A sign - very human - of this vitality is seen in the reflection of the legal-feudal procedures to which Renart must, despite all his tricks, ultimately submit. At least three branches, in fact, provide an account of Renart's difficulties with the royal court. In Branch I, so well known, it took no less than three ambassadors to convince the fox to present himself to the judgment of his peers. The material was too beautiful, Renart's crimes too great, the men of the 12th century too litigious, for the subject not to be exploited elsewhere. We can also read other versions of Renart's quarrels with his peers and the court, in particular in branch VIIb (of the edition, or branch V of the Ernest Martin edition), which predates branch I, and in branch VIII (of the M. Roques edition or VI of the E. Martin edition), which is later. Our aim will be to compare some elements of these three stories and to partially measure their literary or social scope, without dwelling particularly on the technical aspects of the procedures. [Author]

Language: French