Semaine d’Histoire du Canada (review)

146 T•{E CANADIAN HISTORICAL REVIEW thirteenthcenturies, whenthe art of the troubadours reachedits apogee. It wasnot Mr. Gibbon'sintentionto makemorethan a passing reference to the interestingproblem of originsthat shouldinvite the attention of scholarsand may eventually develop into controversies. For this reason we will not question the validity of his assumption, beyond sayingthat the troubadourand folk-songr•pertoires,to our knowledge, hardly ever coincideat any point of their independentevolution. The art of the one was both aristocratic and academic, and it was the direct outcomeof mediaevallatinity. The other, the folk song,was, on the other hand, and has remained, essentially oral and democratic. It belongedto the peopleat large, and came down in direct line with the ancient romance traditions implanted in France in the early centuries of Christianity.The •olksongs seemto havebeenthe workof the jongleurs,particularly those of the Loire river and Normandy. The two currents of troubadourand jongleur art travelled through the centuriessideby side,the homeof the first beingsouth-eastern France, while that of the secondwas the north. Their independenceof each other was not such, however, as to preclude contacts and interchanges, as the pastourelle type of compositionitself suffices to show. The principal contribution of this book to the folk songliterature of Canada consistsin its translations. The task of transmuting into singable Englishtheselucidandpoeticsongs isfar fromeasy,particularly when they rank among the best. Two or three Canadiansin the past have, none the less,managedto leave us a few samplesof good and musicaltranslations,for instance,Wm. McLennan and G. T. Lanigan. But their efforts were short-lived. They do not compare in extent, and perhapssustainedquality, with thoseof Mr. Gibbon. The popularity of his renderingsamong English- and French-speaking singers is a fair test of their charmand genuinequality. MARIUS BARBEAU $emained'Histoire du Canada. Premiere session du 23 au 27 Novembre, 1025,souslesauspices de la Soci•t• Historique de Montr6al. Montreal : 1026. Pp. xviii, 456. THE activitiesand pointsof view of French-Canadianstudentsofhistory are too little knownoutsidethe provinceof Quebec. To anyonedesiring information on thesepoints, this is an important volume. Its sizeand contentsare a striking evidenceof the increasinginterest which French Canadians have shown, during recent years, in their own history. During the "week of Canadian history" held in November, 1025, under the auspicesof the Soci•tg Historique de Montrgal, fifteen sessions, including five public meetings,were held, and there was securedthe REVIEWS OF BOOKS 147 active participation of a large number of the most prominentmen in the academicand public life of the province. Twenty-four papers, which are here printed with one exception, were delivered, and the total attendance was estimated at over 10,000. This is, indeed, a creditable record, and it is doubtful if such manifestation of interest could be arousedat present in any community of English-speaking Canadians. Although the purposewas to impresson the French-Canadian public ("m•me au seinde la masse,"p. v), the importanceof its own history, no attempt was made to win a cheap popularity. The seriousnature and length of the papersare a tribute to the intelligenceof the audiences. The papers,while they dealt with French-Canadianhistory, covereda wide rangeof topicsin accordance with a well definedplan. The purposesand techniqueof historical writing, bibliography, archive collections , the value of genealogical studiesand monographs,the teaching of history in the schoolsof the province, and the methodsofcreating enthusiasmfor the study of French-Canadian history, were among the subjectsdiscussed. Of general interest were the following papers:Les archives de la province, by M. P.-G. Roy; Biblioœraphie de l'histoire canadienne, by M. AZgidiusFauteux; G•ographieet histoire,by M. Yves Tessier~Lavigne;and L'histoire du Canadaa l'•coleprimaire, 1825-1925, by M. C.-J. Magnan. Of specialvalue were the addressesdelivered at the publicsessions: L'histoiredeGarneau,by SenatorChapais;Le facteur •conomique, by M. EdouardMontpetit; Notre histoireet notrelitt•rateur, by Mgr Camille Roy; andNotredroitetl'histoire,by the Hon. M. Thibaudeau Rinfret. The book as a whole conveys to the reader several rather vivid impressions . French-Canadian historians are gratified by the revival of interestin their subject,andby the supportwhichthe provincialgovernment has given in recent years to its archives and to the Bulletin des Recherches Historiques. The volume also gives frequent expressionto the demandthat historicalwriting shouldbe marked by high standards of scholarship,by careful and...