Thirdly, the Abbé de la Rue may be considered as having proved the fact, by pointing out, in English history, the persons to whom the original romances were addressed. His three dissertations on the Anglo-Norman poets, in the twelfth and thirteenth volume of the Archaelogia, will convince the reader that no man has studied, with more attention, the early history and poetry of France; and he has given it as his decided opinion, that "_it was from England and Normandy that the French received the first works which deserve to be cited in their language."--Ellis's Specimens of Early English Metrical Romances_. [9] Prolog. des Lais de Marie. [10] Oeuvres de Fauchet, 579. Recherches de la France, l.8. s. i. [11] Pyramus loco citate. [12] Oeuvres de Fauchet, p. 579. [13] Conclusion of Mary's Fables. [14] Dictionaire Raisonnée de Diplomatique Verbo _Comte_. [15] Martineus Dict. Geographique, v. Dampierre. [16] Sandford's Genealogical History of the Kings of England, p. 114. [17] Ibid, p. 116, and M. Paris, p. 817 [18] Sandford, ibid. [19] Fabliaux, vol. iv. p.330. [20] Conclusion of Mary's Fables. [21] Phaedr. Prolog. lib. i. [22] Preface to Mary's Fables. [23] Fabric. Bibl. Latin, lib. ii. c. 3. [24] Preface to the Fables of Mary [25] Vincent Bellovac, lib. iv. c. 2. [26] Fabric. loco citato. [27] Menage Diction. Etymol. V. Romans. Duchesne, Oeuvres de Maistre Alain Chartris, p. 861. [28] Pasquier Recherches, liv. viii. c. 1. [29] Asser, Vita Alfredi, Malsmb. [30] Madox's Hist. of the Exchequer, c. 4. [31] Ordoric. Vitalis Hist. apud Duchesne, pp. 488, 681, & 1084. [32] See his Works amongst the Harleian MSS. No. 4333. APPENDIX II. MARIE'S LAYS. Versions of only two of the Lays can be given; but it will be better to lay before the reader an abstract of the whole collection, which is in many respects interesting, because it was certainly written in this country, was never printed, and is known to exist only in one manuscript, viz. Harl. MSS. No. 978.