Anthropomorphism constitutes the major interest of the 26 branches that form the Roman de Renart. It is defined by a mutation of exotic or indigenous animals into personalities provided with a proper name and acting according to the qualities and especially the defects that are traditionally attributed to them. They are partially converted into men and they evolve in a rural environment or in a castle, never in a city or in a bourgeois environment. ... To the reflections of the designer I will add the embarrassment of the lexicologist who wonders if the vocabulary is appropriate to the animal or to the man. In summary, it is to the visible forms of the characters that I will focus and not to their inner life. It can be useful, in fact, to note what the characters of Renart retain of their animality. We will also note what they lose; we will therefore point out what is incompatible with the silhouettes and the vocabulary specific to our animal friends. - [Author]

Language: French