions of this "Cancionero." A later
collection made between 1546 and 1550--The "Cancionero de Romances"--was
made to consist wholly of ballads. A third edition of it, in 1555, is
the fullest and best known. The greatest collection followed in nine
parts, published separately between 1593 and 1597, at Valencia, Burgos,
Toledo, Alcala, and Madrid. This formed the great collection known as
the "Romancero General."

* * * * *

The chief hero of the Spanish Ballads is the Cid Campeador; and Robert
Southey used these ballads as material for enriching the "Chronicle of
the Cid," which has already been given in this Library. Songs of the Cid
were sung as early as the year 1147, are of like date with the
"Magnanime Mensonge" and Geoffrey of Monmouth's "History of British
Kings." In 124