THE RISE OF THE MEDIEVAL FABLIAU: LATIN AND VERNACULAR EVIDENCE

Abstract

When we speak of fabliau, we think first and foremost of a fixed genre in Old French5: fixed, seemingly, in its dates ? for the most part between 1200 and 1350; fixed, too, in number ? about a hundred and fifty fabliau stories are recorded in France, give or take a few variant versions ? and fixed in form: with few excep tions the Old French fabliaux are in octosyllabic couplets. While B?dier defined these fabliaux simply as des contes ? rire en vers 2, Nykrog's statistical breakdown gives a more precise notion of what can be found. Among a hundred and fifty stories, only some forty have no erotic element. Many of the erotic tales are triangle stories, of husband, wife and lover. The three engage in trickery, in a of wits, in sexual deception. In the majority of stories the lover wins, but in some the husband. Other erotic fabliaux are about two people pitting their wits against each other ? disputes between husband and wife, or a battle of the sexes between evenly matched lovers. Others again are stories of seduction. The forty non-erotic fabliaux in Old French are varied in theme. They feature tricks and pranks

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