There are but few milestones on this ancient road, but if all were carefully examined in order of time, it is probable that the gaps might be bridged over by the eye of learning and the line of development made plain.
An anecdote of the tenth century, given by M. Fauriel, illustrates the condition of the language of that date.
A Gaul who had been present at several of the miracles of St. Martin, being asked by some Acquitanians to give an account of them, is diffident, and says he is illiterate.
"Speak as you please," said one of the Acquitanians, "speak Celtic or Gothic if you prefer it, provided only you speak of St. Martin."
It was at this time that the language of Acquitaine which has lingered in the valleys of the Pyrenees began to be called Basque. The rest of the country was speaking the Romance, with its 3,000 "barbarian words." Among these are some Acquitanian, a few of which are below:--
_Aonar_ to aid Rabbi river Grazal vase Nec gloomy Gaissar to injure _Asko_ much Biz black Enoc sadness Gais evil, misfortune
Unlike the languages of the so-called Sanscrit type (to which belong Greek, Latin, Celtic, and even Slavonian), the Basque--as is well-known--cannot be traced back to any common origin: this mysterious aboriginal tongue of the Acquitani is an orphan and an alien without kith or kin, unless indeed the adventurous writer who claims for it an Etruscan origin be in the right.
Acquitaine took a large part in the wars with the invading Arabs of Spain, and their Duke Eudes, after many victories, was finally defeated by the famous Abderrahman and the county was left at the mercy of the conquerors until Charles Martel at length expelled them.
It was in these wars that Charlemagne made his famous and disastrous expedition to Ronçevalles which inspired the poetic imagination of the day.
The many wars of these times of transition and the long struggles of the Gallo-Romans and Acquitanians against the Franks formed subjects for the popular poetry which was slowly working towards the literary outburst of the eleventh and twelfth centuries.
[Illustration: COW-BOYS OF THE CAMARGUE. _By Joseph Pennell._]
The people of Acquitaine seem to have been leaders in the revolt against the Frankish dominion; their country had been left by Charlemagne as an independent kingdom, but on his death they at once went to war with the Franks and led the way to the dismemberment of the Carlovingian Empire. There is an ancient poem whose name and hero is Walter of Acquitaine--related to the Nibelingen and Scandinavian sagas--which seems to represent the national and anti-Frankish spirit of the Acquitanians and of all the Gallo-Roman epoch.