User:Kapsberger/fauvel

The Roman de Fauvel was first published in Paris in 1314, in a climate of political instability. The text is attributed to Gervais du Bus, a member of the royal administration. It was successful enough to be still copied in the 15th century. Twelve manuscripts have survived, the most famous of which is probably the fr. BN146, written in 1316.

Following in the literary tradition of the thirteenth century, the Roman de Fauvel is often compared with the Roman de la Rose. The Roman de Fauvel is laden with allegories and political satire. The main character, Fauvel, is a horse who represents all that is evil in the world. His name forms an acrostic where each letter stands for one of the seven deadly sins: Flaterie, Avarice, Vilanie, Variété, Envie, and Lacheté. (Dillon 14)

The BN146 is attributed to Chaillou de Pesstain. Its particular value resides in the additional 3000 verses and 168 musical pieces which constitute a veritable anthology of thirteenth and early fourtenth century music (this includes Latin and French liturgical and devotional, sacred and profane, monophonic and polyphonic, chant, old and new music). The BN146 has often been said to mark the beginning of the stylistic period Ars Nova.

Literary and music critics have often claimed that the musical interpolations were chosen entirely randomly (Paris, 1898; Langfors, 1914; Gagnepain, 1996). However, more recent work has attempted to disprove this hypothesis, showing that the additions contributed by the BN146 are part to a larger artistical project with, beyond the political message, a religious purpose (Herbelot, 1998). Interestingly, the idea that this manuscript was more than an anthology was proposed back in 1935 by Emilie Dankh who gave us then a complete edition of the text of the BN146.

Although the text of the Roman de Fauvel is not particularly well known, the music has been frequently performed / recorded for the last thirty years or so. The question of how the entire work would have been read or staged in the 14th century is the subject of another controversy. Some have suggested that the BN146 could have been a theatrical piece (Dankh, Herbelot). This hypothesis is of course in contradiction with the concurrent opinion that the Roman de Fauvel is mainly an anthology (Gagnepain).

The first book of the BN146 is clearly allegorical and serves to denounce the world's corruption - in particular, the vices that the contemporary clergy indulges in. The music comprises motets and proses mainly, two forms that usually build upon existent texts and possibly give some authority to the narrator's views.

Bibliography:

Emilie Dahnk. L'hérésie de Fauvel, Leipzig - Paris, 1935, in Leipziger romanitische Studien, Literaturwissenschaftliche Reihe n°4.

Bernard Gagnepain. Histoire de la musique au Moyen Age, tome II, Seuil, 1996.

Aurelie Herbelot.Etude des processus de la création - Roman de Fauvel de Chaillou de Pesstain - fr.146, Thèse de Maîtrise, Université de Savoie, 1998. 

Arthur Langfors. Le Roman de Fauvel de Gervais du Bus, édition d'après tous les manuscrits existants, Paris: Société des Anciens Textes Français; 1914-1919.

Gaston Paris. Histoire littéraire, tome XXXII, Paris, 1898.