a_; _sia_, _folia_, _parelharia_,
_vilana_, _s'estia_, _bailia_, _l'ufana_.

[Sidenote: _Provencal poetry not great._]

Such a _carillon_ of rhymes as this is sometimes held to be likely to
concentrate the attention of both writer and reader too much on the
accompaniment, and to leave the former little time to convey, and the
latter little chance of receiving, any very particularly choice
sense. This most certainly cannot be laid down as a universal law;
there are too many examples to the contrary, even in our own language,
not to go further. But it may be admitted that when the styles of
literature are both fashionable and limited, and when a very large
number of persons endeavour to achieve distinction in them, there is
some danger of something of the sort coming about. No nation has ever
been able, in the course of less than two centuries, to provide four
hundred and sixty named poets and an indefinitely strong reinforcement
of anonyms, all of whom have native power enough to produce verse at
once elaborate in form and sovereign in spirit; and the peoples of the
_langue d'oc_, who hardly together formed a nation, were no exception
to the rule. That rule is a rule of "minor poetry," accomplished,
scholarly, agreeable, but rarely rising out of minority.

[Sidenote: _But extraordinarily pedagogic._]

Yet their educating influence was undoubtedly strong, and their actual
production not to be scorned. In the capacity of teachers they were
not without strong influence on their Northern countrymen; they
certainly and positively acted as direct masters to the literary lyric
both of Italy and Spain; they at least shared with the _trouveres_ the
position of models to the Minnesingers. It is at first sight rather
surprising that, considering the intimate relations between England
and Aquitaine during the period--considering that at least one famous
troubadour, Bertran de Born, is known to have been concerned in the
disputes between Henry II. and his sons--Provencal should not have
exercised more direct influence over English literature. It was a
partly excusable mistake which made some English critics, who knew
that Richard Coeur de Lion, for instance, was himself not unversed
in the "manner of _trobar_," assert or assume, until within the
present century, that it did exercise such influence. But, as a matter
of fact, it did not; and the reason is sufficiently simple, or at
least (for it is double rather than simple) suffic