The decade following upon 1820 was a season of brilliant blossom for the art of writing history in France. By his _History of the English Revolution_, in 1826, Guizot won for himself a place in the foremost rank of French authors. He began in 1829 his famous lectures at the Sorbonne, and commenced in 1832 the publication of his _Sources of French History_. Even before him, Augustin Thierry had written in 1825 his _History of the Conquest of England by the Normans_, followed by _Stories from the Merovingian Times_, and was now engaged in the preparation of his great work, the _History of the Origin and Progress of the Third Estate_. Not unworthy to be compared with these writers, and soon to stand beside them, were two young men working in collaboration--Mignet and Thiers--who came to the front in 1823-24 with their _History of the Revolution_. At the impulse thus given, historical societies and unions had arisen in every province of France, and were developing an ever-increasing activity. What learning had begun, poetry carried further. A number of writers, young and old, began to consider what poetic use might be made of the materials which these investigations had brought to light, and few years had passed before the number of historical romances and dramas was hardly to be computed. Vitet, the elder Dumas, and de Vigny put historical tragedy in the place of classical, and the modern novel of George Sand, Balzac, and Beyle was ousted by the historical romance. During the same years was completed the process by which grand opera forsook fantastic for historical subjects, such as Auber's _Muette de Portici_ and Rossini's _Guillaume Tell_. [Illustration: COGNIET. THE MASSACRE OF THE INNOCENTS.] Art also sought to turn to account the new materials furnished by historical science, and æsthetic minds hastened to enumerate the advantages which were to be expected of it. On the one hand--and this was nothing new--the artist, whose curse it was to be born in an inactive and colourless age, would find here all that he sought, for history offered him the contemplation of a magnificent life, full of movement. On the other hand--and this was the chief point--painting might also fulfil an important mission on behalf of culture, if by virtue of its more easily understood method it could supplement the science of history, and by recalling the great memories of the past keep alive that patriotism which in unfavourable conjunctures is so frequently found wanting. Guizot recommended French history, "the history of chivalry," to painters, as the first and most important source of inspiration. "We want historians in the art of painting," wrote Vitet; and his cry was not unheard.