Langue d'oc, the southern French tongue, owing to the fact that the south of France was not so much overrun and for such a continued period of time by the German invaders as the northern half of the country, developed its literary life faster and earlier became a centre of culture and of literary influence. This con dition of affairs acted and reacted upon the whole south, upon the neighboring parts of Spain and Italy and upon the more slowly de veloping north of France. It naturally remained more Latin and consequently more like the lan guages of Spain and Italy. For almost two centuries it set the literary style for the sur rounding countries and did much to awake to a higher life the northern French provinces. At one time it seemed as if Provencal, the lan guage of the langue d'oc dukedoms, was likely to become the dominant tongue of France. But fate was against it. Troubadour poetry and Provencal literature generally had penetrated to the northern courts of France, as Gaul began to be called after the Germanic occupation, and the princes of France were proud to imitate the literary princes of the Provencal countries. The culture of the north grew, as it came more and more under the influence of the south. The Norman, the Picard and the Bourgignon aspirant for literary honors imitated the writers of the brilliant courts of the langue d'oc country, Pro vençal, Languedocien,Dauphinois, Lyonnais, Gascon, Auvergnat, Limousin; and the best singers of the south country were frequently seen at the palaces of the Frankish kings. But political influences were destined to be more powerful than literary throughout all of France. The French kings, allied with the Christian Church, both received additional strength which finally made them a power in the affairs of Europe. Out of this union sprang a new litera ture which had its rise in the north of France. The northern kings received a wider vision which inspired an ambition to extend their dominions. This resulted in the gradual sub jection of the langue d'oc country to the north.
From this time on the southern tongue was dis couraged, and. the Provençal literature, which had owed its rise to the encouragement given it by the southern dukes, rapidly declined. Soon southern writers set the fashion of writing in French. From this time southern literature practically ceased to exist so far as any influence outside its own country was concerned; and the north country became the centre of literary activity in France. This had been the result of a slow growth from the 8th century to the time of Charlemagne.
French Dialects.— The three principal dia lects of northern France were the Norman, Bourguignon and Picard. The latter being the language of the capital and the court gradually acquired preponderating influence which enabled it to submit to its customs and ways of think ing the other northern dialects. This was the more easily accomplished because of the fact that the country was still divided into local centres and interests, each of which had its own local dialect, the total of which embraced al most two-thirds of France. The coming to the throne of the dukes of France gave it great strength, for the new rulers showed special ability for organization. They made their court the centre of the knightly culture of the age; and • their dialect the diplomatic tongue of all France. Soon it became the
language of all ambitious of acquiring courtly honors and favors. The Picard tongue became the model of courtly speech and manners; and by its own weight and influence gradually im posed itself upon all the other dialects of northern France. By the 12th century the only road open for favors at the court of France was conformity to the polite manners and customs of the court, one of whose inexor able laws was that all courtiers should speak correctly the Picard tongue. In the 16th cen tury the latter became, by royal decree, the court language and the official tongue of all France. But long before this, as early even as the 13th century, French, as the official tongue had already begun to be called, had commenced to spread rapidly and to acquire an influence which was destined to reach to all the courts of Europe, so that it ultimately became the diplomatic language of Christendom. It be came fashionable everywhere to speak French, which formed a part of the studies of all higher schools and universities throughout Europe; for France had succeeded in what Rome and the Christian Church had failed. She had become the diplomatic centre of Europe of which her language and literature had become the admiration and the one modern tongue worthy of imitation. French language, manners and culture, therefore, exercised a world-wide influ ence, the force of which, though diminished, has not yet spent itself. For the influence of French on English see ENGLISH LITERATURE.
See NORMAN FRENCH; GERMAN LITERATURE; PROVENcAL LITERATURE; CATALAN LITERATURE; FILANCE— FRENCH LITERATURE; FRENCH LOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY.
Bibliography.— Armstrong, of the French Verb' (New York 1909) ; Berthon and Starkey, (Synoptiques de phonologie de l'ancien francais' (Oxford 1908) ; Bourciez, (Elements de linguistique romane' (Paris 1910) ; Burnot, (Histoire de la langue francaise) (Paris 1905 11) ; Cledat, 'Nouvelle grammaire historique du francais) (Paris 1908) ; Constans, 'Chres tomathie de l'ancien francais> (Paris 1906) ; Etienne, Henri, 'La precellence du langage francois> (Paris 1896) ; Foerster, sisches Uebungsbuch> (Leipzig 1911) ; Geddes and Rivard, 'Bibliographic du parler francais au Canada) (Paris 1906) ; Gillieron and Edmont, 'Atlas linguistique de la France) (Paris 1912) ; La Grasserie, 'Etude scientifique sur l'argot et Is parler populaire) (Paris 1907) ; Lime, 'His toire de la langue francaise> (Paris 1886) ; Lu quiens, (Introduction to Old French Phonology and Morphology) (New Haven 1909) ; Meyer Lubke, 'Historische Grammatik de franzo sisdien Sprache> (Heidelberg 1908) ; Nyrop, 'Grammaire historique de la langue francaise> (Copenhagen 1913); Rivarol, l'universalite de la langue frangaise) (Paris 1784) ; Rudmose Brown, 'Etude comparee de la versification frangaise et la versification anglaise> (Grenoble 1905) ; Schwan-Berens, cGrammaire de l'ancien francais> (Leipzig 1913) ; Sudre, 'Chresto mathie du moyen (Paris 1906) ; Tobler, Wermischte Beitrage zur franzosischen Gram matik) (Leipzig 1908); Vaugelas, (Remarques sur la langue francaise> (Paris 1813) ; Vo retzsch, (Einfiihrung in das Studium der alt franzosischen Sprache> (Halle 1911). See also Bibliography under FRENCH LITERATURE.