En grans chaleurs voit on prendre souvent Du mengier sont maint et maintes engrant, 40 Dessoubz li vont cerfs, bisches et chevriaux Pour ce a fueille plus qu'a fleur nous tenons. L'ENVOY Royne sur fleurs en vertu demourant, Et d'Araynes Lyonnet vont loant, Et Thuireval vostre bien qui est grant; Pour ce a fueille plus qu'a fleur nous tenons. 50 It is obvious that the foregoing poems are of very unequal value, so far as any possible relation with F. L., or any influence upon it, is concerned. The rondeau (III), indeed, may be disregarded altogether. It is merely a personal tribute, couched in language more naturally applied to a woman, but in this case apparently intended for a woman to send to a man, since Hélion de Naillac was councilor and chamberlain of King Charles VI of France. A personal compliment, also, to Philippa of Lancaster, is the chief burden of the second ballade, in favor of the Flower (II); which, however, is of considerably greater value to us than the rondeau, because it specifically declares that the poet has heard of the existence, in French amorous law, of Orders of the Flower and the Leaf. Though here said to be orders of women, they apparently did not exclude men from membership, for in both the second and the third ballades (II and IV) we find the names of men belonging to the orders. The first and last ballades, then, are of most interest to us, because they present clear-cut arguments in favor, respectively, of the flower and the leaf. In the first the poet says that, though the verdure of the leaf gives pleasure to the hearts of true lovers,' and moves the birds to sing sweetly," and though the leaf lasts during a season,* yet, because its beauty is nothing, he prefers the flower; for the beauty and color and odor of the flower, and the 1 Raynaud, Œuvres de Deschamps, Vol. X, p. 215; Kittredge, Modern Philology, Vol. I, p. 5. 2 Cf. 1, 5-6; II, 8; IV, 8, 27; F. L., 485, 486, 551-54. 3 Cf. I, 7; IV, 7; F. L., 447, 448. 4 Cf. I, 8; IV, 25, 26; F. L., 551-56. fruit that comes from it, make it of much greater value than the leaf, which has none of these good qualities, but is worthless except to protect the flower from rain and wind. Because of the side taken in I and II, the argument is of course directly opposed to that in F. L.; yet it is surprising how many of the points made in favor of the leaf are suggested here-its pleasant verdure and enduring quality, its influence on birds and true lovers, and the protection it affords the flower against storms of various kinds. Indeed, there is little else but elaboration of these points in the long ballade in favor of the leaf (IV). The flower, we are told, springs from the leaf and depends upon it for nourishment. If a little wind comes, the flower loses its color and falls without producing fruit; but the leaf never dies. Instead, it always remains green and fresh and "loyal," protecting those in its shadow from the heat, and healing those who have been sick." Thus we see that there are found in these ballades of Deschamps nearly all the arguments of our poem based upon the physical characteristics of the flower and the leaf. The attribution of analogous mental and moral characteristics to the members of the respective orders, however, is not even hinted at by Deschamps. Nevertheless, such similarity of thought and expression as we have found, especially between the third stanza of Ballade IV and the accounts of the storm in F. L., can hardly be accounted for except by actual influence of Deschamps on the English poet, or joint indebtedness of both to a common source not now known. CHARLES D'ORLEANS' MENTION OF THE ORDERS Some time during his imprisonment in England from 1415 to 1440, Charles d'Orleans wrote the following ballades: POÈME DE LA PRISON Ballade LXI Le premier jour du mois de May, 1 Cf. I, 24-27; II, 28, 29; IV, 16, 21-30; F. L., 354-78, 551-65. 2 Cf. IV, 31, 32; F. L., 407-13. 3 See Poésies, ed. d'Hericault (Paris, 1896); Vol. I, pp. 79 ff. So far as I am aware, these poems have not been previously mentioned in print in connection with F. L. My attention was called to them by Professor John M. Manly. De gracieuseté garnie; Tantost après je m'avisay Et pour son amy me tenoit, Mon cueur d'autre flour n'a pas cure; Comme fut lors mon aventure. Pource, le fueille porteray Car la fleur, que mon cueur amoit Plus que nulle autre créature, Est hors de ce monde passée, Qui son amour m'avoit donnée, ENVOI Il n'est fueille, ne fleur qui dure Ballade LXII Le lendemain du premier jour de May, |