1. Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, Ms. 3480
Les Fabliaux

2. Dates
The genre thrived from the end of the 12th century through the first third of the 14th
We’re reading examples from the 12th and 13th centuries

3. Genre: Fabliau
Short, rhyming narratives (octosyllabic couplets, like those of Marie de France, whose fables might have served as a model to at least one writer of fabliaux [Jean Bodel])
Center around humor that is scatological or sexual (or both!)
Critical of clergy and nobility (and women)
Howard Bloch argues that fabliaux were the first expression of literary realism in Europe.
Some fabliaux reappear with revisions by Boccaccio (the Decameron) and Chaucer (Canterbury Tales)

4. Extant ManuscriptS
The fabliaux we are reading are pulled from 15 manuscripts, housed primarily in the BnF in Paris (8), and also in Bern, Berlin Nottingham, London (BL), Chantilly, Turin, and Clermont-Ferrand.
List of specific manuscripts available on pp
The BnF manuscripts are likely available on Gallica (gallica.bnf.fr)
The editors of our edition indicate which MS is the source for each fabliau

5. AuthorS
Some are anonymous; we are reading three of those for our next class.
The other three for next week are by Jean Bodel.
A prolific poet and musician from Picardy, born ~1165, died 1209 of leprosy.
A “jongleur”: wandering minstrel
Contributed to several genres: fabliaux, fables, hymns, epics, theater
Familiar with Latin and contemporary clerical culture

6. Characters There are many! In general: Cuckolded husbands
Cheating wives
Clergy who are not to be trusted for numerous reasons, most of them including sex
Beggars
Thieves
Tricksters of all sorts

7. Content Warning
This covers the duration of the Fabliaux érotiques (October 2-30), and carries over to some extent to the farces (November 6 & 13)
Rape/dubious consent
Violence
Language (both violent and vulgar)
Please let me know if you’d like to have more details prior to reading.

8. Sources
Rossi, Luciano. “Introduction.” Fabliaux érotiques: Textes de jongleurs des XIIe et XIIIe siècles.  Ed. and trans. Luciano Rossi.  Paris: Librairie Générale Française,
Wikipedia.