508 FROME FRONDE presenting Richard II. with a collection of his poems, he there devoted his later years to the completion of his great work. His book is a living picture of his age. An admirer of he- roic deeds, an instinctive courtier of every prince or lord, delighted with feasts and pa- geants, he vividly depicts all that interests him, and gives more prominence to individual ex- ploits than to important events. He is devoid of patriotism, and shows no partiality to the French, narrating their defeats with as much gusto as their victories ; he has no philosophical views nor political opinions ; but he is incon- trovertibly the most amusing and vivacious of chroniclers. He also wrote more than 30,000 verses, a few specimens of which have been occasionally published ; but his fame rests ex- clusively upon his historical work. The finest copy of Froissart's chronicle is at Breslau; it comprises four volumes, most carefully writ- ten, and embellished with magnificent vignettes. The chronicle embraces the annals of the 14th century from 1326 to 1400, and was printed for the first time about 1498 at Paris by An- toine V6rard (4 vols. fol.), under the title of Chroniques de France, d 1 Angleterre, d'Ecosse, d'Espagne, de Bretagne, de Gascogne, Flandres et lieux d'alentour. The reprints of 1514, 1518, and 1530 contain continuations to the year 1513 by unknown authors. . The chronicle was translated into English by order of Henry VIII. and published under the title of " Chron- icles of England " (2 vols. fol., London, 1523-'5). The English versions are generally preferred on account of their retaining the original spelling of the proper names. The best French edition is by Buchon (15 vols. 8vo, Paris, 1824), re- printed with important additions and improve- ments in the Pantheon litteraire, under the title of Les chroniques de sire Jean Froissart, qui traitent des merveilleuses entreprises, no- bles aventures et faits d'armes advenus en son temps en France, Angleterre, Bretaigne, Bour- gogne, Ecosse, Espaigne, Portingal, et es autres, nouvellement revues et augmentees d'apres les manuscrits, avec notes, eclaircissements, tables,- et glossaire (3 large vols. 8vo, Paris, 1835-'6). A volume of extracts, containing the most in- teresting parts, was published in 1846. Sir Walter Scott was of opinion that for artlessness and vivacity of style the old version is to be preferred to the more exact and learned trans- lation made by Thomas Johnes, under the title of " Sir John Froissart's Chronicles of England, France, and the adjoining Countries " (4 vols. 4to, Hafod press, 1803-'5). To the second edition of Johnes's translation (12 vols. 8vo, London, 1805) are prefixed a life of the author, an essay on his works, a criticism on his his- tory, and a dissertation on his poetry. An- other edition has been published by Henry Bohn (2 vols. 8vo, London, 1845). FROME, a town and parliamentary borough of Somersetshire, England, 19 m. S. E. of Bris- tol; pop. in 1871, 11,846. It is pleasantly sit- uated on an affluent of the Avon. The parish church, an ancient Gothic building, has a tower and spire 150 ft. high, and there are four new churches, of which St. Mary the Virgin, opened in 1864, is the finest. Schools and charitable institutions abound, and there are a literary and mechanics' institute and a church institute with library and reading rooms ; a fine build- ing for a museum and library was opened in 1867. There are extensive breweries, and man- ufactories of woollens, silks, hats, and carriage FROMENTffl, Eugene, a French painter and author, born in La Rochelle in December, 1820. He studied under Cabat, and exhibited in 1847 excellent pictures of Algerian scenery and public buildings. He was sent in 1852 on an archaeological mission to Algeria by the com- mittee of historical monuments. Since his return to Paris he has produced many land- scapes and genre pictures relating to Arab life and scenery, remarkable for their brilliant coloring and their delicacy of execution. His " Chase of Gazelles " has been purchased by the government, as well as his " Falcon Chase " and "Arabian Falconer," which latter are in the Luxembourg. He has published Visites artis- tiques (1852), Simples pelerinages (1856), Une annee dans le Sahel (1858), and a successful novel, Dominique (1863). FRONDE, a political faction in France which headed an insurrectionary movement during the latter part of the minority of Louis XIV. The name of frondeurs, which means literally slingers, was applied to its members in derision ; in their sneering and flippant attacks upon Car- dinal Mazarin they were said to resemble boys throwing stones from slings. But the name, though given in derision, was soon accepted by those to whom it was applied. The long and powerful rule of Richelieu had completed the work of centralizing all the power of France in the hands of the royal government, and finally broken the might of the independent families in the kingdom. The spirit of oppo- sition, which was crushed in its last conspira- cies, revived under his feebler successor, Ma- zarin, who was hated by the nobles as a for- eigner and friend of foreigners, and by the peo- ple for his extortions. The movement assumed a warlike aspect in 1648, when Mazarin de- clared the decrees of parliament, which had acted as an independent political body, to be attempts upon the rights of the crown, and arrested the president and one of the mem- bers. The next day the people of Paris rose in arms, dispersed the Swiss guards, and erect- ed barricades in the streets adjoining the roy- al palace. The frightened court repealed the recently imposed taxes and promised a bet- ter administration of justice. This still more encouraged the frondeurs of the parliament, whose continued opposition finally compelled the court to retire to St. Germain (Jan. 6,1649). Paris was now in the hands of the insurgents, and Prince Louis Cond6 at the head of 7,000 men undertook to besiege it. The parliament
