Читать книгу A Short History of French Literature - Saintsbury George - Страница 22

Le Couronnement Renart.

The next stage of the composition shows an alteration and a degradation. Renart le Couronné, or Le Couronnement Renart[63], is a poem of some 3400 lines, which was once attributed to Marie de France, for no other reason than that the manuscript which contains it subjoins her Ysopet or fables. It is, however, certainly not hers, and is in all probability a little later than her time. The main subject of it is the cunning of the fox, who first reconciles the great preaching orders Franciscans and Dominicans; then himself becomes a monk, and inculcates on them the art of Renardie; then repairs to court as a confessor to the lion king Noble who is ill, and contrives to be appointed his successor, after which he holds tournaments, journeys to Palestine, and so forth. It is characteristic of the decline of taste that in the list of his army a whole bestiary (or list of the real and fictitious beasts of mediaeval zoology) is thrust in; and the very introduction of the abstract term Renardie, or foxiness, is an evil sign of the abstracting and allegorising which was about to spoil poetry for a time, and to make much of the literature of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries tedious and heavy. The poem is of little value or interest. The only chronological indication as to its composition is the eulogy of William of Flanders, killed ('jadis,' says the author) in 1251.

Renart le Nouvel.

The next poem of the cycle is of much greater length, and of at least proportionately greater value, though it has not the freshness and verve of the earlier branches. Renart le Nouvel was written in 1288 by Jacquemart Giélée, a Fleming. This poem is in many ways interesting, though not much can be said for its general conception, and though it suffers terribly from the allegorising already alluded to. In its first book (it consists of more than 8000 lines, divided into two books and many branches) Renart, in consequence of one of his usual quarrels with Isengrin, gets into trouble with the king, and is besieged in Maupertuis. But the sense of verisimilitude is now so far lost, that Maupertuis, instead of being a fox's earth, is an actual feudal castle; and more than this, the animals which attack and defend it are armed in panoply, ride horses, and fight like knights of the period. Besides this the old familiar and homely personages are mixed up with a very strange set of abstractions in the shape of the seven deadly sins. All this is curiously blended with reminiscences and rehandlings of the older and simpler adventures. Another remarkable feature about Renart le Nouvel is that it is full of songs, chiefly love songs, which are given with the music. Its descriptions, though prolix, and injured by allegorical phrases, are sometimes vigorous.

Renart le Contrefait.

The cycle was finally completed in the second quarter of the fourteenth century by the singular work or works called Renart le Contrefait. This has, unfortunately, never been printed in full, nor in any but the most meagre extracts and abstracts. Its length is enormous; though, in the absence of opportunity for examining it, it is not easy to tell how much is common to the three manuscripts which contain it. Two of these are in Paris and one in Vienna, the latter being apparently identical with one which Ménage saw and read in the seventeenth century. One of the Parisian manuscripts contains about 32,000 verses, the other about 19,000; and the Vienna version seems to consist of from 20,000 to 25,000 lines of verse, and about half that number of prose. The author (who, in so far as he was a single person, appears to have been a clerk of Troyes, in Champagne) wrote it, as he says, to avoid idleness, and seems to have regarded it as a vast commonplace book, in which to insert the result not merely of his satirical reflection, but of his miscellaneous reading. A noteworthy point about this poem is that in one place the writer expressly disowns any concealment of his satirical intention. His book, he says, has nothing to do with the kind of fox that kills pullets, has a big brush, and wears a red skin, but with the fox that has two hands and, what is more, two faces under one hood[64]. Notwithstanding this, however, there are many passages where the old 'common form' of the epic is observed, and where the old personages make their appearance. Indeed their former adventures are sometimes served up again with slight alterations. Besides this there is a certain number of amusing stories and fabliaux, the most frequently quoted of which is the tale of an ugly but wise knight who married a silly but beautiful girl in hopes of having children uniting the advantages of both parents, whereas the actual offspring of the union were as ugly as the father and as silly as the mother. Combined with these things are numerous allusions to the grievances of the peasants and burghers of the time against the upper classes, with some striking legends illustrative thereof, such as the story of a noble dame, who, hearing that a vassal's wife had been buried in a large shroud of good stuff, had the body taken up and seized the shroud to make horsecloths of. This original matter, however, is drowned in a deluge not merely of moralising but of didactic verse of all kinds. The history of Alexander is told in one version by Reynard to the lion king in 7000 verses, and is preluded and followed by an account of the history of the world on a scarcely smaller scale. This proceeding, at least in the Vienna version, seems to be burdensome even to Noble himself, who, at the reign of Augustus, suggests that Reynard should exchange verse for prose, and 'compress.' The warning cannot be said to be unnecessary: but works as long as Renart le Contrefait, and, as far as it is possible to judge, not more interesting, have been printed of late years; and it is very much to be wished that the publication of it might be undertaken by some competent scholar.

Fauvel.

Renart is not the only bestial personage who was made at this time a vehicle of satire. In the days of Philippe le Bel a certain François de Rues composed a poem entitled Fauvel, from the name of the hero, a kind of Centaur, who represents vice of all kinds. The direct object of the poem was to attack the pope and the clergy.

Some extracts from the Fabliau of the Partridges and from Renart may appropriately now be given:—

Por ce que fabliaus dire sueil,

en lieu de fable dire vueil

une aventure qui est vraie,

d'un vilain qui delés sa haie

prist deus pertris par aventure.

en l'atorner mist moult sa cure;

sa fame les fist au feu metre.

ele s'en sot bien entremetre:

le feu a fait, la haste atorne.

et li vilains tantost s'en torne,

por le prestre s'en va corant.

mais au revenir targa tant

que cuites furent les pertris.

la dame a le haste jus mis,

s'en pinça une pelëure,

quar molt ama la lechëure,

quant diex li dona a avoir.

ne bëoit pas a grant avoir,

mais a tos ses bons acomplir.

l'une pertris cort envaïr:

andeus les eles en menjue.

puis est alee en mi la rue

savoir se ses sires venoit.

quant ele venir ne le voit,

tantost arriere s'en retorne,

et le remanant tel atorne

mal du morsel qui remainsist.

adonc s'apenssa et si dist

que l'autre encore mengera.

moult tres bien set qu'ele dira,

s'on li demande que devindrent:

ele dira que li chat vindrent,

quant ele les ot arrier traites;

tost li orent des mains retraites,

et chascuns la seue en porta.

* * * * * *

Tant dura cele demoree

que la dame fu saoulee,

et li vilains ne targa mie:

a l'ostel vint, en haut s'escrie

'diva, sont cuites les pertris?'

'sire,' dist ele. 'ainçois va pis,

quar mengies les a li chas.'

li vilains saut isnel le pas,

seure li cort comme enragiés. ja li ëust les iex sachiés, quant el crie 'c'est gas, c'est gas. fuiiés,' fet ele, 'Sathanas! couvertes sont por tenir chaudes.'

(He accepts the excuse; bids her lay the table, and goes to sharpen his knife. The priest arrives. She tells him that her husband is plotting outrage against him, and as a proof shows him sharpening his knife. The priest flies, and she tells her husband that he has run off with the partridges. The husband pursues, but in vain, and the Fabliau thus concludes:—)

A l'ostel li vilains retorne,

et lors sa feme en araisone:

'diva,' fait il, 'et quar me dis

coment tu perdis les pertris?'

cele li dist 'se diex m'aït,

tantost que li prestres me vit,

si me prïa, se tant l'amasse,

que je les pertris li moustrasse,

quar moult volentiers les verroit

et je le menai la tout droit

ou je les avoie couvertes.

il ot tantost les mains ouvertes,

si les prist et si s'en fuï.

mes je gueres ne le sivi,

ains le vous fis moult tost savoir.'

cil respont 'bien pués dire voir

or le laissons a itant estre.'

ainsi fu engingniés le prestre

et Gombaus qui les pertris prist.

par example cis fabliaus dist:

fame est faite por decevoir.

mençonge fait devenir voir

et voir fait devenir mençonge.

cil n'i vout metre plus d'alonge

qui fist cest fablel et ces dis.

ci faut li fabliaus des pertris.

(Reynard and Isengrin go a-fishing.)

Ce fu un poi devant Noël

que l'en metoit bacons en sel,

li ciex fu clers et estelez,

et li vivier fu si gelez,

ou Ysengrin devoit peschier,

qu'on pooit par desus treschier,

fors tant c'un pertuis i avoit, qui des vilains faiz i estoit, ou il menoient lor atoivre chascune nuit juër et boivre: un seel i estoit laissiez. la vint Renarz toz eslaissiez et son compere apela. 'sire,' fait il, 'traiiez vos ça: ci est la plenté des poissons et li engins ou nos peschons les anguiles et les barbiaus et autres poissons bons et biaus.' dist Ysengrins 'sire Renart, or le prenez de l'une part, sel me laciez bien a la qeue.' Renarz le prent et si li neue entor la qeue au miex qu'il puet. 'frere,' fait il, 'or vos estuet moult sagement a maintenir por les poissons avant venir.' lors s'est en un buisson fichiez: si mist son groing entre ses piez tant que il voie que il face. et Ysengrins est seur la glace et li sëaus en la fontaine plains de glaçons a bone estraine. l'aive conmence a englacier et li sëaus a enlacier qui a la qeue fu noëz: de glaçons fu bien serondez. la qeue est en l'aive gelee et en la glace seelee.

This chapter would be incomplete without a reference to the Ysopet of Marie de France[65], which may be said to be a link of juncture between the Fabliau and the Roman du Renart. Ysopet (diminutive of Aesop) became a common term in the middle ages for a collection of fables. There is one known as the Ysopet of Lyons, which was published not long ago[66]; but that of Marie is by far the most important. It consists of 103 pieces, written in octosyllabic couplets, with moralities, and a conclusion which informs us that the author wrote it 'for the love of Count William' (supposed to be Long-Sword), translating it from an English version of a Latin translation of the Greek. Marie's graceful style and her easy versification are very noticeable here, while her morals are often well deduced and sharply put. The famous 'Wolf and Lamb' will serve as a specimen.

Ce dist dou leu e dou aignel,

qui beveient a un rossel:

li lox a lo sorse beveit

e li aigniaus aval esteit.

irieement parla li lus

ki mult esteit cuntralïus;

par mautalent palla a lui:

'tu m'as,' dist il, 'fet grant anui.'

li aignez li ad respundu

'sire, eh quei?' 'dunc ne veis tu?

tu m'as ci ceste aigue tourblee:

n'en puis beivre ma saolee.

autresi m'en irai, ce crei,

cum jeo ving, tut murant de sei.'

li aignelez adunc respunt

'sire, ja bevez vus amunt:

de vus me vient kankes j'ai beu.'

'qoi,' fist li lox, 'maldis me tu?'

l'aigneus respunt 'n'en ai voleir.'

lous li dit 'jeo sai de veir:

ce meïsme me fist tes pere

a ceste surce u od lui ere,

or ad sis meis, si cum jeo crei.'

'qu'en retraiez,' feit il, 'sor mei?

n'ere pas nez, si cum jeo cuit.'

'e cei pur ce,' li lus a dit:

'ja me fais tu ore cuntraire

e chose ke tu ne deiz faire.'

dunc prist li lox l'engnel petit,

as denz l'estrangle, si l'ocit.

Moralité.

Ci funt li riche robëur,

li vesconte e li jugëur,

de ceus k'il unt en lur justise.

fausse aqoison par cuveitise

truevent assez pur eus cunfundre.

suvent les funt as plaiz semundre,

la char lur tolent e la pel,

si cum li lox fist a l'aingnel.