The manuscript fr.1630 from the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, which transmitted to us the redaction A of Renart le Contrefait (1319–1322), contains 31 miniatures. They faithfully accompany the text, revealing the presence of certain satirical elements, such as the sermon that Renard delivers to an audience of birds. We can see it as a parody of the sermon that Saint Francis addressed to the birds, encouraging them to obedience and humility. In the Counterfeit the same words push the animals into Renart's mouth... Can we see there a parody, and therefore a criticism, with regard to Saint Francis, his teaching on poverty and the Franciscans, which seems to read sometimes in a few episodes of the text? - [Abstract]

Language: French

Locators: DOI: 10.1075/rein.28.07lec