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poetry took root in Polish medieval literaturę accounts for the evident lack of interest in the »matiere de France« and the »ma-tiere de Bretagne« among the Polish producers of the 16-th cent-ury novel. Of course, some feeble traces of the two epic cycles may be discovered in the heroic stories, such as the »Eruperor Octavian« certain episodes of which are borrowed from the chronicie of Pseudo-Turpin, or »Melusine« in which one meets remin-iscences from Arthurian romance; yet all the four specimens of this class have been translated into Polish from German texts. So, (6) »The Emperor Otho« (1569), (7) »La Belle Maguellonne«, (8) »Melusine« and (9) »Fortunatus« are based, the first on W. Saltzmann^Js yersion of the » Emperor Octavian« (the name on the Polish title page has been changed into »Otho«), the second on V. Warbeck’s, the third on that of Werner von Bingoltingen, the fourth on the anonymous »Fortunatus« of 1530. To the text of »The Emperor Otho« haye been attached two short narratiyes, also taken from the German, one being the popular legend of the origin and coat of arms of the Guelfs, another an episode from some chronicie of the reign of Frederic III. In spite of their artistic defects, the four stories became fayourite reading for many generations to eonie, and two among them (»Maguel-lonne« and »Melusine«) are being read even in our day. One may admit that they have exerted some influence upon the Polish fairy ta-les.

C. From the inexhaustible stock of the medieval story books, containing the Latin »Exempla«, first of all the world-famous collection, the »Gęsta Romanorura«, found its way into Poland. This fayourite omnibus volume of all sort of stories, ancient, oriental, amusing, instructiye, lay and ecclesiastic, inyented to meet the needs of the friars at the table and in lei surę hours rather than to furnish preachers with examples for their sermons, was read and copied in Poland as early as the 15-th century. A selection from it, however, called (10) »Various Histories from the Gestes of the Romans«, was only printed in Polish in the sixteen thirties or fourties. According to the publisher’s, notę in the edition of 1543 (the earliest among the preserved), the trans-lation was done by Master John of Koszyczki. This statement seems rather dubious, howeyer, for the text betrays two different hands at least. There is no doubt whateyer, that the longest of

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