Religion and language, as they are now in use through the chief regions of the world, both most briefly, and as faithfully discovered. / By a Person of quality.

Of the beginning of the Italian, French, and Spanish lan∣guages. CHAP. V.

THe common opinion, which sup∣poseth that these Nations in the flourish of the Roman Empire, spake vulgarly, and rightly the Latine tongue, is, that the mi∣xture of the Northerne barbarous Nations among the ancient Inhabitants, was the cause of chan∣ging the Latine tongue, into the Languages which now they speake, the Languages becomming mingled, as the Nations themselves were. Who, while they were enforced to attemper, and frame their speech▪ one to the understanding of another, for else they could not mutually expresse their mindes (which is the end for which nature hath given speech to men) they degenerated both, and so came to this medly, wherein now we finde them.

Which opinion if it were true, the Italian tongue must of necessity have it beginning about the 480 yeere of our Saviour: because, at that time, the Barbarous Nations began first to inhabite Italy, under Odoacer, for although they had entred, and wasted Italy long before, as first, the Gothes un∣der Alaricus, about the yeere 414. Then the Hunnes together with the Gothes, and the Heruli, and the Gepidi, and other Northerne people

under Attila, about An. 450. Then the Wandales under Gensericus, crossing the sea out of Afrique, about An. 456 (to omit some other invasions of those barbarous Nations, because they prospered not) yet none of these, setled themselves to stay, & inhabite Italy, till the Heruli, as I sayd, under Odoa∣cer, about An. 480. or a little before, entred and pos∣sessed it neere hand 20 yeeres, He being (proclay∣med by the Romans themselves) King of Italy▪ a∣bout 16 yeeres, and his people becomming inha∣biters of the Countrey. But, they also, within 20 yeeres after their entrance, were in a manner rooted out of Italy, by Theodoricus King of Gothes, who al∣lotted them onely a part of Piemont above Turin to inhabite: for Theodoricus being by Zeno then Em∣perour, invested with the title of King of Italy, and having overcome Odoacer, somewhat afore the yeere 500, ruled peaceably a long time, as King of Italy, and certaine others of the Gothes Nations suc∣ceeded after him in the same government, the Gothes in the mean space, growing into one with the Italians, for the space neere hand of 60 yeeres toge∣ther. And although after that, the dominion of Italy, was by Narses againe recovered to the Em∣pire, in the time of Iustinian, and many of the Gothes expelled Italy, yet farre more of them remained, Italy in that long time, being growne well with their seed, and posterity. The Heruli therefore, with their associats were the first, and the Gothes the se∣cond, of the barbarous Nations, that inhabited Ita∣ly. The third, and the last, were the Langbards, who comming into Italy about the yeere 570, and

long time obtayning the dominion, and possession, in a manner of all Italy, namely about 200 yeeres, and during the succession of 20. Kings or more, were never expelled forth of Italy, although at last their dominion was sore broken by Pipin King of France, and after, more defaced, by his sonne Charles the great, who first restrained, and confined it, to that part, which to this day of them retai∣neth the name of Lombardy, and shortly after ut∣terly extinguished it, carrying away their last King captive into France. Now although divers anti∣quaries of Italy there be, which referre the begin∣ning of the Italian tongue, and the change of the Latine into it, to these third inhabitants of Italy the Langbards, by reason of their long, and perfect coalition into one with the Italian people: yet cer∣tainly the Italian tongue was more ancient then so, for besides that there remaines yet to be seene (as men worthy of credit report) in the K. of France his Library at Paris, an Instrument written in the Ita∣lian tongue, in the time of Iustinian the first, which was before the comming of the Langbards into Ita∣ly: another evidence more vulgar, to this effect, is to be found in Paulus Diaconus his miscellane histo∣ry▪ where we read, that in the Emperour Mauritius, his time, about the yeere 500, when the Langbards had indeed entered, and wasted Gallia Cisalpina, but had not invaded the Roman dition in Italy, that by the acclamation of the word Torna, Torna (plaine Italian) which a Roman souldier spake to one of his fellowes afore, whose beast had overturned his burthen, the whole army (marching in the darke)

began to cry out, torna, torna, and so fell to flying away.

But the French tongue, if that afore mentioned were the cause of it, began a little before, in the time of Valentinian the 3, when in a manner, all the West part of the Empire fell away, (and among the rest our Countrey of England, being first forsa∣ken of the Romans themselves, by reason of grie∣vous warres at their owne doores, and not long af∣ter, conquered, and possessed by the Saxons, whose posterity for the most part we are) namely, about the yeere 450: France being then subdued, and peaceably possessed, by the Frankes & Burgundions, nations of Germany: the Burgundions occupying the Eastward, and outward parts of it, toward the river of Rhene, and the Franks, all the inner Region. For although France before that had beene invaded by the Wandali, Suevi, and Alani, and after by the Gothes, who having obtained Aquitayne for their seate, and habitation, by the grant of the Emperour Honorius, expelled the former into Spaine about An. 410: yet notwithstanding, till the Conquest made by the Franks, and Burgundions, it was not ge∣nerally, nor for any long time mingled with stran∣gers, which after that Conquest began to spread over France, and to become native inhabitants of the Countrey.

But of all, the Spanish tongue for this cause, must necessarily be most ancient: for the Wandals, and Alani, being expelled France, about the yeere 410. began then to invade, and to inhabite Spaine, which they held, and possessed many yeeres, till the Gothes

being expelled by the Franks, and Burgundions, out of France into Spaine, expelled them out of Spai••e into Afrique (the barbarous Nations thus like nailes driving out one another) and not onely them, but with them all the remnants of the Roman garrisons, and government, and so becomming the entier Lords, and quiet possessours of all the Countrey, from whom also the Kings of Spaine that now are, be descended. Notwithstanding, even they also, within lesse then 300 yeeres after, were driven by the Saracens of Afrique into the Northerne, and mountainous parts of Spaine, namely Austria, Biscay, and Guipuscoa, till after a long course of time, by little, and little they recovered it, out of their hands againe, which was at last fully accomplished by Ferdinand not past 120 yeeres agoe, there having passed in the meane time, from the Mores first en∣trance of Spaine at Gibraltar, till their last possession in Granada, about 770 yeeres.

Whereby you may see also, when the Roman tongue began to degenerate in Afrique, (if that also, as is supposed spake vulgarly the Latine tongue, and if the mixture of barbarous people were cause of the decay, & corruption of it) name∣ly, about the yeere 430, for about that time, the Waudali, and Alani, partly wearied with the Gottish warre in Spaine, and partly invited by the Gover∣nour Bonifacius, entered Afrique, under the leading of Gensericus, a part whereof for a time, they held quietly, for the Emperour Valentinianus gift: But shortly after, in the same Emperours time, when all the West Provinces in a manner fell utterly away

from the Empire, they also tooke Carthage; and all the Province about it, from the Romans. And al∣though the dominion of Afrique was regained by Bellisarius to the Empire, almost 100 yeeres after, in Iustinians time, yet in the time of the Emperour Leontius, (almost 700 yeeres after our Saviours birth) it was lost againe, being anew conquered, and possessed by the Sarracens of Arabia (and to this day remaineth in their hands) bringing toge∣ther with their victories, the language also, and reli∣gion (Mahumetanisme) into all that coast of Afrique, even from Aegypt to the Straits of Gibraltar, above 2000 miles in length.

About which time also, namely during the go∣vernment of Valentinian the 3 Bulgaria, Servia, Bo∣scina, Hungary, Austria, Stiria, Carinthia, Bavaria, and Suevia (that is all the Noth border of the Empire, along the river Danubius) and some part of Thrace, was spoiled, and possessed by the Hunnes, who yet principally planted themselves in the Lower Pan∣nonia, whence it obtained the name of Hungary.

Out of which discourse you may observe these two poynts. First, what the Countries were in which those wandring, and warring Nations af∣ter many transmigrations from place to place, fix∣ed at last their finall residence, and h••bitation. Namely, the Hunnes in Pannonia, the Wandales in A∣frique, the East Gothes, and Langbards in Italy, the West Gothes in Aquitane, and Spaine, which being both originally but one Nation, gained these names of East, and West Gothes, from the position of these Countries which they conquered, and in∣habited,

the other barbarous Nations of obscurer names, being partly consumed with the warre, and partly passing into the more famous appellations. And secondly, you may observe, that the maine dis∣solution of the Empire, especially in Europe, and Afrique, fell in the time of Valentinian the third, a∣bout the yeere 450, being caused by the barbarous Nations of the North (as after did the like dissolu∣tion of the same Empire in Asia, by the Arabians in the time of Heraclius about the yeere 640) and to∣gether with the raigne of the Empire in the West by the inundation of the foresayd barbarous Nati∣ons, the Latine tongue in all the countries, where it was vulgarly spoken (if it were rightly spoken any where in the West) became corrupted.

Wherefore if the Spanish, French, and Italian tongues, proceeded from this cause, as a great number of learned men, suppose they did, you see what the antiquity of them is: But to deliver plain∣ly my opinion, having searched as farre as I could into the originals of those languages, and having pondered what in my reading, and in my reason I found touching them, I am of another minde (as some learned men also are) namely, that all those tongues are more ancient, and have not sprung from the corruption of the Latine tongue, by the inundation, and mixture of barbarous people in these Provinces, but from the first unperfect im∣pression, and receiving of it, in those forraine Coun∣tries. Which unperfectnes notwithstanding of the Roman tongue in those parts, although it had, as I take it, beginning from this evill framing of forrain

tongues to the right pronouncing of the Latine, yet I withall easily beleeve, and acknowledge, that it was greatly increased, by the mixing, and coalition of the barbarous Nations. So that mee thinkes, I have observed three degrees of corruption in the Roman tongue, by the degene∣rating whereof, these Languages are supposed to have received their beginning. The first of them was in Rome it selfe, where, towards the latter end of the Common-wealth, and after, in the time of the Empire, the infinite multitude of servants (which exceedingly exceeded the number of free borne Citizens) together with the unspeakeable confluence of strangers, from all Provinces, did much impaire the purenesse of their Language, and as Isidore hath observed, brought many barbarismes and soloecismes into it. Insomuch, that Tertullian in his time, when as yet none of the barbarous Na∣tions had by invasion touched Italy (for he lived under Septimius Severus, government) chargeth the Romans to have renounced the Language of their fathers. The second steppe was the unper∣fect impression (that I touched before) made of the Roman tongue abroad in the forraine Provin∣ces among strangers, whose tongues could not perfectly frame to speake it aright. And certainely, if the Italians themselves, as is remembred by Ci∣cero failed of the right, and perfect Roman pro∣nounciation, I see not how the tongues of strange Nations, such as the Gaules, and Spaniards were, should exactly utter it. And the third, was that mixture of many barbarous people (to which o∣thers

attribute the beginning of the Languages in question) which made the Latine, that was before unperfect, yet more corrupt then they found it, both for words, and for pronouncing: So that, I rather thinke the barbarous people to have beene a cause of increasing the corruption, and of further altera∣tion, and departure of those Languages from the Roman, than of beginning them. And me thinkes I have very good reasons so to be perswaded, be∣side all the arguments above mentioned, which I produced, both for the remaining of the vulgar Languages, and for the unperfect speaking of the Roman tongue in the Provinces, First, because the Gothes, Wandales, Langbards, as also the Franks, and Burgundions language, was by the consent of lear∣ned men, the German tongue, which hath but small affinity or agreement, with eyther the Italian, French, or Spanish tongues. Secondly, because a∣mong all the ancient writers (and they are many) which have written of the miserable changes, made in these West parts of the world, by those infinite swarmes of barbarous people, I finde not one, that mentioneth the change of any of these languages to have beene caused by them: which me thinkes some ancient writers among so many learned, as those times, and those very Countries abounded withall, and whose writings yet remaine, would certainely have recorded. But though we finde mention in sundry ancient writers, of changing these languages into the Roman (whom yet I un∣derstand of that unperfect change before touched) yet nothing is found of any rechanging of those

languages from the Roman, into the state wherein now they are. But it is become a question onely of some late searchers of antiquity, but of such, as de∣termine in this poynt, without eyther sound reason or good countenance of antiquity.

Notes

• Blond in I∣tal. Illustrata in Marchia Trivisana.
• Tinto dela Nobilta. dive∣rona. l. 2. ca 2. & alii.
• Lips. de Pro∣nunciat. Ling. Lat. cap. 3. & Merul. part. 2. Cosmongr. l. 4. c, 18.
• Paul. Diacon. hist. Miscell. 27. long ante med.
• Isidor. Origin. l. 9. c. 1. Tertul. in A∣pologet. adu. Gentes. c. 6.
• Cicer. l. 3. de Oratore.
• Irenic. Exeg German. l. 1. c. 31. Lacing. l. 10. de Mig••ation▪ Gent. Gorop. Origin. Antwerp. l. 7. Gesner. in Mithridate. Rh••nan. l. ••. Re••. G••rman. ••••unclan. in Pandect. Tur∣ti••. § l. et Alii multi.