Aucassin et Nicolete. Edited by F. W. Botirdillon. (Man- chester
University Press and Longmans. 4s. 6d. net.)—It is over thirty years since Mr. Bourdillon published the first of his editions of the charming old French story, to which Walter Pater had directed the attention of English readers in his Studies of the Renaissance. Mr. Bourdillon's new edition contains the text with notes, a full glossary, and a new Introduction summing up the conclusions of recent scholars. The editor accepts the theory of M. Gaston Paris that this unique " cantef able," which is unlike any other mediaeval French romance, dates from about 1150, and that it was written in Northern France, perhaps at Arias, by a professional minstrel. It is unique either because the author did not commit his compositions to paper, or—a melancholy conclusion—because his work was not appreciated by his generation and therefore was not copied. However that may be, the story has a rare charm for the twentieth century, and this scholarly edition is welcome.
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