Before we close this chapter we must say a word or two concerning another branch of early literature, whose influence is not great on Dante or his immediate successors, but which was destined to bloom forth later in a new kind of poetry, which has become the peculiar glory of Italy. The introduction into Italy of the French national heroic epic (the _chansons de geste_) began about the same time as the introduction of the Provençal lyric. In Northern Italy these romances were not only read but imitated, and about the second half of the thirteenth century, arose a mongrel sort of literature, written in a language, half French, half Italian. The most popular of these poems were those dealing with Charlemagne, who, as the protector of the pope and the restorer of the Roman empire, was looked upon by the Italians as one of their own race. These old _chansons de geste_, however, in coming to Italy, lost much of their original significance. The spirit and ideals could scarcely be understood by the Italians, to whom feudal society was largely unknown. What they liked in the French romances was not religious or patriotic sentiments, but adventures and the wonderful deeds of the heroes. The object, then, of the rude early writers of the Franco-Italian epic was to interest the hearers and arouse curiosity. Hence these poems became monopolized by wandering minstrels, who sang in the streets and public squares to the people who gathered about them, much as their descendants gather about the Punch and Judy shows and the wandering musicians of to-day. For nearly two hundred years the French romances existed in Italy in this humble state, until, as we shall see later, they were incorporated into regular literature by Pulci, Boiardo, and Ariosto. SUMMARY AND QUESTIONS FOR REVIEW Italian literature of comparatively recent origin--Causes therefor--Italian literature proper does not begin before the thirteenth century--The poetry of Provence and its influence on North Italy--The Italian troubadours--The rise of indigenous poetry in Sicily--Transference of the movement to Tuscany--Guido Guinicelli of Bologna--The "new school"--How it differed from the preceding poetry--Character of literature in North Italy--St. Francis and the religious movements--The Flagellants--Literary effect of these movements--The _Laudi_--Jacopone da Todi--French epic romances and their influence in Italy. 1. Give a brief sketch of the origin of the Italian people. 2. When does Italian literature proper begin? 3. Name three great Italian philosophers who wrote in Latin. 4. What country first influenced Italian lyrical poetry? 5. What do you understand by the Sicilian school? 6. Give the chief characteristics of the poetry of this school. 7. Who was Guittone d'Arezzo? 8. Guido Guinicelli and the "new school"?