Reynard the Fox  

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 +The '''Reynard cycle''' is a [[list of literary cycles|literary cycle]] of [[allegory|allegorical]] [[French folklore|French]], [[Folklore of the Low Countries|Dutch]], [[English folklore|English]], and [[German folklore|German]] [[fable]]s largely concerned with [[Reynard]], an [[anthropomorphism|anthropomorphic]] [[Red Fox|red fox]]. [[Geoffrey Chaucer]] used Reynard material in the ''[[Canterbury Tales]]''; in "[[The Nun's Priest's Tale]]", Reynard appears as "Rossel" and an ass as "Brunel". Reynard appears first in the medieval [[Latin fabliau]] and [[mock epic]] ''[[Ysengrimus]]'', a long Latin mock-epic written ca. 1148-1153 by the poet Nivardus in [[Ghent]], that collects a great store of Reynard's adventures. He also puts in an early appearance in a number of Latin [[sequence (poetry)|sequences]] by the preacher [[Odo of Cheriton]].
 +==In medieval European folklore and literature==
 +The figure of Reynard is thought to have originated in [[Alsace-Lorraine]] [[folklore]] from where it spread to [[France]], the [[Low Countries]], and [[Germany]]. An extensive treatment of the character is the [[Old French]] ''Le Roman de Renart'' written by [[Pierre de Saint Cloud]] around 1175, which sets the typical setting. Reynard has been summoned to the court of king Noble, or Leo, the [[Lion]], to answer charges brought against him by [[Isengrin|Isengrim]] the [[Gray Wolf|Wolf]]. Other [[anthropomorphic]] animals, including Bruin the [[Bear]], Baldwin the [[donkey|Ass]], Tibert (Tybalt) the [[Cat]], all attempt one stratagem or another. The stories typically involve [[satire]] whose usual butts are the [[aristocracy]] and the [[clergy]], making Reynard a peasant-hero character. Reynard's principal castle, [[Maleperduys|Maupertuis]], is available to him whenever he needs to hide away from his enemies. Some of the tales feature Reynard's funeral, where his enemies gather to deliver maudlin [[elegy|elegies]] full of insincere piety, and which feature Reynard's posthumous revenge. Reynard's wife Hermeline appears in the stories, but plays little active role, although in some versions she remarries when Reynard is thought dead, thereby becoming one of the people he plans revenge upon.
-:''[[nineteenth century Flemish literature]], [[twentieth century Flemish literature]], [[Freddy de Vree]], [[Gaston Burssens]], [[Johan Anthierens]]''+Reynard appears first in the medieval [[Latin fabliau]] and [[mock epic]] ''[[Ysengrimus]]'', a long Latin mock-epic written ca. 1148-1153 by the poet Nivardus in [[Ghent]], that collects a great store of Reynard's adventures. He also puts in an early appearance in a number of Latin [[sequence (poetry)|sequences]] by the preacher [[Odo of Cheriton]]. Both of these early sources seem to draw on a pre-existing store of [[popular culture]] featuring the character. In 1174, the first ''branch'' or chapter of the ''Roman de Renart'' appears, written by Pierre de St. Cloud (though in all French editions it is designated as Branch II). Pierre wrote a sequel in 1179 (called Branch I) but between that date and after many French authors composed their own adventures for Renart ''li goupil'' (the fox). There is also the text ''Reinhard Fuchs'' by [[Heinrich der Glïchezäre]].
-'''Flemish literature''' is [[literature]] from [[Flanders]], the northern part of [[Belgium]]. The older [[Flemings|Flemish]] writers were contributors to [[Dutch literature]] in the broad sense of nationality; after the separation of Belgium, however, from the [[Netherlands]], when Belgium became independent in [[1830]], there was a great revival of Flemish literature that distinguished from the Netherlands in language and culture.+
-==19th Century==+Pierre de St. Cloud opens his work on the fox by situating it within the larger tradition of epic poetry, the fabliaux and Arthurian romance:
-The immediate result of the [[Belgian Revolution]] was a reaction against everything associated with the Dutch, and a disposition to regard the French language as the speech of liberty and independence. The provisional government of 1830 suppressed the official use of the [[Dutch language]], which was relegated to the rank of a [[patois]]. For some years before 1830 [[Jan Frans Willems]] ([[1793]]-[[1846]]) had been advocating the claims of the Dutch language. He had done his best to allay the irritation between the [[Netherlands]] and Belgium and to prevent a separation. As archivist of [[Antwerp]] he made use of his opportunities by writing a history of Flemish letters. After the revolution his Dutch sympathies had made it necessary for him to live in seclusion, but in [[1835]] he settled at [[Ghent]], and devoted himself to the cultivation of Flemish. He edited old Flemish classics, [[Reinaert de Vos]] ([[1836]]), the rhyming ''Chronicles of [[Jan van Heelu]]'' and [[Jean le Clerc]], etc., and gathered round him a band of Flemish enthusiasts, the chevalier [[Philip Blommaert]] (1809-1871), [[Karel Lodewijk Ledeganck]] (1805-1847), [[Frans Rens]] (1805-1874), [[Ferdinand Augustijn Snellaert]] (1809-1872), [[Prudens van Duyse]] (1804-1859), and others. +
-Philipp Blommaert, who was born at Ghent on [[27 August]] [[1809]], founded in [[1834]] in his native town the ''Nederduitsche letteroefeningen'', a review for the new writers, and it was speedily followed by other Flemish organs, and by literary societies for the promotion of Dutch in Flanders. In 1851 a central organization for the Flemish propaganda was provided by a society, named after the father of the movement, the [[Willemsfonds]]. The [[Roman Catholic]] Flemings founded in [[1874]] a rival [[Davidsfonds]], called after the energetic [[Jean-Baptist David]] (1801-1866), professor at the [[Universite Catholique de Louvain]] ([[Leuven]]), and the author of a Dutch history book on Belgium (''Vaderlandsche historie'', Louvain, 1842-1866). As a result of this propaganda the Dutch language was placed on an equality with French in law, and in administration, in [[1873]] and [[1878]], and in the schools in [[1883]]. Finally in [[1886]] a Flemish Academy was established by royal authority at Ghent, where a course in Flemish literature had been established as early as [[1854]].+{| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="center"
 +|
 +| ''This would roughly translate as:''<br />
 +|-
 +|
 +''Seigneurs, oï avez maint conte <br />
 +''Que maint conterre vous raconte <br />
 +''Conment Paris ravi Elaine, <br />
 +''Le mal qu'il en ot et la paine, <br />
 +''De Tristan que la Chievre fist <br />
 +''Qui assez bellement en dist <br />
 +''Et fabliaus et chançons de geste <br />
 +''Romanz d'Yvain et de sa beste <br />
 +''Maint autre conte par la terre. <br />
 +''Mais onques n'oïstes la guerre <br />
 +''Qui tant fu dure de gran fin, <br />
 +''Entre Renart et Ysengrin.''<br />
 +|
 +Lords, you have heard many tales,<br />
 +That many tellers have told to you.<br />
 +How Paris took Helen,<br />
 +The evil and the pain he felt<br />
 +Of Tristan that la Chevre <br />
 +Wrote rather beautifully about;<br />
 +And fabliaux and epics;<br />
 +Of the Romance of Yvain and his beast<br />
 +And many others told in this land<br />
 +But never have you heard about the war<br />
 +That was difficult and lengthy<br />
 +Between Renart and Ysengrin<br />
 +|-
 +|}
-The claims put forward by the Flemish school were justified by the appearance (1837) of ''In 't Wonderjaer 1566'' (''In the Wonderful year'') of [[Hendrik Conscience]], who roused national enthusiasm by describing the heroic struggles of the Flemings against the Spaniards. Conscience was eventually to make his greatest successes in the description of contemporary Flemish life, but his historical romances and his popular history of Flanders helped to give a popular basis to a movement which had been started by professors and scholars.+A 13th century Middle Dutch version of the story (''Van den vos Reynaerde'', About Reynard the Fox), is also made up of rhymed verses (the same AA BB scheme). Like Pierre, very little is known of the author, Willem, other than the description by the copyist in the first sentences:
-The first poet of the new school was [[Karel Lodewijk Ledeganck]], the best known of whose poems are those on the three sister cities of [[Bruges]], Ghent and [[Antwerp]] (''De drie zustersteden, vaderlandsche trilogie'', Ghent, 1846), in which he makes an impassioned protest against the adoption of French ideas, manners and language, and the neglect of Flemish tradition. The book speedily took its place as a Flemish classic. Ledeganck, who was a magistrate, also translated the French code into Flemish. [[Jan Theodoor van Rijswijck]] (1811-1849), after serving as a volunteer in the campaign of [[1830]], settled down as a clerk in Antwerp, and became one of the hottest champions of the Flemish movement. He wrote a series of political and satirical songs, admirably suited to his public. The romantic and sentimental poet, [[Jan van Beers]], was typically Flemish in his sincere and moral outlook on life. [[Prudens van Duyse]], whose most ambitious work was the epic ''Artevelde'' (1859), is perhaps best remembered by a collection (1844) of poems for children. [[Peter Frans Van Kerckhoven]] (1818-1857), a native of Antwerp, wrote novels, poems, dramas, and a work on the Flemish revival (''De Vlaemsche Beweging'', [[1847]]).+{| border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="center"
 +|
 +| ''This would roughly translate as:''<br />
 +|-
 +|
 +''Willem, die Madoc maecte, <br />
 +''Daer hi dicken omme waecte, <br />
 +''Hem vernoyde so haerde <br />
 +''Dat die avonture van Reynaerde <br />
 +''In dietsche onghemaket bleven <br />
 +''(Die Arnout niet hevet vulscreven) <br />
 +''Dat hi die vijte van Reynaerde dede soucken <br />
 +''Ende hise na den walschen boucken <br />
 +''In dietsche dus hevet begonnen.''<br />
 +|
 +Willem who has made Madoc,<br />
 +and suffered many a sleepless night in doing so,<br />
 +regretted<br />
 +that the adventures of Reynaert<br />
 +had not been translated in Dutch<br />
 +(because Arnout had not completed his work).<br />
 +So he has researched the facts of Reynard's deeds<br />
 +and in the same way as the French books<br />
 +has he written it in Dutch.<br />
 +|-
 +|}
-Antwerp produced a realistic novelist in [[Jan Lambrecht Domien Sleeckx]] (1818-1901). An inspector of schools by profession, he was an indefatigable journalist and literary critic. He was one of the founders in [[1844]] of the ''Vlaemsch Belgie'', the first daily paper in the Flemish interest. His works include a long list of plays, among them ''Jan Steen'' (1852), a comedy; ''Gretry'', which gained a national prize in [[1861]]; ''Vissers van Blankenberge'' (1863); and the patriotic drama of ''Zannekin'' (1865). His talent as a novelist was diametrically opposed to the idealism of Conscience. He was precise, sober and concrete in his methods, relying for his effect on the accumulation of carefully observed detail. He was particularly successful in describing the life of the shipping quarter of his native town. Among his novels are: ''In't Schipperskwartier''(1856), Dirk Meyer (1860), ''Tybaerts en Cie'' (1867), ''Kunst en Liefde'' (Art and Love, 1870), and ''Vesalius in Spanje'' (1895). His complete works were collected in 17 volumes (1877-1884).+"[[Madoc]]" is probably another one of Willem's works, but is lost.
-[[Jan Renier Snieders]] (1812-1888) wrote novels dealing with North Brabant; his brother, [[August Snieders]] (1825-1904), began by writing historical novels in the manner of Conscience, but his later novels are satires of contemporary society. A more original talent was displayed by [[Anton Bergmann]] (1835-1874), who, under the pseudonym of Tony, wrote ''Ernest Staas, Advocaat'', which gained the quennial prize of literature in 1874. In the same year appeared the ''Novellen'' of the sisters [[Rosalie Loveling|Rosalie]] (1834-1875) and [[Virginie Loveling]] (1836-1923). These simple and touching stories were followed by a second collection in 1876. The sisters had published a volume of poems in [[1870]]. Virginie Lovelings gifts of fine and exact observation soon placed her in the front rank of Flemish novelists. Her political sketches, ''In onze Vlaamsche gewesten'' (1877), were published under the name of W. G. E. Walter. ''Sophie'' (1885), ''Een dure Eed'' (1892), and ''Het Land der Verbeelding'' (1896) are among the more famous of her later works. [[Reimond Stijns]] (1850-1905) and [[Isidoor Teirlinck]] (1851-1934) produced in collaboration one very popular novel, ''Arm Vlaanderen'' (1884), and some others, and have since written separately. [[Cyriel Buysse]], a nephew of Virginie Loveling, is a disciple of [[Émile Zola]]. ''Het Recht van den Sterkste'' ( The Right of the Strongest, 1893) is a picture of vagabond life in Flanders; ''Schoppenboer'' (The Knave of Spades, 1898) deals with brutalized peasant life; and ''Sursum corda'' (1895) describes the narrowness and religiosity of village life.+[[Geoffrey Chaucer]] used Reynard material in the ''[[Canterbury Tales]]''; in "[[The Nun's Priest's Tale]]", Reynard appears as "Rossel" and an ass as "Brunel". In 1481 [[William Caxton]] printed ''The Historie of Reynart the Foxe'', which was translated from a [[Middle Dutch]] version of the fables. Also in the 1480s, the Scottish poet [[Robert Henryson]] devised a highly sophisticated development of Reynardian material as part of his ''[[The Morall Fabillis|Morall Fabillis]]'' in the sections known as ''The [[Tale|Talking]] of the [[Fox|Tod]]''. [[Hans van Ghetelen]], a printer of [[Incunabulum|Incunabula]] in [[Lübeck]] printed an early German version called ''Reinke de Vos'' in 1498. It was translated to Latin and other languages, which made the tale popular across Europe. Reynard is also referenced in the [[Middle English]] poem ''[[Sir Gawain and the Green Knight]]'' during the third hunt.
-In poetry [[Julius de Geyter]] (1830-1905), author of a rhymed translation of Reinaert (1874), an epic poem on Charles V. (1888), etc. produced a social epic in three parts, ''Drie menschen van in de wieg tot in het graf'' (Three Men from the Cradle to the Grave, [[1861]]), in which he propounded radical and humanitarian views. The songs of [[Julius Vuylsteke]] (1836-1903) are full of liberal and patriotic ardour; but his later life was devoted to politics rather than literature. He had been the leading spirit of a students association at Ghent for the propagation of Flemish views, and the Willemsfonds owed much of its success to his energetic co-operation. His ''Uit het studentenleven'' appeared in [[1868]], and his poems were collected in 1881. The poems of Mme van Ackere (1803-1884), née [[Maria Doolaeghe]], were modelled on Dutch originals. [[Joanna Courtmans]] (1811-1890), née Berchmans, owed her fame rather to her tales than her poems; she was above all a moralist and her fifty tales are sermons on economy and the practical virtues. Other poets were [[Emmanuel Hiel]], author of comedies, opera libretti and some admirable songs; the abbé [[Guido Gezelle]], who wrote religious and patriotic poems in the dialect of West Flanders; [[Lodewijk de Koninck]] (1838-1924), who attempted a great epic subject in ''Menschdom Verlost'' (1872); [[Johan Michiel Dautzenberg]] (1808-1869) from [[Heerlen]], author of a volume of charming ''Volksliederen''. The best of Dautzenberg's work is contained in the posthumous volume of 1869, published by his son-in-law, [[Frans de Cort]] (1834-1878), who was himself a song-writer, and translated songs from [[Robert Burns]], from [[Jacques Jasmin]] and from German. The ''Makamen en Ghazelen'' (1866), adapted from [[Friedrich Rückert|Rückert]]'s version of Hariri, and other volumes by [[Jan Ferguut]] (J. A. van Droogenbroeck, 1835-1902) show a growing preoccupation with form, and with the work of [[Gentil Theodoor Antheunis]] (1840-1907), they prepare the way for the ingenious and careful workmanship of the younger school of poets, of whom [[Charles Polydore de Mont]] was the leader. He was born at Wambeke in Brabant in [[1857]], and became professor in the academy of the fine arts at Antwerp. He introduced something of the ideas and methods of contemporary French writers into Flemish verse; and explained his theories in [[1898]] in an Inleiding tot de Poezie. Among [[Pol de Mont]]'s numerous volumes of verse dating from 1877 onwards are ''Claribella'' (1893), and ''Iris'' (1894), which contains amongst other things a curious ''Uit de Legende van Jeschoea-ben-Josief'', a version of the gospel story from a Jewish peasant. 
-Mention should also be made of the history of Ghent (''Gent van den vroegsten Tijd tot heden, 1882-1889'') by [[Frans de Potter]] (1834-1904), and of the art criticisms of [[Max Rooses]] (1839-1914), curator of the [[Plantin-Moretus Museum]] in Antwerp, and of [[Julius Sabbe]] (1846-1910).+==Modern treatment==
 +===Rénert the Fox===
 +''Rénert the Fox'' was published in 1872 by [[Michel Rodange]], a [[Luxembourg]]ish author. An epic satirical work, an adaptation of the traditional [[Low Countries|Dutch]] fox epic to a setting in Luxembourg, it is known for its insightful analysis of the unique characteristics of the people of Luxembourg, using regional and sub-regional dialects to depict the fox and his companions.
-==20th Century== 
-:''[[twentieth century Flemish literature]]'' 
-In the twentieth Century Flemish literature evolved further and was influenced by the international literary evolution. [[Cyriel Buysse]] was a [[Naturalism (art)|naturalist]], while [[Stijn Streuvels]] and [[Felix Timmermans]] were [[Neo-romanticism|neo-romanticists]]. 
-After [[World War I]] the poet [[Paul van Ostaijen]] was an important representative of [[expressionism]] in his poems. In between [[World War I]] and [[World War II]], [[Gerard Walschap]], [[Willem Elsschot]] and [[Marnix Gijsen]] were prominent Flemish writers. After World War II the first [[avant-garde]] magazine ''[[Tijd en Mens]]'' (E: Time and People) was published from 1949 up to 1955. In 1955 it was succeeded by ''Gard Sivik'' (E: Civil Guard) (up to 1964), with [[Hugues C. Pernath]] and [[Paul Snoek]]. The most prominent Flemish ''Vijftiger'' (E: Generation fifties) was [[Hugo Claus]], who plays an important role in Flemish literature since then. Other postwar poets were [[Anton van Wilderode]] and [[Christine D'Haen]]. Some of the writers who made their debut after [[1960]] are [[Eddy Van Vliet]], [[Herman de Coninck]], [[Roland Jooris]] and [[Luuk Gruwez]].+===Antisemitic version===
 +''Van den vos Reynaerde'', (About Reynard the Fox) was an anti-semitic children's story, written by the [[The Netherlands|Dutch]]-[[Belgium|Belgian]] [[Robert van Genechten]], and named after the mediaeval [[Dutch language|Dutch]] poem. It was first published in 1937 in [[Nieuw-Nederland]], a monthly of the Dutch national socialist movement [[NSB]]. In 1941 it was published as a book.
-The renewal of the Flemish prose immediately after World War II was the work of Hugo Claus and [[Louis Paul Boon]]. [[Johan Daisne]] and [[Hubert Lampo]] introduced [[magic realism]] in Flemish literature. [[Ivo Michiels]] and [[Paul De Wispelaere]] represented the ''new novel''. In the eighties [[Walter van den Broeck]] and [[Monika van Paemel]] continued to write in the style of Louis Paul Boon.+The story features [[rhinoceros]]es, ''neushoorn'' in Dutch (literally : "nose horn"), referring to the perceived typical Jewish nose. One of them is called Iodocus, which refers to the Dutch word for Jew: ''jood'', pronounced somewhat like the "Iod-" in Iodocus. The story also features a donkey, Boudewijn, occupying the throne. "Boudewijn" happens to be the [[Dutch language|Dutch]] name of the contemporary [[Baudouin of Belgium|Belgian crown prince]]. This is a reference to the Belgian Nazi leader [[Léon Degrelle]], leader of the [[Rexism|Rex]]-movement ("Rex" is Latin for "King"). In the story, Reynard rounds up and kills most of the rhinoceroses, including Iodocus.
-Other contemporary authors are [[Ward Ruyslinck]] and [[Jef Geeraerts]], [[Kristien Hemmerechts]], [[Eric de Kuyper]], [[Stefan Hertmans]], [[Pol Hoste]], [[Paul Claes]], and [[Jos Vandeloo]]. In the nineties the [[Generation X]], with [[Herman Brusselmans]] and [[Tom Lanoye]] made their debut on the Flemish literary scene.+''Van den vos Reynaerde'' was also released as a cartoon film by [[Nederlandfilm]] in 1943. The film was mostly paid with Nazi German money. It was never presented publicly, possibly because most Dutch [[Jew]]s had already been transported to the [[concentration camp]]s. In 1991, parts of the film were found again in the German ''Bundesarchiv''. In 2005, more pieces were found, and the film has been restored. The reconstructed film was shown during the 2006 Holland Animation Film Festival in [[Utrecht (city)|Utrecht]], the [[Netherlands]].
-===Overview===+===Advertising===
 +[[Bevo]], a popular U.S. brand of [[near beer]], advertised with Reynard the Fox in the 1910s and 1920s.
-*[[Johan Anthierens]]+===Other adaptations, versions and references===
-*[[Pieter Aspe]]+====In movies and television series====
-*[[J. M. H. Berckmans]]+[[Ladislas Starevich]]'s [[1937 in film|1937]] puppet-animated feature film, ''[[The Tale of the Fox|Le Roman de Renard]]'' (The Tale of the Fox) featured the Reynard character as the protagonist.
-*[[Aster Berkhof]]+
-*[[Louis Paul Boon]]+
-*[[Herman Brusselmans]]+
-*[[Libera Carlier]]+
-*[[Ernest Claes]]+
-*[[Hugo Claus]]+
-*[[Johan Daisne]]+
-*[[Herman De Coninck]]+
-*[[Rita Demeester]] (1946-1993)+
-*[[Filip De Pillecyn]] (1891-1962) +
-*[[Willem Elsschot]]+
-*[[Marnix Gijsen]]+
-*[[Maurice Gilliams]]+
-*[[Karel Jonckheere]] (1906-1993) +
-*[[Hubert Lampo]], author of ''[[De komst van Joachim Stiller]]''+
-*[[Kristien Hemmerechts]]+
-*[[Saskia de Coster]]+
-*[[Paul Kenis]] (1885-1934)+
-*[[Tom Lanoye]]+
-*[[Tom Naegels]]+
-*[[Alice Nahon]] (1896-1933)+
-*[[Leo Pleysier]]+
-*[[Anne Provoost]]+
-*[[Jean Ray]] (John Flanders)+
-*[[Willem Roggeman]]+
-*[[Maria Rosseels]]+
-*[[Maurits Sabbe]] (1873-1938)+
-*[[Paul Snoek]] (1933-1981)+
-*[[Stijn Streuvels]]+
-*[[Herman Teirlinck]] (1879-1967)+
-*[[Felix Timmermans]]+
-*[[Jotie T'Hooft]]+
-*[[Marcel van Maele]]+
-*[[Paul van Ostaijen]]+
-*[[Peter Verhelst]]+
-*[[Gerard Walschap]]+
-*[[Lode Zielens]] (1901–1944)+
-==See also==+The documentary film "[[The Black Fox]]" (1962) parallels [[Adolf Hitler|Hitler]]'s rise to power with the Reynard fable.
-* [[List of Dutch writers]]+
-* [[Belgian literature]]+
-* [[Dutch literature]]+
-* [[Medieval Dutch literature]]+
-* [[Maurice Maeterlinck]]+
-* [[AMVC|Archive and Museum for the Flemish Culture]]+
-* [[Antwerp Book Fair]]+
-* [[Chamber of rhetoric]]+
-* [[Nineteenth-century Dutch literature]]+
 +[[Walt Disney Productions|Disney]] produced an anthropomorphic animated version of ''[[Robin Hood (1973 film)|Robin Hood]]'' in which Robin and [[Maid Marian]] were depicted as foxes, and other characters from the tale depicted as other animals (including a wolf as [[Sheriff of Nottingham]] and lions as both [[John of England|Prince John]] and [[Richard I of England|King Richard]]). This treatment would also appear to owe something to the Reynard trickster fables. Indeed, Disney had years before attempted making a movie based on Reynard, but the project was eventually cancelled, due to concerns that he was not suitable as a hero. Many elements were lifted for the Robin Hood movie.
 +
 +One character in [[Walt Disney Productions|Disney]]'s ''[[Gargoyles (TV series)|Gargoyles]]'' is named Fox Renard. She is a trickster by nature and a thief at her first appearance. She has a fox's face tattooed over her right eye.
 +
 +In 1985, a French animated series, ''"Moi Renart"'' (''I Reynard'') was created which was loosely based on Reynard's tales. In it, the original animals are [[anthropomorphic]] [[humanoid]] animals and the action occurs in modern [[Paris]] with other anthropomorphic animals in human roles. Reynard is a young mischievous fox with a little monkey pet called ''Marmouset'' (an original creation). He sets into Paris in order to discover the city, get a job and visit his grumpy and stingy uncle, ''Isengrim'', who is a deluxe car salesman, and his reasonable yet dreamy she-wolf aunt, ''Hersent''. Reynard meets ''Hermeline'', a young and charming motorbike-riding [[vixen]] journalist. He immediately falls in love with her and tries to win her heart during several of the episodes. As Reynard establishes himself into Paris, he creates a small company at his name where he offers to do any job for anyone, from impersonating female maids to opera singers. To help with this, he is a master of disguise and is a bit of a [[kleptomania|klepotomaniac]], which gets him trouble from police chief ''Chantecler'' (a rooster) who often sends to him police cat inspector Tybalt in order to thwart his plans.
 +
 +In 2005, a [[Luxemburg]] based animation studio released an all CGI film titled "Le Roman de Renart", obviously based on the same fable.
 +
 +The 1999 [[James Bond]] film [[The World Is Not Enough]] featured a villain named named Renard. Renard had no sense of touch due to a bullet lodged in his head. True to the etymology of the name, Renard was steady under a rain of blows, as he felt no pain.
 +
 +====In literature====
 +The character of [[Tybalt]] in [[Shakespeare]]'s [[Romeo and Juliet]] is named for the character Tibert/Tybalt the "Prince of Cats" in Reynard the Fox.
 +
 +[[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe|Goethe]] dealt with Reynard in his fable ''Reinecke Fuchs''.
 +
 +In [[Ralph Ellison]]'s ''[[Invisible Man (novel)|Invisible Man]]'', there is a character resembling Reynard, Rinehart - a man whom the protagonist is often mistaken for; who is either a pimp, or a preacher, or both.
 +
 +A fox called Reynard is a central character in [[John Crowley]]'s 1976 novel ''[[Beasts (John Crowley)|Beasts]]''.
 +
 +In the 2006 novel, ''[[Echo Park (novel)|Echo Park]]'', by Michael Connelly, the villain is styled—and named—after Reynard the Fox.
 +
 +British novelist [[Michael Moorcock]] introduced ''Lord Renyard'', a man-sized talking fox, well-versed in 18th Century [[Encyclopedist]] philosophy, in his 1986 fantasy "[[The City in the Autumn Stars]]".
 +
 +In the ''[[Fables (comic)|Fables]]'' [[comic book]], Reynard the Fox is one of the non-human Fables who lives on "the Farm"---the part of [[Fabletown]] reserved for Fables who cannot pass as normal humans, due to its secluded location in upstate [[New York State]]. He is opposed to the attempted overthrow of the Fabletown government, and works with [[Snow White]]---saving her life while flirting with her mercilessly. Although Snow White offers him no encouragement, he continues to hope for a relationship with her. Centuries earlier, in the Fables Homelands, it was Reynard who devised the elaborate trick that enable King Noble the Lion's subjects to escape after their land was conquered by the Adversary. Reynard then led them to freedom in the Mundy world. A later book (9) briefly features Isengrim, the wolf.
 +
 +Author Robertson Davies, in the Deptford Trilogy, has a magician take on the stage name 'Magnus Eisengrim'. The spelling is different, but there are references to 'eisengrim the wolf.'
 +
 +In the Swedish children's comic [[Bamse]], a new villain is introduced in Issue 7 (2006): a fox named Reinard, who attempts to impress other ne'er-do-wells with his cunning trickery (including dispatching hero Bamse to a remote region of Sweden so that he can pursue a museum raid without hindrance).
 +
 +In [[Friedrich Nietzsche]]'s [[The Twilight of the Idols]], Nietzsche uses Reynard the Fox as an example of a [[dialectician]].
 +
 +Science Fiction/Fantasy writer [[Neil Gaiman]] wrote a story in verse about Reynard in his collection "Smoke and Mirrors".
 +
 +In the last issue of [[Grant Morrison]]'s ''[[Invisibles|The Invisibles]]'', one of the side characters is named Reynard, in reference to the original folktales.
 +
 +Reynardine is a character in the webcomic ''[[Gunnerkrigg Court]]''. He is a creature that can possess others by entering their bodies through the eyes, although at the time of the story he is trapped in the body of the protagonist's stuffed wolf doll.
 +
 +''Rogue Reynard'' (1947) is a young adult book written by Science Fiction/Fantasy writer [[Andre Norton]] early in her career. Norton, who was working at the time as a children's librarian at the Cleveland Public Library, apparently felt that there would be a market for a simple, accessible young-people's version of the tales of Reynard.
 +
 +L. Frank Baum's story "The Road to Oz," (1909) little Dorothy encounters Renard, the King of the Foxes.
 +
 +In Sophie Masson's book about Marie De France, "Forest of Dreams' Marie is lured into the world of shape shifters by Renart, a fox like shape shifter who holds much authority in the Underworld.
 +
 +====In music====
 +In 1916 [[Igor Stravinsky]] composed ''[[Renard (Stravinsky)|Renard]]'' (aka ''The Fox''), "histoire burlesque cantée et jouée" (burlesque in song and dance), a one-act chamber opera-ballet. Stravinsky's text was in Russian, and based on Russian folk tales from the collection by [[Alexander Afanasyev]].
 +
 +"Reynard the Fox" is the opening song on [[Julian Cope]]'s album ''[[Fried]]'' (1986). Cope often incorporates folklore into his work. The song describes Reynard fleeing from "redmen" who have killed his wife and child and then ritually sacrificing himself on a hill near [[Polesworth]].
 +
 +Reynard is a common name for the fox in English folk songs; there are several versions of "Reynard the Fox", with significant variations in both lyrics and melody. Usually the fox here is a predator being hunted down, although most of the tale is told from Reynard's point of view.
 +
 +Nic Jones recorded a version on "Ballads & Songs" (Trailer Records, 1970).
 +
 +Scottish indie/country band Country Teasers have a song titled "Reynard The Fox" on their 1999 album, ''Destroy All Human Life.'' (Fat Possum Records)
 +
 +English band [[Angelica (band)|Angelica]] had a song titled "Reynard The Fox" on their 2002 album, ''[[The Seven Year Itch (album)|The Seven Year Itch]]''.
 +
 +"Reynardine" is another English folk song, of later composition. "Sly bold Reynardine" here is an outlaw and possibly a shape-shifter, seeking refuge and romance with a girl he meets "along the mountains high". Fairport Convention (Liege & Lief, Island Records) and John Renbourn have recorded versions of this song.
 +
 +==In French==
 +The traditional French word for "fox" was ''[[goupil]]'' from Latin ''[[vulpecula]]''.
 +However, mentioning the fox was considered bad luck among farmers.
 +Because of the popularity of the Reynard stories, ''renard'' was often used as an [[euphemism]] to the point that today ''renard'' is the standard French word for "fox" and ''goupil'' is now dialectal or archaic.
 +
 +==See also==
 +* [[Reynardine]]
 +* [[Fabliau]]
 +* [[Coyote (mythology)|Native American coyote mythology]]
 +* [[Króka-Refs saga]]
 +* [[Kitsune]]
 +* [[Malperduis]]
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The Reynard cycle is a literary cycle of allegorical French, Dutch, English, and German fables largely concerned with Reynard, an anthropomorphic red fox. Geoffrey Chaucer used Reynard material in the Canterbury Tales; in "The Nun's Priest's Tale", Reynard appears as "Rossel" and an ass as "Brunel". Reynard appears first in the medieval Latin fabliau and mock epic Ysengrimus, a long Latin mock-epic written ca. 1148-1153 by the poet Nivardus in Ghent, that collects a great store of Reynard's adventures. He also puts in an early appearance in a number of Latin sequences by the preacher Odo of Cheriton.

Contents

In medieval European folklore and literature

The figure of Reynard is thought to have originated in Alsace-Lorraine folklore from where it spread to France, the Low Countries, and Germany. An extensive treatment of the character is the Old French Le Roman de Renart written by Pierre de Saint Cloud around 1175, which sets the typical setting. Reynard has been summoned to the court of king Noble, or Leo, the Lion, to answer charges brought against him by Isengrim the Wolf. Other anthropomorphic animals, including Bruin the Bear, Baldwin the Ass, Tibert (Tybalt) the Cat, all attempt one stratagem or another. The stories typically involve satire whose usual butts are the aristocracy and the clergy, making Reynard a peasant-hero character. Reynard's principal castle, Maupertuis, is available to him whenever he needs to hide away from his enemies. Some of the tales feature Reynard's funeral, where his enemies gather to deliver maudlin elegies full of insincere piety, and which feature Reynard's posthumous revenge. Reynard's wife Hermeline appears in the stories, but plays little active role, although in some versions she remarries when Reynard is thought dead, thereby becoming one of the people he plans revenge upon.

Reynard appears first in the medieval Latin fabliau and mock epic Ysengrimus, a long Latin mock-epic written ca. 1148-1153 by the poet Nivardus in Ghent, that collects a great store of Reynard's adventures. He also puts in an early appearance in a number of Latin sequences by the preacher Odo of Cheriton. Both of these early sources seem to draw on a pre-existing store of popular culture featuring the character. In 1174, the first branch or chapter of the Roman de Renart appears, written by Pierre de St. Cloud (though in all French editions it is designated as Branch II). Pierre wrote a sequel in 1179 (called Branch I) but between that date and after many French authors composed their own adventures for Renart li goupil (the fox). There is also the text Reinhard Fuchs by Heinrich der Glïchezäre.

Pierre de St. Cloud opens his work on the fox by situating it within the larger tradition of epic poetry, the fabliaux and Arthurian romance:

This would roughly translate as:

Seigneurs, oï avez maint conte
Que maint conterre vous raconte
Conment Paris ravi Elaine,
Le mal qu'il en ot et la paine,
De Tristan que la Chievre fist
Qui assez bellement en dist
Et fabliaus et chançons de geste
Romanz d'Yvain et de sa beste
Maint autre conte par la terre.
Mais onques n'oïstes la guerre
Qui tant fu dure de gran fin,
Entre Renart et Ysengrin.

Lords, you have heard many tales,
That many tellers have told to you.
How Paris took Helen,
The evil and the pain he felt
Of Tristan that la Chevre
Wrote rather beautifully about;
And fabliaux and epics;
Of the Romance of Yvain and his beast
And many others told in this land
But never have you heard about the war
That was difficult and lengthy
Between Renart and Ysengrin

A 13th century Middle Dutch version of the story (Van den vos Reynaerde, About Reynard the Fox), is also made up of rhymed verses (the same AA BB scheme). Like Pierre, very little is known of the author, Willem, other than the description by the copyist in the first sentences:

This would roughly translate as:

Willem, die Madoc maecte,
Daer hi dicken omme waecte,
Hem vernoyde so haerde
Dat die avonture van Reynaerde
In dietsche onghemaket bleven
(Die Arnout niet hevet vulscreven)
Dat hi die vijte van Reynaerde dede soucken
Ende hise na den walschen boucken
In dietsche dus hevet begonnen.

Willem who has made Madoc,
and suffered many a sleepless night in doing so,
regretted
that the adventures of Reynaert
had not been translated in Dutch
(because Arnout had not completed his work).
So he has researched the facts of Reynard's deeds
and in the same way as the French books
has he written it in Dutch.

"Madoc" is probably another one of Willem's works, but is lost.

Geoffrey Chaucer used Reynard material in the Canterbury Tales; in "The Nun's Priest's Tale", Reynard appears as "Rossel" and an ass as "Brunel". In 1481 William Caxton printed The Historie of Reynart the Foxe, which was translated from a Middle Dutch version of the fables. Also in the 1480s, the Scottish poet Robert Henryson devised a highly sophisticated development of Reynardian material as part of his Morall Fabillis in the sections known as The Talking of the Tod. Hans van Ghetelen, a printer of Incunabula in Lübeck printed an early German version called Reinke de Vos in 1498. It was translated to Latin and other languages, which made the tale popular across Europe. Reynard is also referenced in the Middle English poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight during the third hunt.


Modern treatment

Rénert the Fox

Rénert the Fox was published in 1872 by Michel Rodange, a Luxembourgish author. An epic satirical work, an adaptation of the traditional Dutch fox epic to a setting in Luxembourg, it is known for its insightful analysis of the unique characteristics of the people of Luxembourg, using regional and sub-regional dialects to depict the fox and his companions.


Antisemitic version

Van den vos Reynaerde, (About Reynard the Fox) was an anti-semitic children's story, written by the Dutch-Belgian Robert van Genechten, and named after the mediaeval Dutch poem. It was first published in 1937 in Nieuw-Nederland, a monthly of the Dutch national socialist movement NSB. In 1941 it was published as a book.

The story features rhinoceroses, neushoorn in Dutch (literally : "nose horn"), referring to the perceived typical Jewish nose. One of them is called Iodocus, which refers to the Dutch word for Jew: jood, pronounced somewhat like the "Iod-" in Iodocus. The story also features a donkey, Boudewijn, occupying the throne. "Boudewijn" happens to be the Dutch name of the contemporary Belgian crown prince. This is a reference to the Belgian Nazi leader Léon Degrelle, leader of the Rex-movement ("Rex" is Latin for "King"). In the story, Reynard rounds up and kills most of the rhinoceroses, including Iodocus.

Van den vos Reynaerde was also released as a cartoon film by Nederlandfilm in 1943. The film was mostly paid with Nazi German money. It was never presented publicly, possibly because most Dutch Jews had already been transported to the concentration camps. In 1991, parts of the film were found again in the German Bundesarchiv. In 2005, more pieces were found, and the film has been restored. The reconstructed film was shown during the 2006 Holland Animation Film Festival in Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Advertising

Bevo, a popular U.S. brand of near beer, advertised with Reynard the Fox in the 1910s and 1920s.

Other adaptations, versions and references

In movies and television series

Ladislas Starevich's 1937 puppet-animated feature film, Le Roman de Renard (The Tale of the Fox) featured the Reynard character as the protagonist.

The documentary film "The Black Fox" (1962) parallels Hitler's rise to power with the Reynard fable.

Disney produced an anthropomorphic animated version of Robin Hood in which Robin and Maid Marian were depicted as foxes, and other characters from the tale depicted as other animals (including a wolf as Sheriff of Nottingham and lions as both Prince John and King Richard). This treatment would also appear to owe something to the Reynard trickster fables. Indeed, Disney had years before attempted making a movie based on Reynard, but the project was eventually cancelled, due to concerns that he was not suitable as a hero. Many elements were lifted for the Robin Hood movie.

One character in Disney's Gargoyles is named Fox Renard. She is a trickster by nature and a thief at her first appearance. She has a fox's face tattooed over her right eye.

In 1985, a French animated series, "Moi Renart" (I Reynard) was created which was loosely based on Reynard's tales. In it, the original animals are anthropomorphic humanoid animals and the action occurs in modern Paris with other anthropomorphic animals in human roles. Reynard is a young mischievous fox with a little monkey pet called Marmouset (an original creation). He sets into Paris in order to discover the city, get a job and visit his grumpy and stingy uncle, Isengrim, who is a deluxe car salesman, and his reasonable yet dreamy she-wolf aunt, Hersent. Reynard meets Hermeline, a young and charming motorbike-riding vixen journalist. He immediately falls in love with her and tries to win her heart during several of the episodes. As Reynard establishes himself into Paris, he creates a small company at his name where he offers to do any job for anyone, from impersonating female maids to opera singers. To help with this, he is a master of disguise and is a bit of a klepotomaniac, which gets him trouble from police chief Chantecler (a rooster) who often sends to him police cat inspector Tybalt in order to thwart his plans.

In 2005, a Luxemburg based animation studio released an all CGI film titled "Le Roman de Renart", obviously based on the same fable.

The 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough featured a villain named named Renard. Renard had no sense of touch due to a bullet lodged in his head. True to the etymology of the name, Renard was steady under a rain of blows, as he felt no pain.

In literature

The character of Tybalt in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is named for the character Tibert/Tybalt the "Prince of Cats" in Reynard the Fox.

Goethe dealt with Reynard in his fable Reinecke Fuchs.

In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man, there is a character resembling Reynard, Rinehart - a man whom the protagonist is often mistaken for; who is either a pimp, or a preacher, or both.

A fox called Reynard is a central character in John Crowley's 1976 novel Beasts.

In the 2006 novel, Echo Park, by Michael Connelly, the villain is styled—and named—after Reynard the Fox.

British novelist Michael Moorcock introduced Lord Renyard, a man-sized talking fox, well-versed in 18th Century Encyclopedist philosophy, in his 1986 fantasy "The City in the Autumn Stars".

In the Fables comic book, Reynard the Fox is one of the non-human Fables who lives on "the Farm"---the part of Fabletown reserved for Fables who cannot pass as normal humans, due to its secluded location in upstate New York State. He is opposed to the attempted overthrow of the Fabletown government, and works with Snow White---saving her life while flirting with her mercilessly. Although Snow White offers him no encouragement, he continues to hope for a relationship with her. Centuries earlier, in the Fables Homelands, it was Reynard who devised the elaborate trick that enable King Noble the Lion's subjects to escape after their land was conquered by the Adversary. Reynard then led them to freedom in the Mundy world. A later book (9) briefly features Isengrim, the wolf.

Author Robertson Davies, in the Deptford Trilogy, has a magician take on the stage name 'Magnus Eisengrim'. The spelling is different, but there are references to 'eisengrim the wolf.'

In the Swedish children's comic Bamse, a new villain is introduced in Issue 7 (2006): a fox named Reinard, who attempts to impress other ne'er-do-wells with his cunning trickery (including dispatching hero Bamse to a remote region of Sweden so that he can pursue a museum raid without hindrance).

In Friedrich Nietzsche's The Twilight of the Idols, Nietzsche uses Reynard the Fox as an example of a dialectician.

Science Fiction/Fantasy writer Neil Gaiman wrote a story in verse about Reynard in his collection "Smoke and Mirrors".

In the last issue of Grant Morrison's The Invisibles, one of the side characters is named Reynard, in reference to the original folktales.

Reynardine is a character in the webcomic Gunnerkrigg Court. He is a creature that can possess others by entering their bodies through the eyes, although at the time of the story he is trapped in the body of the protagonist's stuffed wolf doll.

Rogue Reynard (1947) is a young adult book written by Science Fiction/Fantasy writer Andre Norton early in her career. Norton, who was working at the time as a children's librarian at the Cleveland Public Library, apparently felt that there would be a market for a simple, accessible young-people's version of the tales of Reynard.

L. Frank Baum's story "The Road to Oz," (1909) little Dorothy encounters Renard, the King of the Foxes.

In Sophie Masson's book about Marie De France, "Forest of Dreams' Marie is lured into the world of shape shifters by Renart, a fox like shape shifter who holds much authority in the Underworld.

In music

In 1916 Igor Stravinsky composed Renard (aka The Fox), "histoire burlesque cantée et jouée" (burlesque in song and dance), a one-act chamber opera-ballet. Stravinsky's text was in Russian, and based on Russian folk tales from the collection by Alexander Afanasyev.

"Reynard the Fox" is the opening song on Julian Cope's album Fried (1986). Cope often incorporates folklore into his work. The song describes Reynard fleeing from "redmen" who have killed his wife and child and then ritually sacrificing himself on a hill near Polesworth.

Reynard is a common name for the fox in English folk songs; there are several versions of "Reynard the Fox", with significant variations in both lyrics and melody. Usually the fox here is a predator being hunted down, although most of the tale is told from Reynard's point of view.

Nic Jones recorded a version on "Ballads & Songs" (Trailer Records, 1970).

Scottish indie/country band Country Teasers have a song titled "Reynard The Fox" on their 1999 album, Destroy All Human Life. (Fat Possum Records)

English band Angelica had a song titled "Reynard The Fox" on their 2002 album, The Seven Year Itch.

"Reynardine" is another English folk song, of later composition. "Sly bold Reynardine" here is an outlaw and possibly a shape-shifter, seeking refuge and romance with a girl he meets "along the mountains high". Fairport Convention (Liege & Lief, Island Records) and John Renbourn have recorded versions of this song.

In French

The traditional French word for "fox" was goupil from Latin vulpecula. However, mentioning the fox was considered bad luck among farmers. Because of the popularity of the Reynard stories, renard was often used as an euphemism to the point that today renard is the standard French word for "fox" and goupil is now dialectal or archaic.

See also




Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Reynard" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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