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This is to certify that the
thesis entitled
RABELAIS AND MEDIEVAL EPIC PARODY:
w AND PANTAGRUEL

presented by

SUSAN LISTON

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

Ph . D . degree in French ' Language
and Literature

 

 

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Date August 2, 1974

 

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ABSTRACT

RABELAIS AND MEDIEVAL EPIC PARODY:
GARGANTUA AND PANTAGRUEL

 

By

Susan Liston

Babelais's Garaantua and Pantagruel are parodies
of the structure of the chanson gg‘gggtga the childhood
of the hero, his education, his adventures--a fact
widely accepted by Babelaisian scholars. Yet no one
has analyzed fully the extent to which Rabelais burlesques
the medieval epic in these two works. The purpose of
this study is to deal with the war passages of Gargantua
and Pantagruel as parodies of the chanson g9 gasps, since
war is the major tOpic of such sagas. As a first step
in this dissertation, the gest romances and romances
of adventure which Babelais knew were consulted, in
order to summarize the treatment of war as it is found
in relevant medieval epic literature. Babelaisian and
medieval works are then compared in order to determine
parallels in the use of themes, motifs. narrative
techniques. characters, episodes, and 2929;. Within
this study, parody is defined as a travesty of literary
works with the intent of producing laughter.

Chapter I contains a review of literary criticism
pertaining to the topic of this dissertation and an

analysis of the togoi of war in the chansons g2 geste.

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Susan Liston

Chapter 11 deals with Pantagrue; as a mock epic.
The techniques which Babelais uses to parody the epic
are noted and comparisons with medieval works are made.

Chapter III treats Gargantua as a burlesque epic.
The methodology employed to analyze Pantagruel is
utilized with reference to Gargantua. The same parodic
devices implemented by Rabelais in Pantagruel are present
in Gargantua.

Chapter IV is a comparison between Gargantua and
Pantagruel: the similar treatment of numerous £229;
in both texts is discussed. Certain epic commonplaces
burlesqued in both works are contrasted with reSpect to
the change which the £232; undergo as Rabelais progresses
from gantagruel to Gargantua.

The appendix provides core plot summaries of the
gash romances and romances of adventure which Rabelais
knew. It is hOped that Rabelaisian scholars may hereby
familiarize themselves easily with the literature which
serves as the basis for this study.

Instead of deserting medieval matter after
Pantagggel, Rabelais proceeds to write a second mock
epic. The portrayal of warfare in Gargantua more closely
resembles the depiction of battle characteristic of the
epic: in Pantagruel, the war is engineered predominantly

by ruse, while war in Gargantua is recounted in detailed

Susan Liston

battle scenes where victories are gained through physi-
cal prowess; the ruseful heroes of Pentagruel are
replaced by caricatures of the traditional epic warrior.

In Gargantua Rabelais refines the techniques of epic

parody used in Pantagruel.

RABELAIS AND MEDIEVAL EPIC PARODYs.
GARGANTUA AND PANTAGRUEL

By

Susan Liston

A DISSERTATION

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

Department of Romance Languages

Copyright by
Susan Liston

1974

DEDICATION
To my family and
friends whose patience
during the past few
months surpassed my

own .

July, l97b

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I am grateful to Professors Ann Tukey Harrison
and Frieda S. Brown of Michigan State University for
the extensive assistance rendered as the dissertation
was in progress. And a special thanks to Professor
Ben Honeycutt of the University of Missouri who
introduced me to medieval literature during my under-

graduate years at Ohio State University.

111

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introductory Note................................. 1
Chapter
I. General Considerations...................... 3
II. Pantagruel as a Burlesque Epic.............. 3h
III. Gargantua as a Burlesque Epic............... 66

IV. Epic T0201: Comparisons and Contrasts
Between Gargantua and Pantagruel............ 92

con01u81on80000000OOOOOOCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.0.0.0.00. 115

Appendix: Core Plot Synopses of the Medieval
Gest Romances and Romances of Adventure 121

Bibliography...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO...OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO 1&0

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INTRODUCTORY NOTE

The medieval chanson 22,52§£§ usually followed a
pattern, including the narration of the childhood of
the hero, his education, and finally his adventures.
Babelais's Gargantua and Pantagruel are parodies of the
structure of the chanson gg_g§§§§y-a fact generally
accepted by Rabelaisian scholars. Yet no one has
analyzed fully the extent and manner whereby Rabelais
burlesques the medieval epic in these two works. The
purpose of this study is to deal with the war passages
of Gargantua and Pantagruel_as parodies of the chansons
gg‘gggtg and to note the precise epic themes, to oi,
narrative devices, characters, and episodes which Rabelais
parodies. In order to determine the base upon which epic
parody rests, the medieval gest romances and romances
of adventure which Babelais knew were consulted since
among the various genres mentioned in his works, these
provide the best examples of war passages which may be
labeled epic in nature. They therefore serve as a point
of departure for summarizing the treatment of war in the
epics. Parallels between Rabelaisian and medieval works
may be established to demonstrate that Rabelais mocks such

literature.

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Within this dissertation, parody may be defined as
a travesty of literary works with the intent of pro-
ducing laughter. Rabelais imitates the medieval epics
and produces a humorous depiction of the knightly realm.
The term burlesque refers to the act of making a literary
work appear comic. Satire is not an apprOpriate term
here, since it has a derogatory connotation, and whether
or not Rabelais wished to denigrate medieval epic litera-
ture or to criticize war is not a tapic within the scape
of this dissertation.

In his parody of the chansons g2 gggtg, Rabelais
employs several readily recognizable and recurrent
techniques which are traditionally used to burlesque the
epic: exaggeration or hyperbole: deflation of the
nominal hero and corresponding aggrandizement of a
secondary figure: reliance on Specific epic 3922; which
are then parodied: epic formulae; oral narrative devices:
caricature of the heroes. There are additional £223; of
the epic and other commonplaces of the chansons gg_gg§tg
used by other authors, but this is the list established
from reading the epics known by Rabelais and from com-
paring them with Rabelais. All of these are used by
Rabelais, and it is my intent to document their presence

in the war passages of Garggntua and Pantagruel.

CHAPTER I
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Although Rabelais burlesques the whole tripartite
structure of the chanson dg,ge§§g--the childhood of
the hero, his education, his adventures-oit is the third
stage, the adventures or war passages, which is most
developed and where the techniques of epic parody emerge
most clearly.1 War is the dominant tapic in the epics:
"the chanson gg’gggtg, from its very title is a song of

"2 Since Rabelais parodies such

deeds in arms, a war sage.
sagas, it is clear that war is an integral theme in his
first two books.

Rabelais's works will be dealt with here chrono-
logically to emphasize his progression in the use of the
medieval epic. A discussion of Pantagruel, published in
1532, will therefore precede that of Gargantua which
appeared in 153“. The burlesque war in Pantagruel is

reshaped into the Picrocholine conflict in Gargantua,3

 

 

1Rabelais also Specifically parodies the classic epic
at certain points. I wish to cite only those passages
which may burlesque the chanson g2 geste, and thus repre-
sent medieval treatment.

ZWilliam c. Calin, The Old French Role 2;; Revolt
(Genéve: Droz, 1962), p. 158.

3R. H. Armitage, "Is Gargantua a Reworking of
Pantagruel I?" PMLA, 59 (l9hh), 9hh-95l.-

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which contains many of the epic 3222; found in the earlier
work: the passages concerning the Dipsodes' invasion of
Utopia occupy approximately a quarter of the one hundred
and seventy-two pages of Pantagruel, while the Picrocholine
war accounts for almost half of the two hundred and five
pages of Gargantua.“ Rabelais's increased interest in
this theme reaffirms his affection for and the popularity
of the medieval subject matter in Pantagruel. Furthermore,
by writing the story of the father after that of the son,
he manifests a cyclical conception found in the chanson
g2,gg§§g.5 I hOpe to establish the parodic nature of
Rabelais's war passages by demonstrating parallels between
medieval and Rabelaisian episodes in the use of theme,
motif, narrative technique: I will consult the epics
which he Specifically mentions in his text to graSp the
impact which they had on him.

Rabelais knew the mock epic would be an excellent
form of communication with his contemporaries among whom
the romans g2 chevalerie were still very much in vogue:

Lorsque l'imprimerie s'introduisit en France,

les premiers livres qui sortirent des presses

parisiennes ou provinciales appartinrent en

majorité a trois genres bien différents :

Bibles et livres d'Heures:--textes de poetes

ou de philOSOphes anciens:--et romans de
chevalerie ....la troisiéme représentait

 

“Pagination is based on the Pierre Jourda edition:
Oeuvres complétes: Rabelais (Paris: Garnier, 1962), I.

5Georges Lote, Lg Vie et l'oeuvre d3 Francois
Rabelais (Paris: Droz, 19387? p. 112.

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...1a tradition nationals : c'était l'héritage
du moyen Age, le legs le plus riche peut-étre,
en tout cas le plus accessible a tous et le

plus populaire, qu' il faisait au XVIe siecle.6

On the basis of the number of editions printed, the most
often read among these were Fierabras, Leg guatre fils
Aymgn, and Pierre g2 Provence, with Lg§_guatre filg_§ymgg
in the lead having eighteen editions published by the

end of the reign of Francois 131'.7 The following group

was second in pOpularity:

EIJl y a deux concurrents, Mélusine et Artus
e Bretai ne, chacun avec dix editions depuis
Jusqu' 1550. Un peu moins nombreuses
sont les éditions de Baudoin d3 Flandres,
Galien rhétoré, valentin gt Orson, Ponthus et
la belle Sidoine, Ogier de Danois, Robert le
Diable et Huon de Bordeaux, qui fut_ impréme
relativement tard, c 'est-E-dire en 1513.

 

Because of the introduction of the printing press
in France, and the resultant increase in the reading
public, a large audience was familiar with the exploits
of medieval heroes. It is precisely this group who
would appreciate the parody in Gargantua and Pantagruel.
The medieval war episodes may have influenced Rabelais
by providing themes, motifs, and narrative techniques,
which, in a burlesque form, would amuse Rabelais's

readers who were well acquainted with the epic conventions.

 

6Emile Besch, "Les adaptations en prose des
chansons de geste au XVe et au XVIe siécle," Revue du
seizieme siécle,3 3(1915), 155.

7Arthur Tilley, "Les Romans de chevalerre en prose,"
Revue du seizieme siecle, 6 (1919). 60.

81b1do' p. 61.

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From the above lists, Fierabras, Les quatre fills Aymgn,
Mélusine, Galien rhétoré, Valentin gt Orson, Robert 13
Diable, and Egon g2 Bordeaux-~all mentioned in Rabelais--
will be considered as possible sources for his epic
parody, since they offer examples of war passages.
Similar works, also referred to by Rabelais, will be
discussed as well.

On the basis of the anti-war polemic found in
Rabelais, some critics emphasize the Renaissance nature
of the war episodes, as they go beyond the comedy in an

effort to find the "sustantificque mouelle."9 Anne

 

9Another body of criticism treats the Picrocholine
war as an allegory of contemporary events. Such works do
not generally discount the comedy, but simply provide a
possibly factual point of departure for the war passages.
Abel Lefranc cites the basis for the war as a struggle
over rights to the Loire that took place between Rabelais's
father and Gaucher de Sainte-Marthe. Rabelais's father
is represented by Grandgousier; Sainte-Marthe, by
Picrochole. For a detailed analysis of this legal battle
see Abel Lefranc, Rabelais (Paris: Albin Michel, 1953),
pp. 83-99. Arthur Tilley suggests that Picrochole is
Ferdinand the Catholic or his grandson Charles V. See
Fran ois Rabelais (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1907),
p. . Harcel Tetel states that Grandgousier may repre-
sent Francois I. See Rabelais, Twayne's World Authors
Series (New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1967), p.43.
John Charpentier claims that Grandgousier is Louis XIII
"le Ere du peuple." See Rabelais (Paris: Tallandier,
1944 , p. 83. Jean Larmat views Picrochole as an
allegorical representation of Noél Béda, thus he interprets
the conflict as a transpoSition of the persecutions and
accusations of the Faculty of Theology against the
Evangelists. See "Picrochole, est-il Noel Béda?" Travaux
d'Humanisme et Renaissance, Etudes rabelaisiennes, 8
(Genéve: Droz, 1969), pp. 11-25. In another vein of
critical analysis, Abraham Keller discusses the contem-
porary scene and its influence on Rabelais's anti-war
writings in "Anti-War Writing in France, 1500-60," PMLA,
67 (1952), ZOO-250. He is not concerned with an inter-
pretation of passages which I consider mock epic, but
rather concentrates on polemic.

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Edwards Inglis views Rabelais's use of epic parody to
criticize reality via comedy in a mock of aggression and
of the heroic ideal:
In the mock-heroic war parody Rabelais combines
elements of epic tradition-~setting forth to
battle, banquet, voyage, search, battle monu-
ments, ruse, ambush, capture, council of war,
single combat, miraculous intervention and the
like--in a burlesque of aggression and also of

the military glamor and ideals which conceal the
real nature of war.-

Another serious interpretation of the wars is
She classes Pantagruel, as well as Grandgousier and
Gargantua, as an "archetype of the Platonic guardian of
the Republic from whose ranks the phiIOSOpher-king is
to be chosen:" and as such, each is "merciful to his
subjects but fierce to his enemies."11 The Picrocholine
war becomes a struggle over the meaning of the Eucharist
since the hostilities begin in a conflict over bread and
wine.12 She continues her religious explication with
reference to Frére Jean whose staff represents the
"foundation of the faith and of the Church itself."13

In his defense of the abbey "Jean incarnates the Rabelaisian

 

10"Parody in Rabelais' Treatment of Aggression and
a Heroic Idealfl Diss., Case Western Reserve Univ., 1971,

p. 3.

11(Detroit: Wayne State Univ. Press, 1972), p. 103.

12Ibid., p. 109.

132219-. pp. 111-112.

8

ideal of Christianity."14 Throughout the war, he "con-
tinues to function as a soldier in the Evangelical
army."15 To a great extent, Jean is responsible for the
defeat of Picrochole's forces. "With the ending of the
Picrocholine war, Jean has defeated those who are outside
the church and outside reason for a second time."16

Alfred Glauser acknowledges the predominance of
comedy in the war sections. In Rabelais créateur, he
devotes an entire chapter to the tapic: "La guerre

l7

rabelaisienne ou la Joie du style."' The title suggests

the comic intent which Glauser assigns to Rabelais's
creative process. He feels that Pantagruel is generally

an amusing group of episodes lacking unity and organization

in which Rabelais "se comporte en comédien."18 In

Garggntua, he sees a unified narrative where the war is
waged and controlled by means of style: ’

La guerre est mimée dans une langue qui se fait
hachée, brusque ou trainante, légere ou lourde,
selon le sujet qu'elle reproduit. Il s'agit

ici d'une prise de possession du monde par tous
les moyens d'une langue, singulierement maitrisée,
capable de tout faire, et ceci deux ans apres

1e Pantagruel.19

luIbid., p. 115.

 

 

17(Paris: Nizet, 1966), pp. 20fi-220.

18
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191bid., p. 207.

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Rabelais's primary wish is to portray a comic conflict
rather than to create a polemical work: Rabelais "a peur
de se laisser gagner par le probleme de la guerre,
d'oublier que le rire est 1e propre de 1'homme."20

Marcel Tetel in Etude s23 lg comigue dg Rabelais,
in the chapter entitled "La parodie," discusses the five
books of Rabelais, and comments on their burlesque epic

nature.21

The ruseful Panurge is patterned after Margutte
in.Pulci's Morgant lnggant and Cingar in Folengo's
Macaronées. With reference to Panurge's resurrection of
Epistemon (Chapter 30), Tetel concludes that the miracle
is a parody of the one in L g guatre fills Aymgg rather
than a biblical parallel because Panurge "the clown" per-
forms the feat and the whole episode receives burlesque
treatment as predicted by the reference to decapitation

22 Frere Jean

in the chapter heading, "la couppe testée."
correSponds to Turpin on the mock epic level; the dis-
parity of the hierarchical positions of these warring
churchmen results in parody. Jean's staff is reSponsible
for the massacre of over thirteen thousand, and it resembles

Roland's enchanted Durandel: both weapons perform great

deeds with the aid of divine intervention. Like his epic

 

2°Ib1d., p. 214.

21(Florence: Olschki, 1964), pp. 35-57.

22In the 1532 edition, the title read "1a teste
tranchée:" the spoonerism represents a later change by
Rabelais. Pantagruel, éd. Verdun L. Saulnier (Paris:
Droz, 1946), p. 158.

lO

ancestors, the monk is invincible. At the end of Chapter
30, Rabelais cites a specific predecessor in the chanson
g§,gg§§g, Maugis of Les guatre fills Aymgn, who embodies
the courage and valor which Frere Jean exhibits in his
protection of the abbey. Furthermore, the precise detailed
battle scenes imitate those in the epics, where the
narrator recounts blow-by-blow sword and lance thrusts.

Dorothy Coleman succinctly eXpresses her convictions
concerning Babelais's relationship to comedy and polemic
in her recent work Rabelais: A Critical §tggy_ig Prose
Fiction:

We shall look at Rabelais primarily as a comic
artist, not as a moralist nor as a Stoic Christian
of the first half of the sixteenth century. If
he had been aiming at a religious eXposition of
his views he would have Joined the company of
people like Lefévre d'Etaples and published
commentaries to texts, so achieving his aim in

a less ambiguous way. But he chose to write in a
fictional framework, and this choice in itself
means that we cannot be content with a simple
summary of his views. The swift and ironical
humour which dominates the work suggests a
sceptical and artistic detachment from life.

His work is not a philos0phical treatise but
rather a perceptive prose fiction, which uses

all the threads of thought of his time yet,

while making imaginative use of this or that
doctrine, never enunciates any.

In the same study, Coleman discusses the serious

portrayal of the giants in contrast with their grotesque,

 

23(Cambridge: University Press, 1971), p. 24.

 

 

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boisterous, burlesque depiction. At times, the giants

make metaphysical, philos0phica1, moral, and sociologi-
cal pronouncements which sit awkwardly in the gigantic
framework. War is then viewed in a Christian context,
and warfare in general is condemned: however, Rabelais's
depiction of the hostilities between the giants and their
enemies is mock epic. Coleman suggests that the mood and
style of Grandgousier's speeches and letters are in
direct opposition to his comic role, and the same may be
said of Gargantua's and Pantagruel's addresses.25 She
characterizes this dissonance in Gargantua as she discusses
Grandgousier's letter to Gargantua:

This style...is modelled on Ciceronian Latin--
the style beloved of humanists of the time.
This is the formal style of Rabelais; his
academic style, which we can contrast with the
natural style--of the dialogues and mono-
logues of his comic characters....This could
simply be the difference between Grandgousier
talking and writing. However, the differences
in tone are striking and are underlaid by a
change in the content and in the views that
Grandgousier is putting forward. The letter is
not only serious: it is also rather stilted
within the grotesque framework: moreover, it
seems to be a pretext for the author to express

 

2“Unless otherwise indicated, the following dis-
cussion may be found in Chapter 8, "The Giants," pp. 168-
2033 Coleman treats tOpics other than war, but I have
summarized this section with reSpect to that subject.

2SWith reference to war in Gargantua and Pantagruel,
the following are examples of the giants' profundity and
seriousness: Panta ruel--Pantagruel's prayer before
battle (Chapter 28): Gargantua--Grandgousier!s letter to
his son (Chapter 29): Grandgousier's humane treatment of
the prisoner (Chapters 45 and 46); Gargantua's Speech to
his prisoners (Chapter 50).

Ill. it.

till.

12

certain ideas of his own. To take this last
point first: Rabelais, the real man, was
throughout his life as Opposed to war as was
Erasmus. As an author of a gigantic story, he
exploits the Opportunity to expound the view
that the only Justifiable war is one of self-
defence....Rabelais, through the mouth of
Grandgousier, expresses oginions which are
very close to Erasmus's.2

The letter comes as a surprise since the Picrocholine
war from its inception is placed in a parodic setting.
She concludes that the giants have a natural as well as
an academic tone: the former is associated with para-
taxis: the latter, with hypotaxis.27 As the syntax
changes, there is an accompanying shift in Rabelais's
attitude: from comedy to profundity. In an earlier
chapter, she expresses in broader terms the relationship
between sentence structure and content in Rabelais:

It is well-known that the deve10pment of

French as a language to express imaginative or

philoSOphical concepts proceeds from the

paratactic structure of the middle ages to

a hypotactic structure in modern French.

Rabelais could draw on the humanist model

of a highly aratactic French (for imagina-
tive writing in order to derive from them

 

26Coleman, pp. 172-173.

27"The paratactic structure is the simple sentence
with the connecting link between successive sentences
being provided, if at all, by such words as the con-
Junction and or but or so. The hypotactic structure is
more complex: a number of subordinate clauses are linked
to a main clause by comme, ainsi, non seulement mais
aussi and a network of participles. The same develop-
ment from paratactic to hypotactic in French can be
seen in Latin from Plautus to Livy or in English between
Anglo-Saxon and modern English." Ibid., pp. 232-233,
n. 3 to Chapter 7.

13

differeng levels of style, vocabulary and
syntax.2

In conclusion, the giants function at times as
direct expressions of Rabelais's personal views on war:
however, these serious aspects of the giantS' character
are never coordinated with their comic depiction to form
a unified whole. On the one hand, Rabelais treats war
in a grave manner in polemical, hypotactic passages where
he uses the giants as mouthpieces: but the wars and
battles are parodied within a predominantly gigantic
framework characterized by parataxis.

The burlesque epic imitates the themes of its heroic
model. It is necessary to summarize these themes in
order to determine the base on which Rabelais's parody
rests. The heroic tradition involves some or all of the
following: a hero of historical or legendary significance,
whose background, often beginning with his childhood, is
included in the narrative: the performance of great deeds
and heroic, sometimes fantastic, feats, in which the hero
proves his prowess, valor, and courage: the presence of

supernatural forces--divine intervention, voices from
heaven, enchanted weapons and armor, miracles, necro-
mancers: a setting related to the homeland or several
countries, with an emphasis on the protection of the home-
laI'lciwhen the author wishes to establish a national hero:

e1evated tone: detailed descriptions of gory battle scenes:
\
28

Ibid., p. 141.

14
wars waged for social and/or political and/or religious
reasons. The mock epic either burlesques these themes,
or contains an eXpansion of trivial subjects into vaster
proportions for the sake of comedy. Depictions of
warfare are exaggerated, and the heroes become amusing
reflections of their epic predecessors.

In the attempt to define the epic tradition which
Rabelais burlesques, it seems apprOpriate to analyze the
literature which Rabelais knew. Nemours Honoré Clement
in The Influence of the.Arthurian Romance 9n the Five
gggk§,g§ Rabelais has listed the works which Rabelais
mentions Specifically or alludes to in Gargantua and

29 Clement establishes Rabelais's familiar-

Pantagruel.
ity with them on the basis of references made in Rabelais's
five books. Clement uses the terms "gest romance" and
"romance of adventure" to classify the two types of
medieval works which provide examples of war episodes

and thus are possible sources for the Rabelaisian parody.
Clement also includes "romances of antiquity," "Arthurian
romances," and a group listed as "unclassified" (including
but the three categories can be excluded from discussion
Since they are not the best representatives of medieval
epic matter with its accompanying war passages. Clement

‘kytermines that Rabelais read the following gest romances:

29University of California Publications in Modern
Phl'lology, 12 (Berkeley: Univ. of California Press,
1926).

15
Fierabras, Galien rethoré, Godefroy d2 Bouillon, Guerin

g2 Monglave, Huon g2 Bordeaux, Morgant lg_géant, Ogier
lg Danois, Les guatre fils Aymon, and Chronique dg Turpin.
The romances of adventure are Geoffroy g_lg.grant dent,

Mélusine, Valentin gt Orson, Jehan q; Paris, and Robert

12 Diable.30

The gest romances are epics which have been influ-
enced by the addition of Celtic mythology and romance

elements as the "epic made a stand against the new modes

31

and a partial compliance with them." They reflect all

or some of the criteria established above for the heroic
epic. Clement provides the following distinction which
may help clarify the difference between epic and romance:

In the epic the action concerns itself with the
deeds of a hero or a group of heroes, which are
almost exclusively warlike, and are projected
on a conflict between clans, or tribes or .
nations constituting the background of the epic.
The action of the epic revolves in general
within the orbit of this conflict. In the
romance, on the contrary, the personages are
shown as going through a series of episodic
adventures (often consisting of many incidents)
usually unrelated one with another. 2

 

30Summaries of these works may be found in the
appendix to this dissertation.

31W. P. Ker, Epic and Romance (1908: rpt. New
YOrk: Dover, 195?), p. 313.

I‘fiOD

yard-
.

"as “

LA» 1,

A.
4' i.‘
I f‘,
'° 4..
A
.. .35

16

The romance contains war episodes, but "the mainsprings
of action are chivalry and love, with love subordinate
and inciting chivalry . "33

In Gargantua and Pantagruel, there is no battling
to win the favor of a woman, nor is there any love involve-
ment during the war episodesa3u the romance, in this
reSpect, has no influence on either work. Instead, a
group of national heroes are involved in a struggle to
protect the homeland, and the action is centered around
the theme of war.

An analysis of these gest romances and romances of
adventure reveals recurrent subjects leading to a summary
of the pppp; of war in the chanson gg‘gggpg. The familiar
Cross vs. Crescent struggle is often the central conflict,
as in Chronique g2 Turpin or Fierabras, signaling the
triumph of the Christian hero, since the epics dealing
with the crusades are by their very nature prOpaganda for
the Christian cause. Even if the theme of Christian
superiority does not constitute the main story line,

the narrator sometimes inserts one or more battles with

 

33Ibid., p. 177. For further clarification of the
epic/romance problem, consult the following works: Ker:
Nathaniel E. Griffin, "The Definition of Romance," PMLA,
38 (1923), 50-70: William Wistar Comfort, "The Essential
Difference Between a Chanson de Geste and a Roman
.d'Aventure," PMLA, 19 (19045.14—112-4

3”There is only the brief episode in Pantagruel
concerning the lady in Paris, an involvement which is
E3‘tily concluded when Pantagruel must leave France with-
out: saying good-bye in order to return to UtOpia to
pr Otect the homeland.

17
the infidels, always a favorite tOpic for the medieval
audience. In Egg guatre fils Aymon, Renaud and his three
brothers while still at war with Charlemagne, enter into
hostilities for a short time with the Saracens, and when
the conflict with the king is concluded, Renaud and
Maugis fight the pagans in the East. Another repeated
theme stems from the revolt of the barons against Charle-
magne where the king becomes the antagonist, as in Qgigp
lg Danois, Egg guatre gil§,Ayppp, Hp p‘dg Bordeaux, and
Guerin g9 Monglave. This same topic is taken up again
in ggpaphgg,§api§ and Geoffroy g_la'gpapp dgpp, but the
rebels are the enemy: in the former work, the King of
France helps the King of Spain to regain control over his
nobles, and in the latter, Geoffroy subdues the barons
of the realm.

At no time is the concept of war condemned.) If
there is an outrage committed, the natural result is cpen
war so that either side may defend its cause, its honor,
its lineage. Any caution against or encouragement for
warfare is supported on the basis of social, political,
economic, or religious reasons. The most common attitude
is willingness, indeed, enthusiasm, to fight. This attitude
is expressed in ggpgp’gp Papis when the King of France
tells his barons they will aid the King of Spain to bring
the recalcitrant barons of the latter under control: the

Frenchmen rejoice "parce qu'il y avait un long temps

v
I“

 

1‘

3':

"I

l

on

It'lri

18
qu'il n'y avait eu guerre en France, et qu'ils étaient
fort aises d'avoir ainsi une occasion de reprendre leurs
faits d'armes."35 It is by such feats that the medieval
warrior proves his strength, his valor, his courage: war
offers the means whereby a knight becomes valuable to
society and upholds the tradition of his ancestors.

The most common development after the onset of the
war is battle until victory. If peace is sought, the
terms are often not agreeable to one side or the other,
and settlement by means of diplomacy is difficult.
Charlemagne offers peace to his rebellious barons if they
submit to his authority. Thus it is in the nature of the
wars of revolt that the struggle continues--"1es rebelles
indomptables, leur seigneur toujours implacable."36 At
the end of Lgp guatre gilplgyppp, peace is achieved through
diplomacy because the four brothers' forces are debili-
tated and they finally agree to the Emperor's terms.

In earlier efforts to end the hostilities, Charlemagne
had demanded that the Aymons turn over their cousin

Maugis, the necromancer, who helps his cousins through
magic and ruse. In the last negotiations, Charlemagne

asks for Renaud's enchanted horse and the surrender of

-—¥

35In Collection des romans d3 chevalerie mis pp
2£2§£_franpaise moderne, éd. Alfred Delvau (Paris:
Bacheiin—Derlorenne, 1869), III, 242.

36Joseph Bédier, Les légendes épigues, IV
(Paris: Champion, 1929), 213.

19
the Aymons, at which point, terms are accepted on
both sides. In a war with the Saracens, only defeat or
baptism of the pagans may end the conflict. In battle
between Christian adversaries, one side must be totally
defeated, or weakened to the point of nonresistance for
peace to prevail.

Negotiations for settlement or continuation of the
war are decided upon in counsel. "This fundamental idea
runs all through the Old French Epic. Even the emperor
in the Chanson g3 Roland, though in full knowledge of
what is right, cannot act without the advice of his

37 The hero either calls his lords together for

barons."
the purpose of discussing strategy, or, in a more infor-
mal manner, he and the influential persons around him
determine the best pattern of action. If the barons enter-
tain the cessation of warfare, it is never done so on the
grounds that war pg; pg is bad, but rather because they
recognize that a particular war is weakening the realm,

or that the adversary in question is not deserving of
continued hostilities. Just counsellors contrast with
treasonous or selfish advisors. In the epics of revolt,
Charlemagne is portrayed as an unreasonable monarch,

unwilling to heed advice of the wise persons around him

who attempt to persuade him to act in the best interests

‘

37Jessie Crosland, The Old French Epic (Oxford:
Bas 11 Blackwell a. Mott, 1'9'51). p. .

20
of the kingdom. The following scene from Hp p.gp
Bordeaux illustrates both the use of the counsel
situation and the portrait of a cruel vengeful Charle-
magne who wishes to torture Huon against the wishes of
Naymes, traditionally a sage figure in the legends
surrounding Charlemagne and the TWelve Peers:38

Le conseil s'étant assemblé de nouveau
1e lendemain matin, et les avis se trouvant de
nouveau partagés, Charlemagne, a qui 1e
souvenir du meurtre de Charlot revenait
malgré lui, se crut autorisé, par la pré-
pondérance de son vote, a condamner Huon et
Gérasme a étre trainés aux fourches que
sur-le-champ 11 fit dresser, et la belle
Esclarmonde au bflcher qu'il ordonna de
preparer. En vain 1e sage duc Naymes remon-
tra au roi ce qu'il y avait d'inique et de
cruel dans cet arrét: en vain il lui signala
comme mensongEre 1a deposition des deux
moines, qui avait entrainé la conscience mal
éclairée de la plupart des pairs : Charlemagne
ne voulut rien entendre, rien comprendre, rien
pardonner. Il fallait que la justice eat son
cours: la justice, c'est-a-dire la soif de
vengeance qui 1e mordait a la gorge au
souvenir de son fils et du combat du bois de
Montlhéry. Le duc Naymes, indigné, sortit de
la salle du conseil avec plusieurs autres
pairs, en protestant avec énergie contre
1'injustice d'un pareil jugement, dont
l'exécution fut renvoyée, séance tenante, a
l'aprés-midi.

Charlemagne, aprés s'étre lavé les mains,
comme Ponce Pilate apres le condemnation de
Jésus, alla se mettre a table avec les pairs
dont l'avis était semblable au sien, en
attendant qu'il pat jouir de l'affreux
spectacle qu'il avait ordonné.39

, 38Léon Gautier, Les épOpées franqaises, 2e éd.,
revg, III (Paris: SociEEe génerale de librairie

C3ai:holique, 1880 ) , 163
39Delvau, I, p. 177.

I

21
Such depictions of the evil enemy--Saracen or Christian--
emphasize the nobility and righteousness of those whom
the narrator favors.

So that the audience may follow the progress of
their heroes in battle, blow-by-blow scenes relate the
wounding and subsequent demise of warriors, as in Galien
rethoré:

Incontinent 1e roi Pinard, qui était a cheval,

vint a toute bride sur Galien: il leva son

épée, croyant 1'en frapper, mais Galien leva

son baton et en donna un tel coup au roi

Pinard dessus 1e poignet, qu'il lui fit

tomber son épée, puis il lui en donna un autre

coup sur la téte, dont 11 1e jeta par terre,

puis se jeta sur lui et lui donna tant de

coups de béton que le sang lui sortait de

toutes parts. Aprés que Galien l'eut battu

de cette facon, et qu'il ne remuait plus ni

pieds ni jambes, 11 1e prit par les cheveux
et 48 tralna dans la riviere qui était proche de
1a

Conventionally, wounds are noted with references to
Specific parts of the body, and combat results in a
bloody battlefield, evidence of the heroic feats which
took place there. The author may sometimes wish to
avoid a minutely accurate depiction of warfare: he then
adds variety to the narrative by summarizing the gory
battle and simply evokes the formidable encounter, as
in Fierabras: "Alors les deux armeés se melerent et
firent si grande tuerie, que jamais guerres ne furent
s11 sanglantes entre les pa!ens."£FL

“0.1.21.4... p. 355.
ul;§i§,, p. 40.

22

The forms of warfare are cpen battle, single combat,

skirmish, and night attack, the most common

81 ege, ambush,
When a full-scale battle is recounted

being the first two.
orally the major personages merit the narrator's attention,

a‘t: 'which point the description often resembles single

i.e. the author focuses on two knights. The

combat,
medieval warrior seeks the battlefield where he may dis-

p21.£iy his prowess and valor while protecting the homeland
<>::‘ fighting for another people in a righteous cause. In

I.<a:s3 guatre fils Aymon, Roland expresses his preference
1" or open warfare when he threatens Charlemagne that he
since, as a knight, he finds

may leave the king's service,
the castle of Aymon's

1'10 reward in the siege of Montauban,

Sons:
Sire, dit Roland, nous sommes des preux, faits
pour les grandes batailles en pleine campagne,
et non pour ces sieges sans honneur et sans
profit, on nous remplacons nos épées par des
échelles, et nos lances par des catapultes.

Ce métier de Charpentier ne me convient pas,
pour ma part, et je vous Egmande 1a permission

de quitter votre service.

Esg’:1—11gle combat as well provides a perfect setting for
two adversaries

E ‘Eitits which bring honor to the knight:
[‘“‘E=<et, each representing his family, his army, his lord,

L‘:1-£3 country, and God or Mohammed. The two combatants are
<2:
Q~Zl:‘efully chosen from among the most important nobles,
as:
':1~11ce their lords and peers would consider only the best

\

 

uzIbid., p. 134.

 

23
knights worthy to uphold the cause of the fatherland.
During these scenes, people may gather around to view

the encounter, as when Ogier meets the pagan giant

Angoulaffre in Ogier ._l_._e_ Danois:

Les choses s'accomplirent comme il avait été
convenu, et le combat eut lieu en face de la
tour de Babel, dans laquelle les spectateurs
S'étaient renfermés pour bien voir. Personne

du reste ne devait approcher deg champions a
une portée de trait d'arbaléte. 3

A s in this case, a heathen giant is a likely adversary

for a Christian hero. These confrontations may last more

than one day. If that occurs, hostilities are formally

curtailed by mutual consent: the foes rest and return to
the appointed battlefield to resume the conflict.
Besides cpen warfare, ruse is an auxiliary aid in

a(thieving victory. The most famous medieval use of this

motif occurs in the mid-twelfth century in _I__._e Charroi qe

3~‘3'1mes where Guillaume d'Orange and his men Wish to capture

\9
the wealthy city of Nimes. He has one thousand barrels

made, and places a man inside each one: the barrels are
then carted into Nimes, and the knights are able to take
Q‘Ter easily, as they emerge from their hiding places.
Ruse recurs throughout the epics which Rabelais knew,
atauthough it is not often present in the chanson g; 525.132-
chefroy de Bouillon orders his knights to circle back

3* 8 they parade before the enemy in order to give the
\

 

“BIbld. , p. 82.

 

24
adversary a false idea of their numerical strength.

Maugis, of Les guatre fils Aymon, resorts to trickery

s everal times, and performs magic as well to help his
cousins in their campaign against Charlemagne. Cunning

 

sometimes fails, as is the case in Fierabras when several

of Charlemagne's men claim that they are merchants in an
attempt to enter a Saracen city, but their trick is

recognized and battle ensues.
The heroes continually encounter overwhelming

adds: a small group may defeat an army of thousands, or
a. match between the hero and a giant can express the dis-

DrOportion of size and strength--the David-Goliath theme.

In LEE gm mg £14193: the Emperor exclaims his dis-

belief over the fall of his army at the hands of the four

"Quatre hommes contre une armée!"uu All epic

A 37‘mons:
heroes, to varying degrees, are supermen, invincible

Q reatures. Not only are they preux, honorable, valorous,

a~351<1 brave, but Justice is on their side, and God protects

them from death.
The usual weapons are lances or swords, but in some

% bisodes, heroes use unconventional implements. The

I) llgrim's staff, or bourdon, is responsible for massacres.

E 1erre L'Ermite in Godefroy g2 Bouillon rides a donkey

‘2’ battle and challenges swords, lances, and a monstrous
In the last scenes of Les guatre

Q Qrpent with his staff.

\

 

LmIbid” p. 124.

 

25

fils Amon, both Maugis and Renaud, renowned heroes on

the battlefield, now dressed in pilgrim's garb, are in

the Holy Land to do penance. No sooner does the author

begin to tell of their presence in the East than they

join in battle against the pagans, and Maugis uses his

staff to kill unbelievable numbers of Saracens. Often a

wreapon is endowed with enchantment which offers invinci-
bility to the hero as he meets potentially more efficient

arms with a simple implement, as is the case with Maugis

or Pierre L'Ermite. Galien of Galien rethoré is unable

to wound the Saracen King Pinard with a sword, and finally

assumes that he needs a Special force to defeat the enemy:
" Par 1e vouloir de Dieu il s'imagina que, puisqu'il ne
pouvait blesser Pinard avec son épée, il lui fallait
prendre un gros bAton pour combattre contre lui."t"5
C3'a3.ien convinces the pagan that he must tighten his saddle
before the battle may continue, asks permission to dis-
mount, goes to a nearby thicket, takes a branch of a

medlar tree, and returns to achieve victory.

In each work, there are one or more religious

f igures, of varying states, from hermit to pOpe. They

a*I‘e plausible members of medieval society, who often pro-

3~<1e a vehicle for the eXpression of prOpaganda, and they

l‘equently join the melee. Turpin, the ArchbishOp of

he ims, probably the most familiar churchman, is present

\

 

nSIbid., p. 355.

 

26
every time the Charlemagne and Roland legend enters the

narrative, where he is "transfigurée en un type légendaire

d.u prélat guerrierfll+6 As a prelate he performs absolu-

he confesses his men, prepares their souls for

tion:
Subsequently,

possible death, prays for their well-being.

he rides into battle, sword in hand, to defeat the enemy.

The central heroes as well represent the Church in

so far as they are practicing Christians: voices of

guidance from heaven, divine intervention aid them to win

battles. Their victory over other Christians signals the

Superiority of righteous knights over the evil enemy: and

when Christians defeat the infidels, the Church symboli-

c1=—--‘t'.'l.ly triumphs. Traditionally associated with the

CT-tlrns-istian warrior is the "'crédo épique'...1a priere que
fait un personnage, en general un chevalier avant une

bataille ou dans un moment critique, pour réclamer le
S ecours de Dieu."u7
The pilgrimage belongs to the religious tOpoi of

the chanson g3 geste. The hero may exchange his coat of

mail for pilgrim's garb and travel to the Holy Land, where

his penance may be transformed into a battle against the

bagan. Renaud, Maugis, Ogier, Charlemagne, Orson, all

\
[+6Gustave Lanson, Histoire de la littérature

\ZE I‘angaise (Paris: Hachette, 19187? p. 29.
M
F Martin de Riquer, Lp_s_ chansons d_e_ este
I‘an aises, 2nd ed., trans.Ire'n5e Cluzel (Paris:

l\Tfi-zet. 1957). p. 317.

 

 

'u

g I

v\a

:
n'.

l.)-

27

seek repentance. in this manner. Another treatment of

the pilgrimage, and one which should be differentiated
from the crusade or holy war, deals with pilgrims en
route to visit shrines either in EurOpe or .in the East.
In Chronique d3 Turpin, the narrator relates that large
numbers of persons travel to venerate St. Jacques de
Compostelle: Charlemagne in Les quatre fils Aymon goes

Godefroy _d_e

Bouillon mentions the presence of pilgrims in the East
At the end of Les guatre

to Galicia. to worship that same saint.

who journey to sacred places.
f 113 Amon, Renaud himself is martyred and the devout

V’ 1 s it his remains.
In the epics, monuments are abbeys, and this too

L 8 an example of the pervasive influence of the Church.
C:l'flajrlemagne in Chronique d_e_ Turpin establishes abbeys
a‘-—"i’1<1 churches in Spain to commemorate his conquests there.
Eh W, following Geoffroy a la grant dent's venge-
t‘I-ISL pursuit of his uncle during which the latter dies,
Beoffroy rebuilds the abbey which he earlier burned: he
ahdows it heavily so that prayers may be offered for his

In Geoffroy _a_

he ther, his father, and their lineage.
L\§ grant dent, the reconstruction of the monastery from

M\__ m is reiterated. Robert 13 Diable ends as the
t1 al‘rator tells of the abbey dedicated to the holy Robert.

Prophetic dream sequences abound in the epic:

1'1
groes have dreams which predict a future event, often

 

28
The vision frequently contains inter-

their demise.
In Les guatre fils Aymon, the

pretable animal imagery.
duo Beuves views his death at the hands of Charlemagne's

"J'ai eu un songe facheux cette nuit : un

knights :
egarniffon planait sur moi, pergait mon écu, diSpersait mes

atjrwnes et me déchirait les entrailles avec ses griffes

e1: avec son bec d'acier: puis, apres moi, ceux qui

m1 "entouraient."b’8

Lineage is a major interest for the narrator:

”"Btfine hero is born of noble stock and stands for a caste
This

privileged by race as well as personal attainments.

aristocratic breeding implies certain qualities of honor

EILJr1C1 noblesse."l+9 The knight's tradition is closely
t:>*<=>1:I.nd to the cause for which one is fighting in so far

55‘ $3 the hero must prove himself deserving of legend and
In

E“’CDI'thy of his ancestors by performing great feats.

w M1329. 31.1.3; Amon, Ogier 1e Danois defends his
I amily and his honor when Roland rebukes him for losing

EE‘L laattle against the Aymons. Roland feels that Charle-

‘nt‘45l1gne's men were not performing at their best, and Ogier

I: eSPOI’ldS to this verbal attack:

Vous en avez menti par la gorge, Roland,
s'écria Ogier, outré de colere: j'ai fait mon
devoir, et je ne permets a personne ici d'oser

soutenir, moi present, que je ne l'ai pas
faitl... Vous oubliez sans doute, chevalier,

et je vous 1e rappelle, qu'on ne compte que
de vaillants hommes dans ma famille...

\
ueDelvau, I, p. 102.

u9Calin, p. 148.

 

 

29

Geoffroy de Danemarck était mon pere: Gerard
de Roussillon, Dion de Nanteuil et Beuves
d'Aigremont étaient mes oncles: l'archeveque

Turpin et Richard de Normandie sont mes
parents... Dites, a présent, que je ne suis

pas d'une souche illustre et que j'ai
démérité de 1'honneur! -

Family trees are noted throughout the epics to attest to

th e warriors ' nobility .
Between battles, knights are frequently found in

abundant feast settings. Even if the description is short

and stylized, as is often the case, a plentiful banquet
1 s implied. In Les guatre fils Aymon, one sentence

summarizes the festivities in honor of Renaud's and
Kaugis' return from the Holy Land: "11 y eut une

V’éritable fete a Montauban au retour de Renaud et de

D"'11511:1gis."51 In Godefroy d_e_ Bouillon, the narrator spends
In gest romances,

S everal pages describing a celebration.

there is generally no emphasis on the duration of'such

gatherings, whereas the romances of adventure often
In

s tats the number of days devoted to this activity.

\‘jl'ehan d_e_ _I_’_a_p_i_s_, when the King of France returns from the

ii ‘Eir in Spain, a fifteen-day feast is held.
A group of nobles conventionally work with and for

:he central hero. This concept of peer loyalty is con-

: tantly reiterated in the legends surrounding Charlemagne

Q hd the Twelve Peers, in their cycle of holy war against

\

 

0
5 Delvau, I, p. 124.
511bid., p. 139.

ash

ID.

I“)

30

the Saracens. One of the outstanding tales of devotion
is found in Egg guatre pil§_gyppp, where four brothers
and their cousin battle together led by one brother in
particular, Renaud, in their campaign against Charlemagne.
Richard Aymon is injured, and although his intestines
are hanging from his wounds, he still insists on fighting:

Frére, dit Richard a Renaud, en entendant ce

signal, coupez-moi, je vous prie, un morceau

de ma chemise, afin que je m'en ceigne les

entrailles et qu'ainsi je puisse me tenir

debout et vous aider a vaincre!52

Giants are commonplace, and they may be Christian
or Saracen, with an emphasis on the latter. If the
giant is pagan, he is traditionally defeated by a
Christian knight, in which case the battle symbolizes a
triumph for the Church. And if the giant is Christian,
he supports the heroes' cause, as in Guerin.gg|Monglave
where a giant, "1e bon Roboastre," serves two generations
of tame Monglave family. In the exposition concerning
Roboa stre, we learn that he helped Guerin conquer the
duchy of which Guerin is in control. Following these
deedxs, Roboastre became a hermit turning his back on
the world and its evils. In Guerin, he comes out of
seclusion to help one of Guerin's sons, Arnault, who

has been imprisoned by Saracens. With his massive

f1fty-pound club, "qui ressemblait tant au glaive

\

521bid., p. 12h.

31

exterminateur de l'archange,"53 the giant easily massacres
Arnault's enemies. Pagan giants abound in Fierabras.
This work provides an interesting innovation in this
motif: the Saracen giant Fierabras meets Olivier, who
has chosen to represent Charlemagne's forces in single
combat, and when Fierabras believes that he is near death,
he asks for baptism: the reformed heathen then survives
to become a vehicle for Christian propaganda as he joins
the Emperor's men in their crusade against the infidel.

Along with giants, there are numerous supernatural
elements. Because of the pepularity of the matiere g3

Bretagne, the narrator often includes magicians, fairies,

 

enchanted armor and weapons, fantastic voyages, mysterious
countries, spells, special ungents and elixirs, talismans--

all associated with Celtic mythology. In Leg guatre flip
AMER: Maugis magically heals his cousins' wounds by
aPplying a balm to them. Fairies protect Galien from
deatli through enchantment: any wound he may receive will
mend. in three days. The dwarf necromancer Oberon in
M d_e_ Bordeaux presents Huon with a goblet, which,
upori command, produces abundant food and drink.

As the epic develops, it increasingly contains
love involvements. Repeatedly a Christian hero falls
inlove with a beautiful Saracen and marries her after

her conversion: she is often the daughter of an important

\

531bid., p. 258.

altan.
Galien n
in the E

NJ 23%;:

V
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' I
‘9!"ce

.ekdy
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(0

0‘9 ‘finf‘
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a: ma‘
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32

sultan. Galien rhetoré ends on just such a note, when
Galien marries the daughter of Marsille, the pagan villain
in the Roland legend: "Charlemagne fit baptiser la belle
Guinarde. Aprés le baptéme, elle et Galien furent
épousés, a leur grande Joie mutuelle, et a la Joie aussi
de toute la contrée."54 During the course of the war in
Leg guatre fil§_éymgg, Renaud marries the sister of King
Yon of Gascony. In reference to the role of women in the
epic, William Wistar Comfort concisely states: "Incidental
to wars and fighting, to the sacking of Saracen cities,
to the service due to God and the king, woman may step in
and claim the hero in his idle moments."55

Throughout the epics, we find recurrent narrative
techniques. The author may enter the story to offer
appraisal of the action, to foretell future events, to
arouse the interest and anxiety of the audience: and
imperative verbs bring the audience into the tale. The
narrator stresses the veracity of his chronicle, as in
ghronique d_e Turpin where we are led to believe that
Turpin is the author and that he actually viewed the
incredible events which he describes. Battle scenes are
frequently depicted in blow-by-blow detail: for this
:reason, they often give the impression of being eye-

‘W1tness accounts. Proverbs are abundant as a device

‘

5a
55

Ibid., p. 375.

Comfort, p. 72.

33
for the expression of the "wisdom of the ages."56
Numerical exaggeration emphasizes the size of armies:
this same hyperbole may contrast a small group of
heroes with their adversaries who are present in fan-
tastic proportions.

As evidenced by the preceding discussion, many
3222; may be noted in the epics. Although the chansons
g£,gg§£g differ from each other because of the indi-
viduality which each author brings to his work, the
basic matter remains the same, and thus recognizable:

"The primary material (Urstoff) is, on the whole, fixed
and unchangeable, the product of a long oral tradition."57
This plethora of themes, motifs, and narrative techniques
provides the basis for parody: the author of a mock

epic relies on his audience's familiarity with the
literature he burlesques, and the Renaissance public,
having read the pOpular romans d3 chevalerie, had the

necessary background to appreciate Rabelais's parody.

56

Crosland, p. 15.

CHAPTER II
PANTAGRUEL AS A BURLESQUE EPIC

Two facets of Rabelais's epic parody which are
indirectly concerned with war should be noted before
the war passages prOper are discussed: the title page
and Pantagruel's genealogy. On the original title page
of Pantagruel, the reader is promised "Les horribles et
espouventables faictz et prouesses du tres renome
Pantagruel Roy des Diapsodes."1 The terms "faictz" and
"prouesses" are often used in epics to describe the
actions of knights on the battlefield. Thus, in an
elevated announcement of subject matter, Rabelaisis
readers are implicitly promised an epic warrior king.
In Chapter I, Pantagruel is given a fantastic grouping
of ancestors to rival those of any hero in the chanson
:3 525153, where, conventionally, a flattering lineage
limited to several names attests to the nobility of the
hero in order to prove that he is worthy of legend.
Inabelais's list includes various giants from the medieval
Epics: Fierabras, Morguan, Ferragus, Galaffre, Roboastre,

Sortibrant de Conimbres, Brushant de Mommiere, Bruyer,

1Jourda, p. 212.
34

35

2 "Cette énumération était donc pour les

and Mabrun.
lecteurs contemporains de Rabelais, sinon une evocation
de souvenirs précis, du moins un rappel de légendes qui
leur étaient cheres."3 These giants provide a warring
tradition which Pantagruel will presumably uphold with
feats of prowess.

War is first mentioned in the heading to Chapter 23:
"Comment Pantagruel partit de Paris, ouyant nouvelles
que les Dipsodes envahyssoient 1e pays des Amaurotes,
et la cause pourquoy les lieues sont tant petites en
France" (I,xxiii.355).u Rabelais imitates the transcribers
of the prose epics who begin each episode title with
"comment" as, for example, in Guerin g3 Monglave, Chapter
#4: "Comment, apres avoir regu l'hospitalité du roi
Hugon, les pairs de Charlemagne se mirent a gaber
Joyeusement: et comment un espion les ayant entendus,

"5

alla tout raconter au roi de MeSOpotamie. After having

announced the war, he elaborates on the invasion in the

k

2Abel Lefranc, £3 31, éds., Oeuvres com lbtes d3
Rabelais, III (Paris: Champion, 19225, pp. 2E-27,
notes 89, 90, 93, 105, 107, l08, 109, 110, 112.

3Jean Plattard, L'Oeuvre gg_Rabe1ais (Paris:
Champion, 1910). p. 8.

“Quotations from Gargantua and Panta ruel are
taken from Jourda: citations refer to Book I and Book II,
then chapter, and page.

5Delvau, I, p. 273.

36

first paragraph, and at the same time, treats the demise
of the late King of Utopia:

Peu de temps apres, Pantagruel ouyt nouvelles

que son pere Gargantua avoit esté translate

au pays des Phées par Morgue, comme feut Jadis

Ogier et Artus, ensemble que, la bruyt de sa

translation entendu, les Dipsodes estoyent

yssus de leurs limites, et avoyent gasté un

grand pays de UtOpie, et tenoyent pour lors la

grande ville des Amaurotes assiegée. Dont

partit de Paris sans dire a dieu a nully, car

l'affaire requeroit diligence, et vint a Rouen

(IIOH1110335-336)0
The death or "translation" of Gargantua is an explicit
reference to epic legend linking the grotesque Gargantua
to the heroic Ogier 1e Danois who was carried off by
Morgan to live in Avalon. Renaissance readers, familiar
with this tradition, would be thoroughly amused that
the imbibing gourmand giant would be worthy of Joining
Ogier. According to the chanson gg’geste, the Dane
leaves Fairyland after a residence of two hundred years
to do battle in France. Therefore, "death" is not final
for the king. Implicitly, by means of translation, he
is taken to a realm from which he may come back: we
should not be too surprised at Gargantua's later appear-
ance in Rabelais.

Rabelais entertains potentially serious material:
'by the death of his father, Pantagruel becomes king,
and must leave Paris to go home to protect his people

from the enemy who are pillaging his land and besieging

'flme capital. Rabelais would certainly have been able

”oar‘
idle».
O

invai

'nan+
.NJ'.

court

37

to develop the theme of a warrior king speeding to
Utopia to defend his countrymen against the evil
invader: but as Pantagruel and his four companions are
about to set sail for home, the giant wants to bid a
courteous farewell to his former mistress (Chapter 24):

On arrive a Ronfleur, on monte sur le bateau :

on attend un vent propice pour partir : mais

méfions-nous des vents prOpices chez Rabelais :

ils sont inventés pour qu'en les attendant, on

puisse intercaler dans l'histoire la lettre de

la dame de Paris et 1e mot mystérieux écrit

sur la bague, que l'ingénieux Panurge va

essayer de déchiffrer.
The profound implications of the war are left unem-
bellished and the inception of the conflict is stripped
of narrative importance when Rabelais introduces these
digressions: "Dans le Pantagruel, Rabelais semble
vouloir éviter 1e récit de guerre : son épopée est
sans cesse une anti-épopée. Il oscille entre une guerre
qu'il entreprend de décrire et une guerre qui n'a pas
lieu."7

Not only does the lady in Paris delay the war
narrative, but she also causes Pantagruel to choose
between "courtoisie" and his duty to his homeland.
Pantagruel is analogous to Lancelot in g; chevalier g2

lg charrette in so far as the momentary hesitation of

both deflates their respective roles--that of epic

6Glauser, p. 204.
71bid.

38
warrior and courtly lover. A knight would not vacillate
at the mention of hostilities: "No dallying that might
weaken the warlike spirit was to be allowed."8 Further-
more, Pantagruel must be encouraged by Epistemon to
direct his thoughts to the conflict with the Dipsodes,
another degradation of the giant, reinforcing the anti-
heroic nature of the work.

In order to transport his heroes to Utopia,
Rabelais exploits the voyage motif, which was persistently
pOpular in the epic and romance of the Middle Ages. The
author obtains freedom from the constraint of former
surroundings: and fantastic, distant lands promise
adventure and mystery. In the list of places (p. 3&0)
to which they travel, known geography ends with Melinda:
Pantagruel and his companions voyage beyond tOpographical
reality into the imaginary as did many of their medieval
predecessors.

At home, Pantagruel holds counsel with his men
to determine the position and number of the enemy. Each
companion then vaunts his unique abilities in reference
to the war effort. In Morgant lg agent as well, the

‘hero's vessels represent particular qualities.9 These

g

8Crosland, p. 290.

91h Folengo's Macaronées, an Italian epic of the
Renaissance, the vassals surrounding the hero have
fipecial capabilities. Plattard, in L'Oeuvre d2 Rabelai
Po 21. discusses this facet of Pulci's Morgant lg ge’ani
and Folengo's Macaronées.

 

lea

39

acts are also reminiscent of the "gabfest" such as the
one in Guerin gg Monglave where Charlemagne and the Twelve
Peers boast of their singular talents, which, it is
expected, will be displayed. Yet, unlike the medieval
models in which warriors take great pains to prove their
gab true, here no one uses any of his skills to gain the
first victory: and as the anti-epic war progresses,
Panurge, not Epistemon, becomes the master of ruse, and
the boasting for the most part remains unfounded:

La force d‘Eusthenes n'est qu'une seule fois

mise en oeuvre [Chapter 27] : que serait-elle

a caté de celle de Pantagruel, 1e géant? Le

savoir d'Epistemon ne nous est révélé qu'au

moment an 11 fabrique au nom des Muses, "neuf

belles broches de bois a 1'antique" [Chapter 26].

Carpalim ne prouve sa vitesse a la course que

dans trois occasions pour capturer des

levrauts [Chapter 26], un chevreuil et des

oiseaux en plein vol pour atteindre un

cavalier s'enfuyant [Chapter 25] et pour aller

mettre le feu aux munitions des ennemis

[Chapter 28].10
Rabelais establishes the epic group composed of Pantagruel
and his four friends. They parallel Aymon's four sons
or Roland and the Twelve Peers who battle together guided
by their leader. Pantagruel and his men plan to take
on an entire army: and the formidable odds which they
face are thereby emphasized--five men against the Dipsodes.

With the exception of the Loup Garou episode, the

exploits of Pantagruel's warriors to defeat the Dipsodes

 

10Plattard, Vie g2 Rabelais (Paris: Editions
G. Van Oest, 1928), p. 10 .

fi

#0

are not battles, but rather ruses and burlesque acts,
unilateral feats. The war is certainly not won by over-
powering deeds of physical prowess on the battlefield.
Panurge uses ruse to gain the first victory. Pantagruel
offers his services but is encouraged by Panurge to
remain in the background. Rabelais wishes to emphasize
the giant's resourceful companion:

La premiere action est confiée a Panurge, qui

est le Frere Jan de cette guerre, mais elle

n'a rien d'héroique puisqu'il prend l'ennemi

dans le "cerne des cordes"....La guerre semble

étre d'abord un prétexte pour employer Panurge.

Rabelais vient de le rencontrer, il veut lui

confier une bonne partie de l'action.11
The prototype for Panurge may be Margutte in Pulci's
Morggnt lg éant, Cingar in Folengo's Macaronées, or
Maugis in Les guatre fils Aymon, all of whom are renowned
for ruse. Cingar and Margutte are cunning vessels to
the hero: for this reason they are cited as models

for Panurge.12

Since a parallel between Maugis and
Panurge can be established with certitude later, it is
also not unlikely to posit Maugis as a model at this
early stage and to conclude that Leg guatre £ll§.é1222
may have influenced Rabelais's creation of Panurge.

With the aid of Carpalim, Eusthenes, and Epistemon,

Panurge encircles the enemy in cables from the ship

which he has covered with cannon powder and straw

 

ll
12

Glauser, pp. 200-205.
Plattard, L'Oeuvre, p. 21.

I,

#1
(Chapter 25). When the Dipsodes ride toward Pantagruel's
men they are caught in the ropes as Epistemon tightens
the cables from the deck. Panurge ignites the ropes, and
thus, Just as the chapter heading promises, Pantagruel's
companions "desconfirent six cens soixante chevaliers
bien subtilement" (II,xxv,342).

This episode represents epic parody in several
respects. First, the should-be hero Pantagruel is absent
from the first encounter with the enemy in the chronicles
of his "espouventables faictz et prouesses." Rabelais
deflates the nominal hero by allowing Panurge to dominate
the action: and the giant's entry into the war is post-
poned. Secondly, Rabelais uses epic vocabulary, i.e.
"déconfire" and "chevaliers:" yet there is no discom-
fiting or chivalry manifested in the traditional sense.
Thirdly, the actual treatment of the enemy has precedent
in Godefroy g2 Bouillon where crusaders roast some
Saracens and eat them to prevent their reporting the
crusaders' strategy. Panurge's roasting of the Dipsodes
within the rcpes may very well parody this practice.

The one surviving Dipsode, a prisoner, is invited to
the victory feast and fears that Pantagruel may devour
him:

[L]e pauvre diable n'estoit point asseuré

que Pantagruel ne 1e devorast tout entier,

ce qu'il eust faict, tant avoit 1a gorge

large, aussi facillement que feriez un grain

de dragée, et ne luy eust monté en es bouche

en plus qu'un grain de millet en la gueulle
d'un asne (II,xxv,3hh-3h5).

#2
Cannibalism is certainly considered when the hostage Joins
in the banquet scene, a variation on the theme of
abundant eating. Finally, formidable odds are stressed
through the exaggeration of numbers: Panurge is responsi-
ble for the defeat of six hundred and sixty Dipsodes.
In the epics, the enemy army is large, often beyond the
point of credulity, in order to emphasize the heroes'
prowess as they triumph over an adversary that outnumbers
them by the hundreds, even by the thousands.

The ruse is immediately followed by the traditional
feast to celebrate a victory. But the defeat hardly
warrants any festivities:

0n se soucie plus de récompenses que de la

guerre meme : une féte est hors de prOportion

avec 1'action qu'elle célebre : si elle avait

été méritée. Rabelais n'y aurait pas songé.

Petits faits, grandes récompenses. 3

In her study of war in Rabelais, Anne Edwards
Inglis identifies the feast motif as one of the epic
3222; which Rabelais parodies.1u In the chanson g2

este, those winning the war pause to eat and drink in
honor of their triumph over the enemy. Mikhail Bakhtin

discusses the use of the banquet in general throughout

Rabelais: he relates such celebrations to the pOpular

 

13Glauser. p. 205.

1“Inglis, p. 3.

l
v
.1
' .
l
.'
r.

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a
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,

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#3
festive-tradition of the Middle Ages.15 However, while
exploring the meaning of this motif, he states that it
is always related to victory and triumph:
In the act of eating, as we have said, the
confines between the body and the world are
overstepped by the body: it triumphs over the
world, over its enemy, celebrates its victory,
grows at the world's expense. This element of
victory and triumph is inherent in all banquet
images. No meal can be sad. Sadness and food
are incompatible (while death and food are
perfectly compatible). The banquet always
celebrates a victory and this is part of its
very nature. Further, the triumphal banquet
is always universal. It is the triumph of life
over death. In this respect it is equivalent
to conception and birth. The victorious bodg
receives the defeated world and is renewed.
During the celebration, Carpalim decides to hunt
for fresh provisions since he is tired of eating salt
meat (Chapter 26). The hunt turns into a parody of
battle and also leads to another fete. Carpalim kills
approximately two hundred animals to feed five men.
He moves so fast "qu'il sembloit que feust un carreau
d'arbaleste" (II,xxvi,3u5). Like an arrow, he plucks
fowl out of the air, and with his feet kills leverets
and rabbits. The only time he uses a traditional war
weapon is to kill an animal: he strikes his sword

on the head of a buck, "[erappant doncques 1e

 

1silabelais and file World, trans. Helene Iswolsky
(Cambridge, Massachusetts: The M.I.T. Press, 1968),
Chapters 3 and h, "POpular-Festive Forms and Images in
Rabelais," pp. 196-277, and "Banquet Imagery in
Rabelais," pp. 278-302.

16Ib1d09 pp. 282-283e

an

chevreul de son malcus a travers la teste, le tua"
(II,xxvi.3b6):

Carpalim, qui, par son agilité, pourrait étre
un héros de guerre, doit étre d'abord champion
a la chasse...il pourrait s'agir de 1'ennemi
qu'on poursuit, non, c'est un chevreuil que
Carpalim attrape, suivi d'oiseaux qu'il prend
en courant de ses mains, d'animaux qu'il tue
de ses pieds, et qui permettent a Rabelais
dc longues énumérations. Il n'a pas encore
parlé d'ennemis abattus : il lui importe
davantage que la page recoive 1e recensement
d'un massacre de :

Quatre grandes otardes,

Sept bitars,

Vingt et six perdrys grises,

Trente et deux rouges,

Seize faisans,

Neuf béccasses,

Dix et neuf hérons

Trente et deux pigeons ramiers7..
[pp. Bibs-3%]1

In epics, knights are frequently killed with a blow to
the head. In this respect, Carpalim's action graphi-
cally recalls battlefield slaughter.

Furthermore, a hunting scene is not necessarily
incongruous with a war theme. In Leg guatre gilgwgzmgg,
Charlemagne's men, while confidently winning the war,
venture into the surrounding forests to seek amusement
in the hunt: "Mes amis, s'écria Roland, je prepose
pour nous distraire, une bonne partie de chasse."18
Variety is added to the story line, at a point where

there is no urgency to continue fighting.

 

17Glauser, p. 205.

18Delvau, I, p. 118.

45

In Pantagruel, the hunt leads directly to an
extension of the celebration for the original victory.
The listing of animals stresses the abundance of food,
traditional in the chanson gg’gggtg. The prolongation
of the festivities postpones the return to battle and
thereby emphasizes the anti-epic nature of this conflict:
the heroes spend more time at the banquet than they do
at war. In the next episode, the erection of two
monuments, one in honor of heroic deeds and the other to
glorify eating and drinking, reinforces this mood.

As they enjoy the fresh provisions, Panurge urges
Pantagruel to direct his thoughts to the bellicose
Dipsodes. Once reminded of the war, Pantagruel inter-
rogates his prisoner concerning the disposition, number,
and strength of the army. The hostage's response
affirms the numerical challenge which the enemy repre-
sents: they number over four hundred thousand. Among
the Dipsodes are three hundred giants. It is not sur-
prising to learn that Pantagruel is larger than all of
them except one. In emulation of the epic device of
foreshadowing future events in order to arouse the
audience's interest, Rabelais prepares his readers for
the encounter between Pantagruel and Loup Garou. In
the chanson 92 este, single combat between a knight
and a giant is commonplace, as, for example, Roland and

Ferragut, or Olivier and Fierabras.

fl

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46

In Chronique gg_Turpin, Charlemagne sends various
knights, including Ogier le Danois, to combat the pagan
giant Farragut, who has the strength of forty men: but
these fine warriors are all defeated by their formidable
foe. Then Roland volunteers to challenge Ferragut. The
former fights with a bdton, or staff, while the latter
is unarmed: the giant may be mortally wounded only in
the navel. During battle, Roland and the infidel carry
on a long debate concerning the Trinity, the Immaculate
Conception, and the Resurrection. Intermittently the
giant tires and requests a respite in hostilities in
order to nap. Finally, Farragut breaks Roland's weapon,
picks him up, and tosses him to the ground. Roland,
fearful of defeat, offers up a prayer to heaven. with
divine aid, Roland reaches the giant's point of vulnera-
bility: and the heathen calls out to Mohammed as he dies.

A Christian knight and pagan giant meet in
Fierabras. Charlemagne's barons are afraid to battle
Fierabras. except Olivier, who feels he must end the
giant's reign of terror. When they meet for single
combat. Olivier proclaims the salvation which Christianity
insures. In keeping with epic tradition, Olivier prays
for his well-being. Fierabras has two containers of
the preparation used to embalm Christ. When swallowed
it miraculously heals wounds. During battle, both drink
the potion and are immediately revived. Eventually,

a?
Olivier needs the last of it, and leaves the giant with-
out a remedy should he be hurt again. Bereft of his
sword by Fierabras, Olivier takes one of the giant's
three enchanted weapons, and stabs him. The pagan,
believing that he is near death and having been converted
by Olivier's polemic, requests baptism. Fierabras
lives on to Join Charlemagne in his crusade against the

Saracens.

Pantagruel's renewed interest in the war effort
causes the reader to believe that hostilities will soon
be resumed. However, the heroes next erect a war monu-
ment commemorating the prowess of Pantagruel's men
(Chapter 27). The chapter heading immediately signals
the burlesque treatment of the trOphy motif by telling
about Panurge's imitation of Pantagruel when he honors
the rabbits which they have Just eaten: "Comment
Pantagruel droissa un trophée en memoire de leur
prouesse, et Panurge un aultre en memoirs des levraulx"
(II,xxv11.349). Just as the original victory is
unworthy of a feast, so too is a memorial unwarranted:

Adoncques un chascun d'entre eulx, en grande

liesse et petites chansonettes villaticques,

dresserent un grand boys, auquel y pendirent :
une selle d'armes, un chanfrain de cheval, des
pompes. des estrivieres, des esperons, un

haubert, un hault appareil asseré, une hasche,
un estoc d'armes, un gantelet, une masse, des
goussetz, des greves, un gorgery, et ainsi de

tout appareil requis a un arc triumphal ou
trOphée (II,xxvii,350).

48

In the medieval works with which Rabelais was familiar,
monuments are built in the form of abbeys. The trOphy
‘motif is reminiscent of the ancient tradition19 rather
than that of the Middle Ages. However, since all of the
items hanging on the stump comprise the accoutrement of
a warrior in the chanson d2 geste, Rabelais converts a
classic motif to a mockery of the medieval.

The inscription is also a mingling of allusions
to the medieval and classic traditions:

Ce fut icy qu'apparut la vertus

De quatre preux et vaillans champions,

Qui de bon sens, non de harnois vestuz,

Comme Fabie ou les deux Scipions,

Firent six cens soixante morpions,

Puissans ribaulx, brusler comme une escorce.

Prenez y tous, roys, ducz, rocz et pions,

Enseignement que engin mieulx vault que force...

(II,xxvii,350)

Rabelais describes Pantagruel's men with epic terminology,
"vertus,"'preux," "vaillans:' however, none of these
terms applies to his comic heroes. The proverb "engin
mieulx vault que force" has its origins in the Roman d2
Renart. v. 1364: "mius vaut engins que ne fait

forche."20

The use of proverbs or sententia is another
imitation of the epic where such formulae are integral
to this genre and often serve as a vehicle for an
expression of attitude by the narrator. In this case,

Panurge's cunning, or "engin," is lauded. since "Pantagruel

 

19Lefranc, Oeuvres, IV (Paris: Champion, 1922).
p. 27“. n. 100

20Ibid., p. 275, n. 18.

49
a une telle admiration pour sa subtilité."21 Thus ruse
is responsible for a victory celebrated by a prolonged
banquet and an elaborate "arch of triumph."

No sooner does Pantagruel consecrate his trophy
than Panurge constructs one to honor feasting. Panurge
hangs cooking utensils and the remains of the slaughtered
animals on a stake, and thereby debases Pantagruel's
stump decorated with knightly accoutrement. He mocks the
earlier inscription and the subject matter therein by
composing a dedication using the same rhyme scheme:22

Ce feut icy que mirent a baz culz

Joyeusement quatre gaillars pions,

Pour bancqueter a 1'honneur de Baccus,

Beuvans a gré comme beaulx carpions....

(II, xxvii,351)
The giant's inscription burlesques the haughty epic
language praising warriors-~"vertus," "preux," "vaillans:"
"C'est dans l'imitation de la sublimité épique que nous
notons une degradation progressive."23 Therefore, Panurge's
dedication constitutes the imitation of an imitation, and
the initial mockery, Pantagruel's, is reinforced through
emulation.

Rabelais immediately resorts to the same pattern

of epic parody, followed by an imitation thereof, result-
ing in the progressive degradation of the original

 

ZlPlattard, Vie, p. 106.

22Lefranc, Oeuvres, IV, p. 277, n. 38.
23Tetel, Etude, p. 41.

50
model, i.e. the chanson g2 geste, when Pantagruel
emulates a medieval chevalier eulogizing knighthood:

Avant de livrer bataille aux Amaurotes,
Pantagruel exhorte ses troupes éloquemment:
"I1 n'est umbre que d'estendartz, il~n'est
fumée que de chevaulx et clycquetys que de
harnoys" [II,xxvii,351]. Cette grandilo-
quence lyrique et sublime suggere déJa un
effort imitatif, mais pour railler 1a sub-
limité épique, l'auteur fait répéter a
Epistemon 1a meme oraison, cette fois-oi

sur un ton burlesque: "Il n'est umbre que

de cuisine, fumée que de pastez et clycquetys
que de tasses" [II,xxvii,352]. Ensuite
Panurge reprend 1a litanie d'une facon

encore plus vulgaire. Une troisiéme dimension
s'introduit alors dans la parodic. 11 se
produit une imitation d'une imitation quit
dégénere sans cesse, abogtissant a un
pastiche de la parodic.2

The war theme is resumed when Panurge displays
his talents as a magician:

Messieurs, considerez comment nous aurons
victoire facillement de noz ennemys: car.--
ainsi comme Je rompray ce fust icy dessus

les verres sans que les verres soient en

rien rompus ne brisez, encores, que plus est,
sans que une seulle goutte d'eau en sorte
dehors,--tout ainsi nous romprons la tests

a no: Dipsodes, sans ce que nul de nous soit
blessé et sans perte aulcune de noz besoignes.
Maia, affin que ne pensez qu'il y ait enchante-
ment, tenez, dist il a Eusthenes, frappez

de ce pau tant que pourrez au millieu."

Ce que fist Eusthenes, et le fust rompit
en deux pieces tout net, sans que une goutte
d'eau tumbast des verres. Puis dist :

“J'en sgay bien d'aultres: allons seulle-
'ment an assurance" (II,xxvii,353).

Panurge has already established himself as a warrior

by means of ruse, and he now becomes a necromancer as

 

zuIbide. ppe “1"“20

‘D

51
*well, the dual role played by Maugis in L g guatre fil§_
;flzgg_. Panurge's Special abilities include the gift
of prophecy, characteristic of epic enchanters: the
giant's companion insures the invincibility of his men.
Likewise, Maugis provides for the survival of his four
cousins through ruse and magic. Rabelais is fore-
shadowing the resurrection of Epistemon by Panurge,
since the revival will be necessary to fulfill the
soothsayer's presage.

Pantagruel feigns a humanitarian release of his
hostage, who wishes to stay and fight with the giant, a
reminiscence of the feudal custom whereby captives offer
themselves in service to their new lord (Chapter 28).
However, the prisoner is unknowingly to be the pawn for
two ruses: the giant reflects Panurge's affection for a
war engineered by "engin:" Pantagruel tells the
Dipsode that reinforcement galleys will soon arrive
with one million eight hundred thousand fighting men and
seven thousand giants to help the Amaurotes: secondly,
Pantagruel gives him a box of pastilles containing drugs
which will produce in the Dipsodes a tremendous need to
drink profusely, and subsequently cause them to fall
asleep from the effects of the wine they drink to quench
their thirst. Pantagruel is then free to enter the
enemy camp and dump salt in the gaping mouths of the

sleeping warriors. Pantagruel urinates, a result of

.2"-

-
~ 1’
.
.. 1
,r
.( ‘
.
‘ vV I
.
l‘
\ l
I
. ..

v
‘r
:
l
l
l.- a
z
: I
e
l
n .)
F
:' \'.

L‘. n.
.
,
I
v“,
.—

'a

52
the diuretics which Panurge gave him, and drowns the
Dipsodes. The giant's resourceful companion again is
the motivating force in the war action since he is
responsible for the drugs which cause the inundation:
another victory is gained through trickery.

Rabelais imitates epic style with its frequent
imperatives25 in the transitional device "Laissons icy
Pantagruel avec ses apostoles, et parlons du roy
Anarche et de son armée" (II,xxviii,355), characteristic
of the oral tradition where the narrator involves his
public by means of the first and second person plural.
Rabelais also uses this technique a few paragraphs later,
illustrating his affection for imitation, and borrows a
repetitive formulaic structure from the chanson gg,gg§§g
in the epithet, "le bon Pantagruel."

Pantagruel's single combat with Loup Garou pro-
vides the only battle scene in the war passages (Chapter
29). Panurge guides Pantagruel before the fight and
advises him to take on the giants with the mast of the
ship, which serves as his staff in this episode. Its
purpose is explicitly stated in an earlier chapter when
Pantagruel "print le mast de leur navire en sa main
comme un bourdon" (II,xxviii,356). Just as his epic

ancestors before him who fought with the bourdon, or

 

2
5Crosland, p. 305.

53
pilgrim's staff--Pierre L'Ermite and Maugis-~Pantagrue1
utilizes a simple weapon against a more sophisticated
one.
During the battle between Pantagruel and Loup
Garou, Panurge "contoit les fables de Turpin" (II,xxix,

26 Rabelais's reference

360), i.e. Chronigue g3 Turpin.
to "fables" underlines the fantastic nature of this
medieval epic with its numerous miracles and incredible
battles: "Les Chroniques de Turpin, attribuées a
l'archevéque compagnon de Charlemagne, furent en vogue
Jusqu'au XVIe sibcle, en dépit de leur caractere
fabuleux, que Rabelais releve ici."27 At a point in the
story when two giants are engaged in combat, it is
appropriate to recall the fabulous nature of Rabelais's
work as well, which is a parody of such chronicles with
their eye-witness accounts of unbelievable phenomena.
More specifically, for his contemporaries, Rabelais's
recollection of this chanson gg.gg§§g may evoke the
single combat between Roland and Ferragut, given the
fact that Rabelais cites Turpin's book while Pantagruel

28

and Loup Garou fight. The topoi of the encounter

between a Christian knight and pagan giant are present

 

. 26A summary of this work may be found in the
appendix to this dissertation.

2
7Lefranc, Oeuvres, IV, p. 294, n. 14.

28A summary of the struggle between Roland and
Farragut may be found above, p. 46.

54
inn.both Rabelais and Chronique gg_Turpin: the disparity
c>f stature is stressed: the giant has a special quality
<>r possession which will presumably insure his victory:
the Christian hero prays to God, the traditional "crédo

épique,"29

while the heathen cries out to Mohammed: the
Christian receives divine aid, whereas the infidel's
supplications remain unanswered: the knight is bereft

of his weapon at some point and appears near defeat, only
to triumph over the formidable odds which his foe repre-
sents.

Although Pantagruel is a giant, his size will not
help him, since Loup Garou is even bigger than he. Rabelais
burlesques the single combat between an epic hero and a
giant by challenging the already enormous Pantagruel with
a more gigantic figure. The dissonance is underlined in
a biblical parallel when Panurge exclaims "David tua
bien Goliath facillement" (II,xxix.359). Similarly in
the epics, references to David and Goliath emphasize the
difference in height and strength of the two adversaries,
as in Rugg'dg Bordeaux: "Amaury, nous l'avons dit,
était doué d'une force prodigieuse : il représentait a
merveille Goliath, en face de Huon qui représentait

David."30 The contrast between the ship's mast and

 

29Crosland, p. 317.

0
3 Delvau, I, p. 149.

55

Laoup Garou's massive weapon further reinforces this
disparity.

Loup Garou has an enchanted club with three
«diamond studs, the smallest of which is as large as the
biggest bell in Notre Dame. Rabelais qualifies his
exaggeration not once but twice: "il s'en failloit par
adventure l'espesseur d'un angle, on an plus, que Je
ne ments, d'un doz de ces cousteaux qu'on appelle couppe
aureille" (II,xxix,360). The narrator insists on the
veracity of his chronicles, an epic device,31 but since
the reader has already suspended his belief, Rabelais's
"que Je ne mente" only emphasizes the ridiculous nature
of this description. Pantagruel offers a prayer to
heaven: we expect God to favor "1e bon Pantagruel,"
since Rabelais epithetically conveys g_priori grace
through "bon." The text of the prayer has profound
religious implications with respect to Renaissance
reforms,32 but the incident belongs to the scenario
of the chanson dgwgggtg. In the course of the combat,
Loup Garou cries out "Manon" several times. Rabelais
never states in so many words that any character is

pagan, but the giant's invocation clearly implies that

 

31Lote, p. 113.

32Michael A. Screech, L'Eva élisme g3 Rabelais:
As ects 92,13 satire religieuse 53 XVI sibcle, Travaux

d Humanisme et Renaissance, Etudes rabelaisiennes, 32
(Geneva: Droz, 1959), Chapter II, pp. 23-41.

56'
Loup Garou is an infidel. Through this frugal technique,
the statement concerning God's aid to "le bon Pantagruel"
becomes increasingly mock epic, contrasting not Just good
and evil, but also Cross and Crescent, as the Christian
and pagan giants duel for their faiths: "si Dieu n'eust
secouru 1e bon Pantruel, il [Loup Garou] l'eust fendu
depuis le sommet de la teste Jusques au fond de la
ratelle" (II,xxix,362-363).

Pantagruel's staff brushes against the handle of
Loup Garou's magical weapon and the mast breaks, a result
of the mighty powers of enchantment. Bereft of pro-
tection, Pantagruel cries out "Panurge, on es tu?" (II,
xxix,363), and thereby expresses his admiaration for his
companion's cunning.33 It is tempting to reaffirm Panurge's
special powers in the war with regard to his prOphecy:
when defeat seems likely, the giant immediately solicits
the aid of his outstanding companion who has promised
his men that no one shall perish.

"[VJoyant que Pantagruel estoit sans baston"
(II,xxix,364), the other giants advance. In the final
feat of the war, Pantagruel takes Loup Garou by the feet
swings him around, and knocks over the remainder of the
enemy. In this burlesque of weaponry, Loup Garou him-

self becomes the final war implement: and Pantagruel

 

NI

5?

demonstrates his prowess and strength by lifting and
swinging the enormous creature.

In narrating the battle, Rabelais imitates the
detailed description common to the epic:

Pantagruel gualentement ses bras desplie, et,

comme est l'art de la hasche, luy donna du

gros bout de son mast, en estoc, au dessus de

la mammelle, et, retirant le coup a gauche en

taillade, luy frappa entre col et collet.

Puis, avanceant le pied droict, luy donna sur

les couillons un pic du hault bout de son

mast (II,xxix,362 .
Rabelais's specific physiological references parody the
blow-by-blow accounts in the chanson g2 geste which
emphasize that the wound occurred on the head, the
shoulders, the neck, etc., as in the following passage
from Ogier lg Danois:

Cette clameur avertissant Ogier du renfort

qui venait compenser 1a retraite de Didier,

11 se Jeta avec une nouvelle furie sur les '

Francais. Courtain [Ogier's sword] entaille

au cou Richard de Normandie, fend 1e casque

du duc Nemon, étend raide mort Girard

Crochon, détache un bras du comte de Soagsons,

laisse l'archevéque de Noyons sans vie.
But Rabelais is medically precise stating "au dessus
de la mammelle," "entre col et collet." "sur les
couillons." Paul Stapfer feels that these anatomical
descriptions provoke laughter because of Rabelais's
extremely accurate details,35 a view supported by ‘
Marcel Tetel:

34

 

Delvau, I, p. 63.

35
Paul Stapfer, Rabelais: gs ersonne, son
genie, son oeuvre (Paris: Colin, 1889), p. 416.

58

DéJa chez Homers et Virgile, les descriptions
de blessures ou de mort étaient détaillées,

mais dans la chanson de geste les details
deviennent plus abondants afin de retenir
l'attention de l'auditoire parce que le

récit fut d'abord créé pour etre conté oralement.
Rabelais feint de continuer la tradition
médievale: cependant, ses descriptions sont
encore plus détaillées que celles des trouvéres,
en partie, 3 cause du progrés des connaissances
anatomiques et surtout parce qu'il prenait
plaisir a 1'amplification des précisions en se
rendant compte que la surabondance de details
mane au rire.

Rabelais, the doctor uses his special knowledge to rein-
force the mock epic intent of a literary work.
[Chapter 30] Ceste desconfite gigantale
parachevée, Pantagruel se retira au lieu
des flaccons, et appela Panurge et les
aultres, lesquelz se rendirent a luy sains
et saulves, excepté Eusthenes, lequel un

des geans avoit egraphiné quelque peu au
visaige, ainsi qu'il 1'esgorgetoit (II,xxx,

365).

The understatement in reference to Eusthenes' inJury
contrasts with the enemy's fatal wounds, and emphasizes
the invincibility of Pantagruel's men. Rabelais's
borrowing of epic terminology, "desconfite," to describe
the comic encounter between two giants resut‘e in parody.
The mood created by such statements of gigantic prowess
makes this the most effective moment to find Epistemon
beheaded, a common fate for knights in the chanson g3
gggtg: the chapter heading with its spoonerism "1a
couppe testée" (II,xxx,365), forebodes the burlesque

treatment of decapitation which is to follow.

 

36Tetel, Etude, p. 45.

 

a.

-O

59

Eusthenes bursts forth with a lamentation over
the death of his companion: "Ha! male mort, nous as
tu tollu la plus parfaict des hommes?" (II,xxx,366).
Eusthenes imitates the heroes in the chanson g9 geste
who grieve over the loss of a fellow knight, as, for
example, Charlemagne at the death of Roland, in Galien
rethoré:

0 fleur de la chevalerie, la plus noble des

nobles, le plus beau et le plus hardi de tous

les vivants! toi qui étais le protecteur de

la chrétientéi toi qui étais l'ennemi mortel

des infidéles! enfin, toi qui étais 1e refuge

des pauvres. Hélas! cruelle mort: quel

déplaisir t'avait fait ce noble corps qui

aimait tant l'accroissement de la foi

chrétienne737
Pantagruel then rebukes Panurge, the necromancer, for
the unfulfilled prediction: "Ra! mon amy, 1'auspice
de vos deux verres et du fust de Javeline estoy bien
par trap fallace!" (II,xxx,366). Panurge had earlier
insured his companions' immunity to death, and now is
the Opportune moment to prove his capabilities as a
magician: "Le seul qui fat mort dans la camp de
Pantagruel ne devait pas, au pays des miracles bouffons,
rester mort bien longtemps."38 Panurge performs a

miraculous resurrection, an emulation of the great

miracles in the epics such as Maugis' healing of his

 

37Delvau, I, pp. 360-361.

8
3 Glauser, p. 206.

6O

cousins or the halt of the sun in Chronique d3

Tugpin:

Adoncq noctoya tres bien de beau vin blanc
1e col, et puis la teste, et y synapisa de
pouldre de diamerdis qu'il portoit tousJours
en une de ses fasques: apres les oignit de
Je ne scay quel oingnement : et les afusta
Justement, veine contre veine, nerf contre
nerf, spondyle contre spondyle, affin qu'il
ne feust tortycolly (car telles gens il
hayssoit de mort.) Ce faict, luy fist a
l'entour quinze ou seize poincts de agueille,
afin qu'elle ne tumbast de rechief: puis mit
a l'entour en peu d'un unguent qu'il appeloit
resuscitatif....

Et luy bailla a boire un voirre d'un
grand villain vin blanc, avecques une roustie
sucrée.

En ceste faczon feus Epistemon guery
habillement, excepté qu'il feut enroué plus
de trois sepmaines, et eut une toux seiche,
dont il ne peut oncques guerir sinon a
force de boire (II,xxx,366-367).

Panurge's revival of his friend closely resembles the
acts of Maugis in Les guatre fils Aymon.39 Consider
the similar passage in that medieval work:
Alors Maugis, descendant de cheval, prit une
bouteille de vin blanc, lava la plaie du
moribond [Richard], réunit trés habilement les

entrailles, les replace dans leur emplacement
naturel et referma la peau, tout autour, avec

 

39Lucien Febvre in L3 Probleme d_e_ l'incro ance
52 XVIe siecle (Paris: Editions Albin Michel, 1942)

devotes Chapter III, pp. 226-256, to the discussion

of this episode. The resurrection may be interpreted
religiously as a biblical parallel to Lazarus, or as

a parody of epic miracles, specifically the one in

Les guatre fils Aymo . Febvre supports the latter view
on the basis of Panurge's role in the revival: con-
sidering the comic demeanor of Panurge throughout the
war, the religious reference would be quite audacious.
Febvre notes step-by-step the similarities between

the procedures used by Maugis and Panurge to heal their
wounded companions.

61

un onguent particulier. Cela fait, il mit

quelques gouttes d'un élixir infaillible sur

les levres décolorées de Richard, qui, tout

aussitdt, sentit les forces lui revenir avec

la vie....

Maugis fit de meme pour Allard, Renaud et

Guichard, et cicatrisa, sans qu'il y parflt,

les blessures qu'ils avaient recues dans la

bataille. Ainsi guéris, les quatre fils Aymon

monterent a cheval et reprirent le chemin de

Montauban. 0
Rabelais specifies that Panurge too uses white wine and
resuscitative ointment. Maugis and Panurge carefully
wash the inJuries with wine, Join the severed flesh,
apply ungent, and the wounded are miraculously "gueris."
Even the final step is the same, when both revived
heroes must drink something to complete the process.
The parallel does not stop with this one incident. Like
Maugis, Panurge is the protector of his companions. Both
are depicted as warrior-magicians renowned for ruse:
Just as Panurge's cunning helps to defeat the Dipsodes,
Maugis performs magic and employs ruse to aid his four
cousins in their campaign against Charlemagne. Maugis
combines necromancy and trickery when he helps his
cousin Renaud win the horse race sponsored by Charlemagne,
who offers a gold crown as one of the prizes. Renaud
wants the crown in order to melt it down and thereby pay
his soldiers. Renaud's horse, Bayard, trained by Maugis,
has super-sensory powers, and is a certain champion.

However, Renaud and Bayard would be immediately

 

uoDelvau, I, p. 125.

62
recognized by the king. Through magic, Maugis com-
pletely changes the appearance of Renaud and his mount:
Renaud looks fifteen years younger: the horse turns from
black to white and ages tremendously. Maugis ties a
piece of silk to one of Bayard's legs and holds it as
they ride in view of Charlemagne, so that the horse limps
and would thus be Judged a poor competitor. When the
tournament begins, Maugis lets go of the silk and Bayard
takes off like a streak of lightning. Renaud wins, and
as he rides off with his reward, the king recognizes him
and is furious at being duped.

Brought back to life, Epistemon relates a vision
of hell which he had while beheaded: it was "a complete
inversion of the fates and fortunes of this world."u1
The harrowing of hell has a long medieval tradition in
the drama and its most elaborate presentation is the
Inferno section of Dante's Divina Comedia. It is not
found in the chansons gg_gg§tg. Critics cite Lucian's
dialogue Menippus Egg Necyomantig as the model for

Epistemon's descent.“2 Epistemon's experience con-

stitutes a vision, not a Journey:

“IGilbert Highet, The Anatom g§_Satire (Princeton:
Princeton Univ. Press, 1962), p. l 5.

 

uzLefranc, Oeuvres, IV, p. 306, n. 25. Manfred
Bambeck, "Epistemon's Unterweltberact in 30. Kap.
des Pantagruel,“ Travaux d'Humanisme et Renaissance,
Etudes rabelaisiennes, 24 (Geneve: Droz, 1956), pp. 29-
47. Bambeck cites Abel Lefranc, Jean Plattard, and
Anatole France as partisans of this opinion, p. 32.

63

Between a mystical Journey and a mystical vision

the most important difference is that, in a

Journey, the stages are described in some

detail, and the author tries to make them seem

real, while the visionary either is tranSported

by a miracle to and from the scene of his

vision, or else, in a spiritual rapture, sees

it all with the inward eye. Epistemon's visit

to Hades was therefore a vision, seen by his

spirit while his body lay cataleptic.“3

By transferring the treatment of Judgment and
punishment to a time outside Christian chronology, Rabelais
avoids the religious implication of a Christian satire
concerning the afterlife:uu "Although he is dealing with
an essentially Christian theme--the Judgment of God
between good and evil, the revelation Of all that in
this world was hidden, and the penalties of the condemned--
he does not mention the Christian deity."45

Epistemon met great men of the past--rea1 and
fictional--all performing menial tasks, a status con-
trasting sharply with the station they enJoyed during
life. Heroes from the gest romances and romances of
adventure are parodied by their lowly conditions, as well
as by their presence in hell. In this ”galerie de

46

héros de romans," Ogier le Danois is a furbisher of

armor: Huon de Bordeaux, a hooper of barrels: valentin

 

43Highet, p. 165.
bulbid.. p. 169.
“5gpig.. p. 168.
u6P1attard, 233, p. 8.

a.

'.
o
, a
O
I
.0.»-
.‘
.

 

‘l(

64

and Orson, stokers of hell's fires and masksnatchers:
Geoffroy a la grand dent, a match-seller: Godefroy de
Billon [sic Rabelais], a masker: Morgant, a brewer of
beer: Jean de Paris, a greaser of boots: Galien Restauré
[sic Rabelais], a molecatcher: les quatre filz Aymon,
tooth—extractors: Mélusine, a scullery-maid.“7 The
duties have no special significance with reference to
any episode in the legend of each: Rabelais's criterion
for including these personages as opposed to others may
be their popularity. The medieval works in which they
figure were still in vogue during the Renaissance. In
fact, Leg guatre §;1§,A1mgg, Mélusine, Galien rethoré,
Valentin gt Orson, Ogier lg Danois, and Hugg'gg Bordeaux
are among the romans g3 chevalerie most often printed
in the sixteenth century.“8

Following the inundation of the Dipsode camp and
the defeat of three hundred giants, Pantagruel and his
merry warriors--all five intact because of Panurge's
magic--pause to commemorate their victories: "tant y
fut faicte lors grande chere" (II,xxxi,374). The use of
the idiom "faire grande chere" is a frugal technique to
emphasize the abundance of food and drink, traditional
at such celebrations: a detailed description of the

 

u7The works which bear the names of these

characters are summarized in the appendix to this
dissertation.

“BTilley, pp. 45-63

65
‘feasting is dispensed with, and it is implied that the
companions eat plentifully as did their predecessors
in the chanson g; geste. As before, however, comic
feats do not warrant elaborate festivities, resulting
in a parody of this motif. At this point in the narra-
tive, the Dipsodes are conquered except for one town.
Since the war is virtually over and there are no more
battle scenes to be recounted, Rabelais appropriately
concludes his mock epic with yet another burlesque
banquet.

In summary, most of the techniques of epic parody
listed earlier are present in Pantagruel: exaggeration
or hyperbole: deflation of the nominal hero and corres-
ponding aggrandizement of a secondary figure: reliance
on specific epic tgpgi which are then parodied: epic
formulae: oral narrative devices. Rabelais made a
concerted attempt to mock the treatment of war in the
chansons 93,52533, and he accomplished this mockery
through the use of the above techniques in the war

passages.

CHAPTER III
GABGANTUA AS A BURLESQUE EPIC

In Gargantua, a maJor war results from a peasant
quarrel over a few cakes, announced in the heading of
Chapter 25, the first mention of hostilities: "Comment
feut meu entre les fouaciers de Lerné et ceux du pays
de Gargantua le grand debat dont furent faictes grosses
guerres" (I,xxv,100). Thus the war begins in a humorous
vein: Rabelais "a vu le comique d'une immense guerre
sortant d'une dispute particuliere autour de quelques
galettes. Petites causes, grands effets : grandes
causes, petits effets."1 Having embarked on a comic
course in his representation of the Picrocholine conflict,
Rabelais again draws on medieval epic matter to provide
a parodic depiction of warriors. The first episode
dealing with the war theme contains various £922; of the
chanson gg‘gggtg: insults calling forth a gggi, single
combat, full-scale battle, references to weaponry,
detailed description of blows, feast, miracle. Parody

results when Rabelais employs these commonplaces, normally

 

l
Glauser, p. 208.
66

67
‘used to glorify knights, in a bellicose encounter
'between shepherds and cake-bakers.

When the shepherds of La Deviniere courteously
ask to buy some wares from the cake-bakers of Lerné,
their request is not only reJected but the bakers also
shout a string of vulgar insults at their neighbors,
namecalling which proceeds for a paragraph:

Les Jurons dont les gens de Picrochole

accablent les aimables gens de Grandgousier

sont de véritables cris de guerre....

Du cbté de Grandgousier, on a agi courtoisement :

les gens de Picrochole répondent par des Jurons

proférés sans commentaires, et qui sont
l'équivalent de coups dont ils frapperaient
l'ennemi, ce qui s'en rapproche le plus dans

le monde verbal. Les Jurons se précipitent :

ils donnent l'impression de ne former qu'un

immense cri.2
Forgier, one of the shepherds, responds calmly to
this verbal attack, but the essence of his speech is
that there will no longer be any commerce between the
two groups. In Rabelais's transferral of epic tOEOl
to peasants, the future confrontation between the two
groups might well take place at the next market, not on
the battlefield: "Encores par le marché vous eussions
nous donné de noz raisins: mais, par 1e mer Dé: vous
en pourriez repentir et aurez quelque Jour affaire de

nous. Lors nous ferons envers vous a la pareille, et

vous en soubvienne!" (I,xxv,101). The stage for the war

 

21bid.. p. 209.

68
is being set as the insults of the enemy call forth the
above gggg: Forgier's answer to the bakers' abuses
represents the traditional challenge which ultimately
results in battle.

In the following passage from Ogigg,lg_Danois the
same course of action, which we see in the episode from
Rabelais, may be discerned: Bruhier's insult brings
about Ogier's géfi, and the adversaries take up the
lance:

Celui-ci [Bruhier] reprenant son arrogance dit
a Ogier qui l'avait attendu:

--Chevalier, tu es venu seul? tu n'as pas
amné tes compagnons?

--Pourquoi faire? dit Ogier.

--Parce qu'il y a forte besogne a combattre
un adversaire duquel tous les membres, sauf
la tete, les abattit-on, se recolleraient a
l'instant sans difficulté.

--Allons, l'homme invulnérable, mets touJours
ton heaume, parce qu'Ogier le Danois ne frappa
Jamais chevalier qui ne fat armé.

--Ne vas-tu pas te régler sur ce qu 'eflt fait
Ogier le Danois, mon pauvre camarade? Cela te
sied si peu que Je ne daignerais pas reculer
d'un pas a cause de toi.

Uh échange de coups de lances suivit ce
défi: les lances volerent en éclats.3

As in the chanson gg,gg§tg, Forgier must defend his
honor and that of his peers, for to back away at this
crucial moment with no retort to the enemy's verbal
attack would immediately signal the cowardly submission
of the shepherds. The enemy finds the defiance so

offensive that there is no alternative except warfare,

 

3Delvau, I, p. 76.

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69

since the person(s) to whom the défi is directed must
attempt to prove his (their) superiority. In this vein,
Marquet, "grand bastonnier de la confrairie des fouaciers"
(I,xxv,102) accuses Forgier of arrogance and then causes
him to believe that some cakes may be bought, but as
Forgier approaches to pay for the baked goods, Marquet
slashes the shepherd's legs with a whip. Marquet then
attempts to flee, but single combat ensues when Forgier
confronts Marquet. As the leaders of the two groups
fight, Forgier proves himself a fierce warrior as Rabelais
recounts the blow-by-blow encounter:

Puis [Marquet] voulut gaigner a la fuyte: mais

Forgier s'escria au meurtre et a la force tant

qu'il peut, ensemble luy getta un gros tribard

qu'il portoit soubz son escelle, et 1e attainct

par la Joincture coronale de la teste, sus

l'artere crotaphique, du cousté dextre, en

tells sorte que Marquet tomba de sa Jument:

mieulx sembloit homme mort que vif (I,xxv,102).
A similar treatment of battle scenes continues throughout
Gargantua as Rabelais provides precise physiological
data thereby exaggerating the traditional epic description
which is detailed but less exact with references simply
to heads, legs, arms, chest, etc. Throughout Rabelais,
in battle depictions as well as other situations,
"l'extreme precision de detail est un moyen si infaillible

4

d'aneantir le sérieux et de provoquer le rire." The last

clause in the above citation from Rabelais imitates the

 

“Stapfer, p. 416.

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7O
serious tone used in the epics to convey the grave
condition of the combatants. There are numerous examples
of this type of statement following the sword and lance
thrusts. In Fierabras as Olivier fights the giant
Fierabras, the author wishes to relate their debili-
tation: "Ils Jouterent alors a pied l'un contre l'autre
si fort, que peu s'en fallut qu'ils ne demeurassent
sur-le-champ pdmes, a cause du travail qu'ils avaient
fait."5 Galien rethoré offers a graphic view of the blood
and gore which results from knightly prowess: "ils
[Galien and his companions] firent si belle defense, que
nul ne demeurait devant eux. 11 y eut dans cette affaire
tant de morts, que l'herbe en était toute teinte de
sang.“

In Rabelais's parody, dual combat is followed by
a full-scale melee of the shepherds, aided by nearby
farmers, and the cake-bakers. In his portrayal of lower
class warriors using base weaponry, peasants rush at each
other armed with cudgels, rocks, and sticks.

As in the epics, the moral predictability of the
opponents is determined at the outset of the war narrative:
"ces beaulx fouaciers...avoient trouvé male encontre
par faults de s'estre seignez de la bonne main au matin"

(I,xxv,103). God protects one group and the other faction

5

 

Delvau, I, p. 8.
6
Ibid., p. 341.

71
loses His grace, because they crossed themselves with
their left hand that morning, a bad omen.7 Having
established the larger conflict between good and evil,
Rabelais affirms this alignment through a mock miracle.
Forgier is wounded and the cure for his inJuries is the
application of grapes to his legs "si bien qu'il feut
tantost guery" (I,xxv,lO3). The account of the healing
follows directly the mention of the cake-bakers'
unorthodox sign of the cross, and Rabelais thereby
Juxtaposes the two peasant armies who comically reflect
the orientation of the entire war: Picrochole's men
are being punished by God for their crossing habits,
and Marquet is more dead than alive: but Porgier's wounds
are miraculously mended.

This one episode becomes a microcosm of the war
and a prediction of the outcome. The shepherds, repre-
senting Grandgousier, ask "courtoisement" to buy the
cakes: they represent the peaceful, reasonable demeanor
of their king. On the other hand, Picrochole's irrational
bakers refuse to sell their wares, heap insults on the
friendly shepherds, and thereby provoke the war. During
the battle between Marquet and Forgier, Marquet shows
cowardice when he tries to run away, Just as Picrochole
will flee at the end of the war. After Forgier and

Marquet are wounded, the former is immediately healed

 

7Lefranc, Oeuvres, II (Paris: Champion, 1912),
p. 252, n. 79.

72

while the latter, close to death, must be carried back
to his peOple. Likewise, during the hostilities,
Grandgousier loses only a few men, and Picrochole's
fatalities number in the thousands. The victors cele-
brate with feasting: the shepherds and shepherdesses eat
cakes and grapes, Just as Gargantua and his companions
commemorate their battles with food and drink.

Picrochole now prepares for a full-scale war to
avenge the loss of a few cakes (Chapter 26). He calls
out an army of nearly fifty thousand. To the epic
exaggeration concerning the numerical strength of the
enemy, Rabelais adds geographic disprOportion: within
the small area of Lerné and La Deviniere--only a few
kilometers--Rabelais presents giants and Picrochole's

army of thousands8

for the "grosses guerres."

The war reaches its high point as Frere Jean
becomes a hero in his defense of the Abbey of Seuilly
(Chapter 27). The monk challenges the enemy alone:
clothed in his habit and armed only with the staff of
the cross, the monk bowls Picrochole's men over like
"pores" (I,xxvii,109):

Ainsi, par sa prouesse, feurent desconfiz tous

ceulx de 1'armée qui estoient entrez dedans 1e

clous, Jusques au nombre de treze mille six

cens vingt et deux, sans les femmes et petitz
enfans, cela s'entend tousJours (I,xxvii,112).

 

8Glauser, p. 207.

73

Jean's bravery is motivated by his desire to defend "les
biens de l'Eglise" (I,xxvii,108), the vineyard, hardly
the Church's spiritual treasure which motivated Turpin,
Maugis, or Pierre L'Ermite.

Jean's role has several functions contributing to
epic parody. First, he is a minor figure in the Church,
contrasting with the status of his most famous antecedent,
the Archbishop Turpin--"what a hierarchical discrepancy
between the high ecclesiast and the lowly monk acting
for a rather dubious purpose!"9 Secondly, Jean battles
with the staff of the cross in the name of Church pro-
perty against an adversary earlier described as having
crossed themselves with the wrong hand. God favors Jean,
and the monk is able to defeat thousands, as God endows
the staff with divine enchantment rendering it a super-
natural weapon. Traditionally, epic heroes sometimes
employ simple weaponry which triumphs over more 80phisti-
cated means of defense, as in the case of Maugis, Galien,
Pierre L'Ermite, who face enormous odds to emerge
gallantly victorious. Rabelais reworks the bourdon motif,
which has a long history in the chanson g2 este, recalling
the pilgrimage tradition and religious devotion. The
author himself signals the relationship between the

 

9Tetel, Rabelais, Twayne's World Authors Series
(New York: Twayne Publishers, Inc., 1967), p. 42.

74

pilgrim's staff and Frtre Jean's staff of the cross in
the last paragraph of this episode:

Jamais Maugis, hermite, ne se porta si vaillamment

a tout son bourdon contre les Sarrasins, desquelz

est escript es gestes des quatre filz Haymon,

comme feist 1e moine a l'encontre des ennemys

avec le baston de la croix (I,xxvii,112).
The above citation leads to the final capacity of Jean
in the mock epic:i he is compared to Maugis, a direct
inspiration offered to Rabelais by an episode of ng
guatre 3315,51223. Maugis and Renaud, the main hero,
make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land to atone for their
sins. Dressed in pilgrim's garb, they lead a repentent
existence. No sooner does the epic author describe this
holy image of the two knights, than they Join in battle
against the Saracens. Maugis had renounced killing much
earlier and thereafter did not help his cousins in the
war with Charlemagne. Yet, at this point, Maugis, still
attired in his pilgrim's habit, fights using the
bourdon, as he and Renaud kill many infidels: "Maugis...
quoiqu'en habit de pélerin et en bourdon, avait fait
sa rude besogne et mis a mal beaucoup de mécréants."10
Maugis then defines the role which his staff plays:
“Vbus verrez que mon bourdon fait a l'occasion son

11

office d'épée." Furthermore, the monk's clothing

 

1oDelvau, I, p. 137.

lllbide ’ pa 138a

75
resembles that of the pilgrim: both wear habits, i.e.

long robes of a dark material.12

The pilgrim's staff is
a long wooden stick: Jean's weapon is nothing more than
a bourdon with a crucifix at the tap, "baston de la
croix, qui estoit de cueur de cormier, long comme une
lance, rond a plain poing" (I,xxvii,108). Both heroes
are involved in a religious commitment: and, yet, each
accepts a pragmatic duty to protect the Church. It is
implied that the weapons of both are endowed with
divine enchantment, since these heroes are able to
challenge great odds and sophisticated means of defense
with simple pieces of wood.

Frere Jean is the most fully develOped caricature
of the epic hero found in Rabelais. Jean's deeds are
recounted in greater detail than any other hero's, and
a simple monk dominates the entire war action. (His
staff and habit become integral to his portrayal as a
mock warrior, and later in Gargantua the staff and frock
are emphasized as indiSpensable aids to Jean's prowess,
therefore becoming extensions of his being: no other
character's accoutrements are stressed in a similar
manner. Jean's dynamic behavior contrasts sharply

with the usually sedentary monastic life: he kills more

 

12An illustration of a pilgrim with staff in

hand may be found in J. J. Jusserand, En lish Wgyfaring
Life ;5 the Middle A es (XIVth Century , 3rd ed., trans.
Lucy Toulmin Smith New York: G. P. Putnams sons,

1925). p. 369.

76

than thirteen thousand single-handedly, an 'sxtraordinary
feat of physical force. His boisterous demeanor sets
him apart from two possible models: the warrior-bishop
Turpin and the pilgrim-magician Maugis. He swears
enthusiastically at the beginning of battle, and in no
way exhibits the refinement sometimes expected of noble
knights. He enters the narrative in the first battle of
the Picrocholine war, and he, more than any other,
represents Rabelais's parody of the epic warrior.

Following the attack on the abbey, Grandgousier
accepts the possibility that his kingdom may have to go
to war: "maintenant de harnoys Je charge mes pauvres
espaules lasses et foibles, et en ma main tremblante Je
preigne la lance et la masse pour secourir et guarantir
mes pauvres subJectz" (I,xxviii,ll4). Grandgousier
appears ready to don armor and to protect his people with
traditional medieval weapons, the lanes and mace.
However, he departs from the ancestral tradition because
of his expressed intent to endeavor to achieve peace
before going to war, a non-medieval attitude: "Je
n'entreprendray guerre que Je n'aye essayé tous les
ars et moyens de paix: la Je me resouls" (I,xxviii,ll4).
Ultimately, however, he must undertake a defensive war.

The burlesque depiction of the enemy monarch
Picrochole and his commanders is elaborately detailed

in Chapter 33. The tyrant, overreacting to the quarrel

77

between the bakers and shepherds, is now ready to conquer
not only Grandgousier's territories but the entire
world, and his advisors encourage this irrationality:

Ils sont dans les mains de Rabelais les

instruments indispensables pour montrer

l'inanité de Picrochole. Cette ironie

n'est possible que dans le monde rabe-

laisien : celui qui allait si facilement

conquérir l'univers ne peut, dans l'univers

de Rabelais, conquérir quelques pouces de

terrain. Toutes ces conquétes de réve sont

rassemblées dans un petit chapitre :

puisqu'elles sont pour les ambitieux une

bagatelle, Rabelais en montre 1e ridicule en

enfermant dans un espace limité des actions

pour lesquelles il faudrait des centaines

d'années a des centaines de tyrans.1

One aSpect of Picrochole's expansionist tyranny
deals with a popular epic theme, the crusade against the
infidel. Picrochole becomes the protector of Christianity
as he asks for the death of the pagans: "Ne tuerons
nous pas tous ces chiens turcs et Mahumetistes?"
(I,xxxiii,129). Baptism of the vanquished, the ultimate
submission of the Saracen to the crusader, will hopefully
follow their defeat: the counsellors proclaim to
Picrochole that "Barberousse...se rend vostre esclave.
..—-Je (dist Picrochole) le prendray a mercy. --Voyre
(dirent ilz). pourveu qu'il se face baptiser" (I,xxxiii,
126). According to tradition, "un preux ne fait Jamais

quartier a un Sarrazin sans exiger de lui la promesse

 

13Glauser, p. 218.

78
qu'il se fera baptiser."1u Picrochole identifies him-
self with a gallant Christian knight expecting the
surrender of the ignoble heathen.

Following this build-up of Picrochole as a world
conqueror, his men are again defeated. Gymnaste, like
Frére Jean, single-handedly faces the enemy (Chapters
34 and 35). Earlier, Gymnaste had taught the art of
chivalry to Gargantua "car telles choses servent a
discipline militaire" (I,xxiii,92), and Gymnaste now
becomes a warrior, displaying these talents. Rabelais
deflates the giant whose role in the war is lessened
as two heroes, Jean and Gymnaste, emerge before Gargantua
even reaches the battlefield.

Gymnaste allows Picrochole's men to believe that
he is a demon when they hear the conversation between
Tripet and him in which Gymnaste refers to himself as a
"poor devil." The enemy cross themselves with both hands,
a gesture recalling the previous incident which lost
them God's favor. Gymnaste then performs stunts on his
horse and reinforces the erroneous belief of Picrochole's
superstitious men, who flee frightened by Gymnaste's
acrobatics. Horsemanship becomes an elaborate event
with mystic overtones, and the equestrian eXpertise
of the epics functions as a ruse. Gymnaste's satanic

masquerade may be an exaggeration of chivalric feats

 

1:
Lefranc, Oeuvres, II, p. 293, n. 22.

79
and/or a reference to anti-Christ figures or demonic
creatures from the chanson gg geste. Usually, evil
beings are destroyed, as, for example, in Godefroy g2
Bouillon where an anti-Christ knight is killed,
and a serpent symbolizing the devil is defeated. In
Gargantua, on the other hand, the "demon" is victorious,
and Rabelais's knight, among God's favored, uses Satan
to win a battle.

Toward the end of the episode, Gymnaste attacks the
frightened enemy as they attempt to flee. Trickery
yields to physical strength as Gymnaste displays his
prowess. Rabelais implies Gymnaste's indestructibility
by protecting him with armor so excellent that he does
not feel the blows:

[I]l estoit bien armé et de cestuy coup ne

sentit que le chargement, et, soubdain se

tournant, lancea un estoc volant audict Tripet,

et, ce pendent que icelluy se couvroit en hault,
luy tailla d'un coup l'estomac, 1e colon et la
moytié du foye, dont tomba par terre, et,

tombant, rendit plus de quatre potées de souppes,

et l'ame meslée parmy les souppes (I,xxxv,136).
His use of traditional weaponry and armor in a detailed
description in which the ultimate gore of battle is com-
pared to soup brings him directly into the realm of epic
parody. Gymnaste's burlesque role is reaffirmed through
his relationship to Tripet:

Tripet, qui veut "en trahison" "fendre la

cervelle“ a Gymnaste p. 136], ne se rend

pas compte que, dans .‘épopée bouffonne, 11

ne peut y avoir de proportion entre 1'offense
et la punition : pour une cervelle que Tripet

80

voulait fendre, 11 se verra tailler d'un
coup l'estomac, l'intestin cOlon, et la moitié
du foie : son nom 1e destinait d'ailleurs a
cette fin, car Rabelais n'a pas pu s'empécher
de créer une scene pour pouvoir se permettre
1e Jeu de mots "lors que Tripet fut estripé"
[p. 160]. Ce n'est pas tout : quand il est
tombé mort, pour que la Justice soit assez
cruellement rendue, Rabelais montre 1'Ame de
Tripet si peu digne du salut éternel, selon
1e point de vue de l'auteur qui tient les
ranes comiques de la creation, qu'elle est
melee aux "quatre potées de souppes" qu'il
rendit.15

Rabelais appears to be preparing Gargantua for
feats of prowess when he provides the giant with a
special weapon to be used against cannon fire--a
staff (Chapter 36):

Adoncques monta Gargantua sus sa grande Jument,

accompaigné comme devant avons dict, et,

trouvant on son chemin un hault et grand

arbre (lequel communement on nommoit 1'Arbre

de sainct Martin, pource qu'ainsi estoit creu

un bourdon que Jadis sainct Martin y plancta),

dist : "Vbicy ce qu'il me failloit : cest

arbre me servira de bourdon et de lance." Et

l'arrachit facilement de terre, et en ousta les
rameaux, et le para pour son plaisir (I,xxxvi,

137).
Rabelais parodies the bourdon with a slight inversion:
Gargantua proclaims that the tree will serve not only
as a pilgrim's staff, but as a lance as well. Although
conventionally the staff becomes an impromptu weapon,
Gargantua determines at the outset the dual purpose of

this implement. Rabelais chooses a St. Martin's tree,

thereby increasing the holy associative value of the

 

15Glauser, p. 213.

81

staff: according to legend, while St. Martin was
sleeping, his companion, Brice, put their bourdons in
the ground and they immediately sprouted limbs.16

However, Gargantua subsequently "defeats" the
enemy without arms. His mare urinates forming a stream
twenty-one miles wide drowning the enemy in its path.
Gargantua seemingly acquires his lance only to ignore
it, and Rabelais again postpones Gargantua's battlefield
glory. The author deflates him by according the giant's
horse a maJor role in conquering Picrochole's men:

11 [Rabelais] aurait pu nous présenter Gargantua

comme un étre instruit et civilisé, et le faire

agir conformément a cette culture récemment

acquise : au contraire, il renverse ce qu'il

avait construit : 1'entrée de Gargantua aurait

pu etre héroique et épique : Rabelais 1e montre

sur sa grande Jument, qui, elle, contribue par

le moyen le plus grossier au succés de l'action

guerriére en méme temps que de l'action bouffonne,

1e deluge dans lequel "toute ceste bande des 17

ennemys furent en grand horreur noyéz" [p. 137].

When Gargantua reaches the woods of vede, Eudemon
tells him that several of the enemy are still inside the
castle. As in the chansons gg geste, Rabelais's hero
must also demonstrate his ability to besiege a fortress.
Gargantua attempts to verify the information offered by
his companion, but the giant appears comically confused:

"Estez vous 18, cu n'y estez pas? Si vous y estez, n'y

 

16Lefranc, Oeuvres, II, pp. 312-13. n. 60

1
7Glauser, p. 213.

82
soyez plus: $1 n'y estez, Je n'ay que dire" (I,xxxvi,l38).
The enemy answers him with "neuf mille vingt et cinq
coups de faulconneaux et arquebouzes" (I,xxxvi,l38).
Gargantua believes that the cannon balls are grape seeds,
and they underline his invincibility, characteristic of
epic heroes. As if a prelude to gigantic feats, the
innocuous shower of cannon balls is answered by Gargantua's
leveling of the castle with his powerful staff.

Frére Jean Joins Gargantua and his three friends,
and an epic group of five is constituted. These loyal
companions are responsible for the maJor victories in
the war against Picrochole's army of thousands. They
prepare to set forth together, and Rabelais presents
a pre-battle description of medieval knights (Chapter 41):

[C]hascun commenca soy armer et accoustrer,

et armerent 1e moyne contre son vouloir, car

11 ne vouloit aultres armes que son froc

davant son estomach et le baston de la croix

en son poing. Toutesfoys, a leur plaisir feut

armé de pied en cap et monté sus un bon coursier

du royaulme, et un gros braquemart au cousté,
ensemble Gargantua, Ponocrates, Gymnaste,

Eudemon et vingt et cinq des plus adventureux

de la maison de Grandgousier, tous armez s

l'advantaige, 1a lance au poing. montez

comme sainct George, chascun ayant un harque-

bouzier en crope (I,xli,l56-157).

At this point, Jean resembles a finely armored chevalier
mounted on an excellent charger. But the armor and
sword which his companions have forced upon him appear
out of keeping with his character since Jean wants no

other weapon than his staff and no further protection

83
for his stomach than his frock, a reference to his
grourmand nature. In accordance with his wishes, Jean
later rejects knightly accoutrement and returns to
his former arms and armor--his staff of the cross and
his habit. By comparing these men to St. George, the
patron of warriors, Rabelais's image of his fearless
chevaliers is iconographic.

The next episode resumes the mood suggested by
the reference to St. George, when Rabelais refers to his
heroes as "nobles champions" (Chapter 42):

Or s'en vont les nobles champions a leur

adventure, bien deliberez d'entendre quelle

rencontre fauldra poursuyvre et de quoy se
fauldra contregarder, quand viendra 1a

Journée de la grande et horrible bataille

(I:X111:157).

In is. tons of epic foreboding the last clause of the
above citation prepares us for a glorious battle:
"grand" and "horrible" are commonly used in the chanson
9g geste to describe warfare. However, the apparent
profundity is soon destroyed when Rabelais introduces
the blasphemous monk urging his men on to the battle-
field. He assures them that they have no reason to
fear the enemy:

Enfans, n'ayez ny paour ny doubte, Je vous

conduiray seurement. Dieu et sainct Benoit

soient avecques nous! Si J'avoys 1a force

de mesmes 1e couraige, par la mort bieu! Je

vous les plumeroys comme un canart! Je ne

crains rien fors l'artillerie. Toutesfoys,

Je scay quelque oraison que m'a baillé 1e
soubsecretain de nostre abbaye, laquelle

84

guarentist la personne de toutes bouches a

feu: mais elle me me profitera de rien, car

Je n'y adJouste poinct de foy. Toutesfoys,

mon baston de croix fera diables. Par Dieu,

qui fera la cane, de vous aultres, Je me

donne au diable si Je me la fays moyne en mon

lieu et l'enchevestre de mon froc : 11 ports

medicine a couhardise de gens (I,xlii,157-158).
Jean's speech may function as a parody of the epic
absolution scene before battle. Traditionally, the
priest confesses his men, and offers up prayers for
their salvation: Turpin frequently plays this role in
various epics. In this vein, the monk promises his
men that he will guide them safely, and he asks for
God's aid. But he reJects as useless the prayer which
he learned at the abbey: instead, he will put his
faith in frock and staff. This same attitude is
present at his defense of the Abbey of Seuilly: the
other monks believe that Latin chants will protect
them, while Jean, the active warrior, takes up his
bourdon to defend the vineyard. Physical, not verbal,
force will protect him.

In Rabelais's parodic treatment of arms and
armor, Jean is the only one depicted in a detailed
incident involving them: Jean proves himself unsuited
to sophisticated accoutrement. While delivering his
rousing address, our rhetorician catches his visor on
a tree, and is left hanging there as his horse rushes

out from under him. In another striking graphic

image, Rabelais describes Jean swinging from the branch

85
and crying murder and treason. Gymnaste rescues him
by unhooking the visor and allowing Jean to fall uncere-
moniously to the ground. The monk throws his armor
piece by piece into a field, and finally returns to
his habit.

When they reach the battlefield, Gargantua as well
prefers his bourdon to a sword: he levels the enemy with
his fantastic tree (Chapter 44). Furthermore, we are
given more evidence concerning the special nature of
Jean's simple weapon. During this encounter with
Picrochole's men, the monk's sword breaks: "Tant en
tua et mist par terre que son braquemart rompit en
deux pieces (I,xliv,l66). The more conventional
implement is less substantial than Jean's staff of
the cross which survives the defeat of thousands.

Interspersed among the battles are various epic
3222;: feasts, pilgrimages, bestowal of gifts, miracle.
ApprOpriately, the war is concluded with a monument to
the "grosses guerres."

Following several maJor battles--Jean's defense of
the abbey, Gymnaste's slaughter of Tripet and his com-
panions, Gargantua's destruction of the fortress with
his staff--the warriors pause for food and drink in
the epic tradition, to celebrate their victories.
Grandgousier welcomes his men to the castle and rewards

them with a great banquet (Chapter 37). The narrator

86
speaks directly to his audience as he attempts to relate
the superlative quality of the festivities: "Jamais on
no veit gens plus Joyeux car Supplementum Supplementi
Chronicorum dict que Gargamelle y mourut de Joye. Je
n'en spay rien de ma part, et bien peu me soucie ny
d'elle ny d'aultre" (I,xxxvii,l40). This passage repre-
sents epic parody in several respects. First, Rabelais's
technique of entering his work to communicate with his
public may be associated with the epic tradition.18
Secondly, Rabelais's claim to the veracity of his
chronicle is another device of the chanson gg,ggg£g.19
However, he uses a fictitious source to attest to truth-
fulness in imitation of the medieval author who cites
real or imaginary works to support his assertion.20
Thirdly, he parodies the "swooning" motif: in this case,
the celebration itself appears to have prompted
Gargamelle's demise.

Traditional abundance is emphasized by the long
list of animals to be roasted and duration is stressed
as well: the first mention of eating is made in Chapter
37 and it is not until Chapter 41 that Rabelais announces
the end of the feast. He thereby exaggerates the
importance of this gathering, and he shifts the heroes'

 

18

lgIbid.

Lote, p. 113.

O
Lefranc, Oeuvres, II, p. 317, n.4.

87
attention from what should be their main concern, war-
fare, to their stomachs.

At a ceremonial moment, Grandgousier eulogizes
Frére Jean and "1e loua au dessus des prouesses de
Camille, Scipion, Pompée, Cesar et Themistocles"
(I,xxxix,l46). Within the text that follows, Rabelais
contrasts Jean and his warring predecessors when the
author describes with a strong graphic image the monk's
triumphal entry: the brave defender of Church prOperty,
staff in hand, is mounted on a mule. The comic force
of each incident--the speech and Jean's arrival-~18
intensified through Rabelais's Juxtaposition of the two
views: the monk envisioned as a Caesar and the amusing
portrait of Jean on a simple pack animal.

When the warriors return from another bout with
the enemy, Grandgousier again orders that food and
drink be served, but the usually gourmand Gargantua is
too upset to eat because Jean has been taken prisoner
(Chapter 45). However, soon the monk returns calling
out for fresh wine, appropriately his first words, since
his desire for liquid sustenance will break Gargantua's
fast as well. The end of the war is feted in an unpre-
cedented manner with "un festin, le plus magnificque,
le plus abundant at plus delitieux que feust veu depuis
le temps du roy Assuere" (1,11,187). The superlative

adJectives convey the unique nature of this final

88
celebration, and Rabelais has no further need to
provide lists of foods or emphasis on duration to relate
that this is a superb feast.

Epics commonly tell of pilgrims en route to or
returning from shrines in EurOpe or the Holy Land: in
their respective cycles, Renaud, Maugis, Charlemagne,
and Ogier 1e Danois take up the bourdon: knights in
Godefroy gg Bouillon encounter devout travelers on
pilgrimages: Chronique gg Tugpin refers to such persons
traveling to Spain to venerate St. Jacques de Compostelle:
Renaud and Maugis in ng guatre fglg giggg don pilgrim's
garb, travel to the Holy Land, and take up arms against
the infidel, with Maugis using his staff as a sword.

In Gargantua, Rabelais includes two groups of
pilgrims. The first are ultimately included in a
grotesque treatment of giganticism, while the others
serve as a pretense for Rabelais to expound on religious
criticism and to condemn pilgrimages. However, both
groups are related directly to the war narrative in a
similar manner: six pilgrims returning from worship
at St. Sebastien hide in the cabbage which Gargantua
subsequently eats, but they do not cry out for fear of
being mistaken for spies (Chapter 38): the espionage
theme is resumed when five pilgrims on their way to Saint
Sebastien are bound, blindfolded, and taken away

"comme s'ilz feussent espies" (I,xliii,16l) by

89
Picrochole's men:21 the five are then rescued by
Frére Jean, also a prisoner, when he escapes (Chapter
45).

Spies are commonplace in the epics. In fact,
pilgrims sometimes functioned as such against the
Saracens during the crusades.22 However, in the chanson
gg este, pilgrims are normally treated as devout, holy
figures. Rabelais deflates these personages by according
them a role as suspected subversive elements.

Chapter 36 ends with a miracle, although it is
not on the scale of Maugis' healing of his four cousins,
Epistemon's resurrection, or Forgier's grape ointment.
When Gargantua's companions cross the stream of bodies
in the urine deluge, Eudemon's horse sinks its leg
knee-deep "dedans la pance d'un gros et gras vilain"
and is cured of a ring-bone "par l'atouchement des
boyaux de ce gros marroufle" (I,xxxvi,139). Rabelais's
treatment of miracles has degenerated by this point.

A horse rather than a war hero is the beneficiary, and
the remedy is the rotting remains of one of Picrochole's
men rather than a mysterious balm.

The bestowal of gifts is an epic motif. In
Chronigue gg Tugpin when Ganelon is sent as an ambassa-
dor to Baligant to ask for the Moslem's baptism,

 

21
Jourda, p. 161, n. l.

22Jusserand, p. 413.

9O
Charlemagne sends gifts to the pagan: thirty horses
laden with gold and silver, and other riches from Spain:
forty horses carrying sweet wine: one thousand beauti-
ful Saracen women. Ogier's two friends, Benoit and
Gelin, are rewarded for their aid to the Queen of Pavia
in Qgggp,lg Danois when the queen gives them two statues
of horses in gold and silver, and the king offers a
superb mount and Jewels.

In this tradition, Grandgousier presents
Toucquedillon with a fine gold sword decorated with
beautiful scrolls, an enormous sum of money, and "un
collier d'or pesant sept cens deux mille marcz, garny
de fines pierreries a l'estimation de cent soixante
mille ducatz"(1,xlvi,l73). But the collar is so heavy
that Toucquedillon cannot wear it: "Rabelais, ici,
oublie que Toucquedillon n'est pas un géant."23

The Spoils are shared among the victors (Chapter
52), and a monument to the war is planned (Chapter 53).
Théléme, an idealized monastery, is to be Frére Jean's
compensation for his service to the king, in imitation
of the feudal custom of awarding fiefs to heroes.
Rabelais's choice of structure may have been influenced

by the medieval works which he knew: Charlemagne in

Chronigue g9 Turpin commemorates his conquests by

 

23Jourda, p. 173, n. 1

91
building abbeys and churches: in Mélusine, Geoffroy
a la grant dent rebuilds the abbey which he burned down
and he endows it heavily so that the monks may live
devoutly and so that prayers may be offered up for his
mother and father, and all their heirs: Geoffroy g|lg
gpgpppggpp retells the story concerning Geoffroy and
the monastery: Robert lg Diable recounts the construction
of an abbey to honor the deceased Robert. Whether such
literature provides Rabelais's point of departure or
not, the monastery is the institution par excellence of
the Middle Ages, and as such Théléme is a parallel to
his work: a medieval form with Renaissance "marrow."

24 and thus

Thélbme represents the author's social ideal
departs from its models in the gest romances and romances
of adventure.

In summary, all of the techniques of epic parody
listed earlier are present in Gapgantua: exaggeration
or hyperbole: deflation of the nominal hero and correspond-
ing aggrandizement of a secondary figure: reliance on
specific epic ppppg which are then parodied: epic
formulae: oral narrative devices, caricature of the heroes.
Rabelais's second effort to mock the treatment of war

in the chansons gg geste is accomplished through the use
of his full repertoire of parodic techniques.

 

24
Stapfer, p. 252.

CHAPTER IV

EPIC TOPOI: COMPARISONS AND CONTRASTS
BETWEEN GARGANTUA AND PANTAGRUEL

In Gargantua and Pantagruel, Rabelais employs
literary techniques associated with the epic: "Protesta-
tion que 1'histoire racontée est vraie, bien plus vraie
que tout ce qu'on a écrit Jusqu'alors, appel constant
au témoignage, interpellations directes aux lecteurs."1
Numerical exaggeration with reference to the size of
armies is used in order to stress the formidable odds
which Rabelais's heroes face, and imitations of epic
sublimity through the use of such terms as "chevaliers"
or "déconfire" recall the genre which Rabelais burlesques.
These devices occur in both works. Along with the pre-
ceding narrative techniques, the commonplace elements
of the epic war passages recreate the enfironment of
the chansons gg_gggpg: councils, planning of strategy,
concern about the size and number of the enemy, massacres
where great numbers of the enemy perish, single combats.2

As in the medieval literature which served as Rabelais's

 

1Lote, p. 113.
2

Ibid., p. 114.
92

mode'
land
grou
meet
dies
part
the:
the

Jea

em

on.

he
tt
ff

It?"

93

model, the herds loyal friends help him defend the home-
land: in both books, five warriors constitute the epic
group, and their invincibility is emphasized as they
meet thousands of adversaries and none of the companions
dies. As Rabelais proceeds from Pantagrgg; to Gargantua,
particular epic pgpp;_are dealt with differently, and
these transformations will be noted with reference to
the following: the deflation of the central hero: Frére
Jean as a reworking of Panurge: Gymnaste and Panurge as
masters of ruse and necromancers: divine intervention:
miracles: special weaponry: tactics of warfare: the
crusade against the infidel: the banquet: the monument.

The extended war narrative in Gargantua allows the
emergence of two auxiliary heroes while there is only
one in Pantagruel. Rabelais restrains the activities
of Gargantua and Pantagruel at the outset of hostilities
in their fatherland and others display heroics: in
Panta ruel, Panurge becomes a military strategist as he
defeats over six hundred Dipsodes with ropes: Frére
Jean in Gargantua challenges artillery with his staff
and kills over thirteen thousand single-handedly, and,
next, Gymnaste meets Picrochole's forces. By postponing
the entry of Gargantua and Pantagruel onto the battle-
field, Rabelais burlesques the knights of the chansons
gg,gggpg_who traditionally rush into the melee. However,

the delay is longer in Gargantua than in Pants ruel,

94

and thus Gargantua is increasingly deflated the longer
he remains waiting in the wings as two warriors emerge
to precede the giant in the performance of feats of
prowess. Furthermore, Panurge's and Jean's single-
handed victories at the beginning of the war narrative
have the effect of reducing the importance of the giant
who should be slaying equal or greater numbers at that
moment in the chronicle bearing his name. In this
respect, Gargantua is more overshadowed by the monk than
Pantagruel is by Panurge since Jean kills twenty times
more foes than Panurge. Rabelais recognizes the comic
potential of this hyperbole in Pantagruel and he rein-
forces the parody in Gargantua by increasing the number
of those who fall at the hands of his mighty warrior.

With respect to their roles as parodies of the
epic warrior, Frére Jean is patterned after Panurge
and they make excellent lieutenants for two giants.3
Jean, like Panurge, is responsible for the first
victory and they both continue to be of primary importance
to the war effort as they advise the giant, control the
action at certain points, plan strategy, promise their
men that no harm will befall them, are honored for
their participation in the hostilities: "on peut dire

que le Panurge de Pantagruel a été 1'épure du portrait

 

3Armitage, p. 950.

95
de Frére Jean."u Panurge's significance during the
Dipsode conflict is outlined by Jean Plattard:

Elle [Panurge's ruse] est l'auxiliaire de

la force du géant dans la campagne contre

les Dipsodes. La, Panurge a un r81e
absolument utile et bienfaisant. I1 est
courageux et, comme les autres "apostoles"

de Pantagruel, "délibéré de vivre et mourir"
avec son maitre. Il réconforte ses compagnons,
leur donne confiance par l'augure d'un baton
brisé sur deux verres restant intacts. I1
réussit, a lui seul, a déconfir "bien
subtilement" six cent soixante chevaliers
ennemis, grAce a un stratageme et par une autre
ruse, il fait inonder 1e camp du roi des
Dipsodes par 1e géant. Pantagruel a une telle
admiration pour sa subtilité qu'il n'hésite
pas a déclarer dans une inscription en vers
qu'Engin [astuce] vaut mieux que Force et
lorsque dans son duel avec Loupgarou, 11 se
trouve soudain désarmé, son met ayant touché
la massue enchanté du géant, il appelle

Panurge a son secours (brackets Plattard's).
Ainsi dans cette guerre de Dipsodie, 1a

ruse de Panurge seconde utilement 1a force du
géant et Panurge est présenté a notre admiration
comme un inventeur de stratagemes militaires.5

Rabelais's point of departure for Jean is the side-
kick lieutenant, the military strategist, the staunch
protector of the homeland—-parts played first by
Panurge. In Panurge, Rabelais chooses to portray a
master of cunning, a burlesque of epic heroes noted for
ruse, personages whose numbers are few. Panurge comes
to symbolize the power which comes from intelligence,

6

rather than from muscles. "Panurge, dans le Pantagruel,

 

“Glauser, p. 138.
5219.. pp. 106-107.

6
Glauser, p. 137.

96
vit surtout par les tours multiples qu'il Joue. Dans
Gapgantua, Frere Jan dépasse Panurge par sa vitalité
et l'efficacité de ses actes."7 Jean is easily recog-
nized as a parody of the traditional depiction of the
active epic warrior who rushes fearlessly into the
melee, faces formidable odds, and kills great numbers
of the enemy with his trusty weapon through physical
feats of prowess. Rabelais explicitly reinforces this
relationship by citing a specific predecessor for Jean,
Maugis of Egg guatre pglgDAngg who likewise wears a
habit, pilgrim's garb, into battle and fights with a
bourdon to slay many adversaries in possession of more
sophisticated arms. Thus Rabelais deals with Frere
Jean in incidents involving special weaponry, battle-
field confrontations, man-to-man combats, the siege of
a castle--elements absent from the portrayal of the
trickster Panurge whose pranks to defeat the enemy
involve_ no such tactics. Like Panurge, Jean controls
the action in several episodes where he protects the
abbey, kills Captain Tyravant along with many members
of the Opposing army, is taken prisoner and escapes his
captors, takes a hostage, storms the walls of a fortress
and forces those within to submit to his staff. Jean

is more often responsible for victories than Panurge,

 

71bid., P- 177.

97
whose triumphs amount to two ruses: the enclosure of
the Dipsodes in rcpes and the drugs given to Pantagruel
which cause the urine deluge. Possibly, Rabelais dis-
covered that the Open warfare of Gargantua provided a
greater variety of experiences for his hero and decided
to desert ruse as the predominant means of warfare.
Rabelais also gives Frére Jean special clothing and a
particular weapon which become indiSpensable to his
characterization as a warrior: the monk's habit and
the staff of the cross. No comparable accoutrement
enhances Panurge's war efforts. In contrast with Panurge,
Jean is neither a magician nor a master of ruse, and
Rabelais assigns these roles to Gymnaste. Panurge and
Jean are honored in some manner for their deeds: in
the dedicatory inscription on the monument in Pantagruel,
Pantagruel praises Panurge's "engin:" Jean, on the
other hand, is lauded more elaborately when Grandgousier
eulogizes him in a formal banquet speech where he com-
pares the monk to Caesar and other great leaders, and
finally, Théleme, the majestic war monument, is to
be Jean's reward for his service. Both leaders similarly
promise that no harm will befall the epic group. In
keeping with Panurge's role as a magician, his statement
pertaining to the survival of his men is surrounded by
a prophetic aura created by the trick he performs while

breaking the staff over the glasses and declaring that

98

Just as the glasses remain intact, so too will the five
heroes. Jean's manner of offering his men preservation
throughout the hostilities is in accordance with his
function as a man of the Church, and in a scene reminiscent
of the epic absolution sequence, Jean speaks in terms of
God's protection, which was of no interest to Panurge
who, as a necromancer, fulfilled his augury with magic.

”Gymnaste, in his trickery, also plays the Panurge
role."8 Both resort to subterfuge to gain victories:
however, Panurge, in contrast with Gymnaste, uses ruse
as an end rather than a means. Gymnaste scares
Picrochole's men with his demonic display of equestrian
expertise, and trickery gives way to physical force as
he kills the adversary with his sword as they flee in
fear of Gymnaste. There is no similarity between the
modes of ruse used by the two, but these characters share
a common bond with respect to Rabelais's creative process
in that he chooses to depict persons noted for cunning
in both works. Whereas Panurge is delineated as a
trickster from the moment he enters the narrative of
Pantagpgel, Gymnaste's portrayal as such is limited to
one battle: and this comparison leads us to the conclusion
that Rabelais's interest in a war engineered by ruse

lessened as he proceeded from Pantagruel to Gapgantua.

 

8
Armitage, p. 950.

99

Panurge and Gymnaste represent warrior-magicians
as well. Panurge is the traditional necromancer as he
cracks his staff across the glasses and comments that
he knows many other tricks, pr0phesies that none in the
group will perish, heals the decapitated Epistemon and
thereby fulfills his prediction. The two chapters (27
and 30) containing Panurge's supernatural traits are
closely linked in that the earlier one contains a presage
which is realized in the later: this foreshadowing is
one of the narrative threads of Pantagruel. Rabelais
makes a concerted attempt to imitate the epic with
reference to the presence of an enchanter, and he
parodies a particular miracle from Egg guatre pglg,gzggp,
making Panurge a mock Maugis through resurrection of
his companion: thus Panurge's relationship to the magi-
cal realm of the chansons gg,gggpg is firmly reinforced.
In Gargantua, Rabelais produces a version of the super-
human for which there is no Specific epic predecessor.
Gymnaste calls himself a "poor devil," performs
gymnastics on his horse, and Picrochole's men interpret
this as a manifestation of occult talents. From the
enemies' point of view, he is viewed as a necromancer
dealing in satanic tricks since enchanters are conven-
tionally demonic figures associated with black magic.
In Pantagpgel, Rabelais recreates the fabulous world of

the chansons gg_geste through the inclusion of an authentic

I a.)

100

magician whose identity as such is established and then
reaffirmed at a later point. In contrast, Gymnaste is
a bogus enchanter whose demonic qualities are not innate
but rather assumed. This depiction is limited to
Chapters 34 and 35 and is not treated again: therefore
Gymnaste's supernatural aspects are of incidental
interest to Rabelais whose concern with the magician
figure in Gargantua has decreased.

Rabelais emulates the marvelous environment of
the epics through his treatment of divine intervention.
Heaven protects Rabelais's warriors from harm. Toward
the end of the war narrative in PantagrugE, Pantagruel
offers a prayer to God and Rabelais explicitly states
that God helps "1e bon Pantagruel" to defeat Loup
Garou. This is the only point during the conflict where
God's aid is specifically mentioned. In this vein,
the onset of the Picrocholine war is marked by an implied
statement concerning God's favor to Grandgousier's side:
Picrochole's cake-bakers are fated to lose to the shep-
herds in the squabble which causes the war because the
former crossed themselves with the wrong hand that
morning and therefore we may infer that God will choose
to reward Grandgousier's pe0ple with victory. In con-
trast with Pantagruel and the direct entrance of God
into the battle, no such overt act takes place in

Gargantua. Instead, God's omnipresence is implied:

101
in Chapter 26 as Picrochole pillages Grandgousier's
realm, Rabelais states that the perpetrators will surely
be punished and subsequent episodes emphasize the unJust
demeanor of Picrochole and his people as Opposed to the
Christian Grandgousier and his subJects who symbolize
the virtue of their monarch.

Rabelais mocks the supernatural world of the
chansons gg‘gggpg when he deals with incidents involving
miraculous healing. In Pantagruel, Epistemon is beheaded,
and during a resuscitation analogous to the one performed
by Maugis in Egg_guatre Eglg.gyggp, Panurge washes
Epistemon's severed flesh with wine, Joins the head to
the body, and applies a special ointment to the inJured
area. Finally, he has Epistemon drink wine and the
latter is "guery habillement" (II,xxx,367). In Gargantua,
Forgier's legs are slashed with a whip during the quarrel
over the cakes and his companions apply grapes to his
cuts: "avec gros raisins chemins estuverent les Jambes
de Forgier mignonnement, si bien qu'il feut tantost
guery" (I,xxv,103). There is a possible parallel
between the two occurrences with reference to the cura-
tive powers of wine and ointment, and the manner in
which they are put on the wounds. In the Forgier
episode, Rabelais seemingly combines Panurge's and
Maugis's wine and ointment in one symbol, the grapes:

the wine and grapes have an obvious organic relationship

102
and when the grapes are placed on Forgier's legs, the
fruit must necessarily become soft, like ungent, in
order to adhere to the skin: furthermore, the bathing
of Forgier's cuts is similar to the weaning done by
Maugis and Panurge, and the same participle "guery" is
used in Egg guatre illé gzggp and in Rabelais.9 Later
in Gapgantua, a horse with ring-bone is "guery" as it
sinks its leg into the rotting body of one of Picrochole's
drowned men. Again the application of moist soft matter--
like ungent or grapes-~restores health to the afflicted.
With respect to the first two miracles from Rabelais,
the wine and ointment are reminiscent of Egg guatre gglg
giggg and bring with them the magical quality of Special
agents found in the chansons gg gggpg: however, the final
curative, a decaying corpse, is totally grotesque. In
Pantagruel, the revival is dealt with at length, and
Rabelais makes a concerted attempt to parody a Specific
episode from an epic so that Epistemon's resurrection
is "overladen with fantasy and buffoonery."10 Panurge
mends a fatal inJury and thus displays his outstanding
talents as a necromancer. In Gargantua, each miracle

is treated in one sentence and the wounds are minor,

 

9Febvre in Eg Problems gg 1'incroyance, pp. 234-35,
comments on the similar usage of the verb "guérir" in
Rabelais and Les guatre fils Aygon.

0
Coleman, p. 93.

103
hardly on the level of a decapitation. Rabelais's
restrained interest in these events in Gargantua plays
down their fabulous nature. Healing in both cases is
attributable to the substance touching the wound, and,
therefore, the fantastic necromancy of the epics is
deemphasized through the removal of the magician figure.
Furthermore, in Pantagruel, one of the maJor heroes is
brought back to life, whereas in Gargantua, a shepherd
and finally a horse are the beneficiaries of miracles.
Thus Rabelais gradually vulgarizes the incidents by
lessening the importance of the recipient.

In Rabelais, Special weaponry sometimes recalls
the mysterious epic realm, although this is not the
sole purpose of such implements. In Pantagruel, Loup
Garou has an enormous enchanted club, presumably a
merveilleux pgggg because of the orientation of Loup
Garou who calls to Mohammed, and thus would not be aided
by a merveilleux chrétien. Pantagruel takes the mast
of his ship, which in contrast, has no spell on it and
breaks during battle because of the magical powers of
the other's implement. Rabelais refers to the meet as
a bourdon and thereby conJures up the epic history of
the pilgrim's staff employed by heroes such as Maugis
or Pierre L'Ermite to slay the evil pagans. In this
vein, Loup Garou cries out for the aid of Mohammed and

the Cross vs. Crescent struggle is evoked rendering it

104
quite appropriate for the Christian warrior to fight
with Just such a weapon. The Loup Garou encounter
involves only one chapter and the massive arms are
casual insertions to add to the fantasy of the confron-
tation between two giants: neither weapon is responsible
for defeat. In Gargantua, Rabelais resumes the bourdon
motif with reference to Frere Jean's staff of the cross,
and although the Christian vs. infidel motivation is
absent from the monk's battles, the staff is again
associated with the Church since Jean uses it to defend
Church prOperty, the abbey and its vineyard. Furthermore,
Rabelais cites a parallel between Jean and Maugis of
Egg guatre gglg gyggp who as a pilgrim uses a bourdon
to slay great numbers of heathens, and the religious aura
of the staff is reaffirmed through this comparison.
Jean defeats over thirteen thousand in his initial
confrontation with Picrochole's men and he continues to
kill powerfully with his staff during the remainder of
the war in contrast with the impotent weapons of
Pantagruel. Within Gargantua itself, Rabelais reworks
the bourdon motif with respect to Gargantua who possesSes
a means of defense similar to that of Jean and Pantagruel:
Gargantua uproots a St. Martin's tree and strips it of
its branches so that it may serve as a bourdon and a

lance, in that order, again evoking the tradition of the

pilgrim's staff and adding another religious implication

105

in so far as Rabelais chooses that particular tree with
its accompanying holy legend.11 With the mighty blows
of his tree, the giant levels a castle and in a later
episode downs Picrochole's men on the battlefield, Just
as Jean flattens the adversary as he whacks right and
left with his staff. In Pantagruel, enchantment is
bestowed upon the foe's club so that Pantagruel, with
the aid of divine intervention, may prove himself
superior to the pagan Spell. Rabelais depicts merveilleux
chrétiens in Gargantua with reference to weaponry: the
tools of Frere Jean and Gargantua are divinely enchanted,
and with simple weapons the Christian warriors are able
to defeat the evil enemy who have SOphisticated artillery.
Finally, the inspirational influence of Pantagruel's
staff on Gargantua's and the monk's must be noted:
all use a bourdon which functions as a lance, viewed
in different forms--a mast, a St. Martin's tree, a staff
of the cross: but all are long round wooden poles, and
Gargantua's and Pantagruel's are similarly immense in
keeping with their gigantic proportions.

It is not until the Loup Garou episode that
Rabelais portrays combat reminiscent of the chansons gg
gggpg. Until that moment, Rabelais has depicted a war

controlled by ruse. It seems that with this encounter,

 

11Recounted in Chapter 3, p. 81

106
Rabelais recognizes the burlesque potential of special
weaponry and battlefield warfare. As the two giants
fight, Rabelais mocks the detailed blow-by-blow epic
descriptions through the inclusion of physiological
data making this scene even more precise than those

found in the chansons gg geste.12

In Gargantua, this
technique becomes commonplace, and during the maJor
battles, Rabelais uses medically accurate notations
Similar to those found in Pantagrpgl: the quarrel
between the shepherds and cake-bakers (Chapter 25):
Jean's defense of the abbey (Chapter 27): Gymnaste's
slaughter of Tripet (Chapter 35): Jean's defeat of
Tyravant (Chapter 43): Jean's escape from his captors
(Chapter 44). In Pantagruel, the preponderance of
ruse, a non-heroic means to win the conflict}3 creates
a mockery of the epic realm where victories are usually
gained through physical prowess: however, the combats
in Garggntua parody the detailed descriptions conven-
tionally found in medieval literature where sword and
lance thrusts are enumerated.

Monuments are dealt with in both books and while

their structures and treatment differ, both recall

to varying degrees the gest romances and romances of

 

12Rabelais's use of physiological terms and their

relationship to epic parody is discussed in Chapter 2,
pp. 57-58, and Chapter 3, p. 69.

13Glauser, pp. 204-206.

107
adventure. In Pantagpuel, a trOphy honors the first
victory over the Dipsodes and a stump is covered with
the paraphernalia associated with medieval warriors:
the end of the Picrocholine conflict in Gargantua is
marked with an elaborate abbey. The trophy of Pantagruel

is patterned after a classical motif.“+

and its comedy
is leveled, in part, at the ancient tradition. However,
the knightly accoutrement hanging on the piece of wood
and the dedicatory inscription burlesquing medieval

epic language as well as the honorable demeanor of
chevaliers turn the "arch of triumph" into a mockery

of the chansons gglgggpg. In Gargantua, the abbey is
treated parodically in so far as it is a fief for the
warring monk in keeping with the feudal custom of
rewarding knights for their service: furthermore, it
possibly represents an imitation of medieval works where
the monastery is a lasting memorial.15 On the whole,

16

Théléme illustrates Rabelais's social ideal, and as
such is treated in terms which have no relationship to
epic parody. With regard to the depiction of war in

Gargantua and Pantagruel, the monuments' positions in

the narrative produce different effects: this motif in

 

14

15See Chapter 1, p. 27, for examples of works
where the abbey is found.

16Stapfer, p. 252.

See Chapter 2, p. 48, n. 19.

108
Pantagruel is inserted following the first encounter
with the Dipsodes when the war is hardly under way, and
the buffoonery and merriment surrounding its erection
emphasize the burlesque nature of the conflict where
much time is spent on comic trophies and feasting: in
Gargantua, the end of the war is commemorated by a
maJor structure and Théleme becomes a fitting conclusion
to the battling since the abbey, with its idyllic aura
of peacefulness, apprOpriately underlines the end of
hostilities.

In Rabelais, the crusade against the infidel is
an incidental theme, and the Cross vs. Crescent struggle
is never the primary motivation for warfare. Through
inference in Pantagpuel, Rabelais creates a mock epic
depiction of single combat between a Christian hero and
a Moslem giant. As Loup Garou and Pantagruel battle,
the former calls out to Mohammed and yet no specific
mention is made of a war waged for religious reasons.
Through this frugal technique, Rabelais brings the
giants into the realm shared by numerous righteous
Christian heroes who fight evil heathen giants,
especially since that allusion to the crusade is rein-
forced by other circumstances: Pantagruel battles with
a bourdon: he requests God's aid which he subsequently
receives: Loup Garou on the other hand cries "Mahon"

and loses despite the formidable odds which his superior

109
height and enchanted club represent-~a conventional
Situation in the chansons gg geste. There is no actual

battlefield encounter with the infidels in Gargantua.

 

Picrochole's preposterous desire to control the world
offers Rabelais the Opportunity to deal with the pagans
in Gargantua, and eXpansionist tyranny, rather than the
war with the Saracens, is Rabelais's point of departure
for the chapter concerning Picrochole and his counsellors.
Their acquisitions are unrealizable dreams, chimera taking
place in their minds: but they envision their conquests
as realities, and in this sense, the events happen as
they speak of them in the dialogue. In Pantagruel, the
confrontation between Pantagruel and Loup Garou repre-
sents a graphic imitation of similar situations found

in the epic, while, with reference to his treatment of
the crusade in Gargantua, Rabelais portrays warfare
occurring through the words of his characters rather
than through their actions. Picrochole talks of killing
numerous Turks and Moslems, and in this manner, Rabelais
recalls the epic tradition where heathen are massacred
in great numbers, whereas in Pantagruel only one infidel
is dealt with. Picrochole states that he will allow
Barberousse to live if he submits to baptism, and the
king thereby identifies himself as a benevolent epic
knight who promises salvation to the pagan through

conversion. Loup Garou, however, is never given the

110
chance to repent before he is slain: yet both situations
are equally reminiscent of the chansons gg,gggpg. In
Gargantua, the crusade is fleetingly evoked as one of
the means to emphasize Picrochole's irrationality, in
contrast with the step-by-step depiction of combat in
Pantagruel rendering the hero a ppggg Christian knight
who rids the land of the evil heathen giant.

During the war narrative in both books, banqueting
serves as a celebration for the preceding victory or
victories. As in the epics, the heroes take time to
rest and to feast on fine food and wine before returning
to battle. Rabelais achieves a similar effect in both
works in that humorous defeats Should not warrant
elaborate festivities: however, in Panta ruel, eating
and drinking receive almost as much attention as does
warfare, and the extreme disparity between deeds and
compensation increases the burlesque effect, in contrast
with Gapgantua where battling and feasting is dealt
with in a more balanced manner. Following the initial
encounter with the Dipsodes in Pantagrugl, the warriors
pause to eat salt meat, tire of it, subsequently Carpalim
hunts for fresh game, and numerous animals are listed in
'order to stress abundance: furthermore, the narrative
devoted to the erection of two monuments directly follows
the two chapters concerning festivities, and thus

Panurge's victory through ruse is commemorated by two

lll
banquets and by one trophy in honor of warfare, as
well as another in praise of food and drink (Chapters
25 and 27). The only other moment when Pantagruel
and his four companions pause to celebrate together is
appropriately at the end of the battling where the feast
is indicated by a short stylized expression stressing
the plentiful nature of the gathering: "tant y fut
faicte lorS grande chere" (II,xxxi,374). In Gargantua,
four feasts are held at regular intervals, seemingly
in imitation of the epic balance between fighting and
respites, and only one is treated in detail: the shepherds
eat grapes and cakes after the squabble with the cake-
bakers (Chapter 25): an extended formal banquet is
served at Grandgousier's castle where the king eulogizes
Frere Jean who makes his triumphal entry there, and
the cornuOOpian nature of the event is underlined as
Rabelais lists the animals prepared for the heroes
(Chapters 37 to 40), an enumerative technique similar
to that used in the earlier work with reference to the
game slaughtered by Carpalim: a feast is mentioned gp
passant (Chapter 45): the warriors mark the end of
hostilities with a celebration, and its unique nature
is noted through several superlatives: "Adonc leur
feist un festin, la plus magnificque, le plus abundant
et plus delitieux que feust veu depuis le temps du roy

Asseure" (I,lilB7)--as in Pantagruel, one sentence,

112
although more emphatic than that of the first book,
summarizes the gourmand festivities. In Gargantua,
Rabelais treats each scene in a different manner, but
abundance is always emphasized. The lengthy feast
spanning Chapters 37 to 40 does not produce the intensi-
fied burlesque effect of the comparable pause in
Pantagruel (Chapters 25 to 27), since the former takes
place after much battling, and thus the warriors are
more deserving of a mock epic rest from their comic
combats than they are in Pantaggug;_where the maJor feast
occurs when the war narrative is hardly under way and
a banquet is especially incongruous.

Through a comparison of the epic tOpoi of Gargantua
and Pantagruel, it is evident that in the later work,
Rabelais achieves a depiction of war which more closely
parodies the conventional portrayal of warfare in the
epics, and the maJor indication of this change in atti-
tude is the greatly lessened interest in ruse in favor
of open warfare so that in Gargantua war is won through
physical feats, the traditional means of gaining victories
in the chansons gg,gggpg. To underline this shift in
tactics, battle sequences throughout Gargantua are
recounted in minute detail in imitation of the accurate
blow-by-blow descriptions found in medieval literature.
Furthermore, the contrast between the giants' outstanding

companions, Panurge and Frere Jean, clearly illustrates

113
the different orientation of each conflict: the former
symbolizes ruse, and the latter parodies the active
warrior, such as Maugis, whose prowess makes him a
hero. The epic mood of Gargantua is reinforced through
Frere Jean's and Gargantua's use of staffs to kill
many adversaries, as Opposed to the impotent weapons
Of Pantagrugl which are never responsible for defeat
and are employed in only one episode. The initial
battle of the Picrocholine conflict where over thirteen
thousand perish because of Frere Jean's mighty bourdon
supersedes the massacre of six hundred through Panurge's
trickery in the first encounter with the Dipsodes in
EgntagrugE. The hyperbole stresses Jean's talents
as a warrior setting the scene for the future deeds
performed by the monk who continues to down the enemy
with his powerful implement: and the reference to the
number of those slain also serves to exaggerate the
monk's heroism overshadowing the nominal hero who waits
in the wings while Jean emerges as the first hero of
the war in the chronicle bearing Gargantua's name.
To allow the warriors time to celebrate their mock epic
triumphs, banquets are intermittently held so that the
heroes may partake of abundant food and wine, and rest
from their duties to the homeland. Rabelais underscores
the theme of good vs. evil in Gargantua and this

delineation of the opposing forces carries through until

114

the end of the conflict. God's favor is omnipresent
for Grandgousier's side, as in the epics where the
righteous and unJust are often characterized as such
from the onset of hostilities. Thus Grandgousier's
warriors are victorious and the evil Picrochole is
vanquished.

A burlesque war is not dealt with again until
the Quart Livre (1552) and the nature of the conflict
is quite different from that in Gargantua and Pantagruel
as Rabelais enters the world of the exaggerated fan-
tastic where sausages are personified waging an allegori-
cal war with Lent in a mockery of the hostility between
Lent and Shrove Tuesday, a parody which may have been
inspired by a thirteenth century poem Eg Bataille gg
Karesme gp_gg Charnage.17 The war narrative is relatively
Short, eight chapters, in comparison with the extended
portions devoted to that tOpic in the first two books,
and the conflict in the QggppIEgng represents only
one of many adventures for the heroes who Join in the
melee when they stop at an island along their voyage

route.

 

17Lote, p. 130. See also Tetel, Etude, p. 37.

CONCLUSIONS

In order to determine the extent to which Rabelais
parodies the portrayal of war in the medieval epic, I
have compared Gargantua and Pantagruel with the gest
romances and romances of adventure with which Rabelais
expresses familiarity in his texts, since, among the
various genres mentioned in his works, these provide
the best examples of war passages which may be labeled
epic in nature and therefore serve as a point of
departure for summarizing the treatment of war in the
chansons gg,gggpg.1 The gest romances are Fierabras,
Galien rethoré, Godefroy gngouillon, Guerin gg Mon lave,
Eggplgg Bordeaux, Morgant gg‘gggpp, Qgggp lg Danois,

Egg guatre pglg A on, and Chronigue gg Turpin: the
romances of adventure, Geoffroy g lg gpgpp dent, Méluggpg,
Through a comparison of the above books with Garggntua
and PantagrugE, I have discovered parallels between

Rabelaisian and medieval works in the use of themes,

 

1As discussed in Chapter 1, pp. 14-15, Nemours
Honoré Clement establishes Rabelais's knowledge of
these works on the basis of references made to them
in Rabelais's texts.

115

116

motifs, and narrative techniques: many epic pgpgg
are burlesqued, as well as Specific characters and
episodes. The portions of Gargantua and Pantagrugl
which may be considered parodies of the gest romances
and romances of adventure have been extracted and
explicated and it has been demonstrated that Rabelais
makes a concerted attempt to write mock epics.
SynOpses Of these medieval texts, never before available
in a study on Rabelais, are compiled in an appendix so
that Rabelaisian scholars may easily familiarize them-
selves with the epic tradition which Rabelais knew. It
is hOped that one of the contributions of this dissertation
is the presence of these summaries for the enlightenment
of those interested in Rabelais.

During the sixteenth century, Rabelais was able
to depend on his audience's knowledge of epic pgpgg
since the romans gg chevalgpgg were still quite popular,
and thus his parody conJured up the medieval legends
for his contemporaries who would laugh at the mock
version of their chapbook heroes. A comprehension of
the myths surrounding these persons increases our
enJoyment of Rabelais, and in order to appreciate
fully the burlesque in Gargantua and Pantagruel, we must
first acquaint ourselves with the epic tradition to
determine the topics parodied in Rabelais. Each epic

possesses a certain individuality: yet after a detailed,

117

comprehensive analysis of war in the chansons gg este,
it has been determined that numerous subJects may be
identified as epic pgpgg. Therefore, if we have an
understanding of the treatment of war in the epics,
various topics mocked in Rabelais are recognized as
epic commonplaces: the voyage, miracles, detailed battle
descriptions, the crusade against the infidel, councils,
special weaponry, divine intervention, single combats,
sieges of castles, the encounter between a Christian
knight and a pagan giant, the banquet, the abbey,
haughty language, oral narrative devices. There are
additional pgpgg of the epic and other commonplaces
of the chansons gg gggpg used by other authors, but
this is the list established from reading the epics
known by Rabelais and from comparing them with Rabelais.
While many critics have recognized the presence of
epic pgpgg in Rabelais, in this study their use is
documented.

With reference to his parody of war, Rabelais
sometimes simplifies the task of discovering his
sources of inspiration through citing or alluding to
specific medieval works, i.e. the gest romances and
romances of adventure listed above. Just as he refers
to particular texts, so too does he mention characters.
In gantagruel, there are two long lists, one of medieval

giants (Chapter 1) and another of various leading

118
personages in the gest romances and romances of adventure
(Chapter 30). Plattard calls these enumerations
"galeries de héros de romans" which evoke the medieval
tales associated with these heroes.2 ‘During the war
narrative in Pantagruel, Rabelais relates the trans-
lation of Gargantua by Morgan who also took Ogier to
Fairyland, and thus Rabelais recalls an incident from
Qgggp lg Danois bringing Gargantua into the realm of
the chansons gg_gggpg. Similarly, in Gargantua,
Rabelais compares Frere Jean to Maugis of Egg guatre
filam-

In certain cases, Rabelais's frame of reference
is neither general nor explicit: therefore a knowledge
of particular epics is necessary to determine Rabelais's
point of departure. For example, with respect to
Epistemon's resurrection, we must be familiar with
Egg guatre fils Aymon in order to note the similarities
between Panurge's miracle and that of Maugis. In
another instance, to find the predecessors for the
cunning Panurge, we must go to the epics dealing with
a ruseful companion to the hero, such as Egg guatre
Eglg gyggg or Pulci's Morgant lg gggpp. With reference
to the bourdon, if we are acquainted with Maugis of

Les guatre fils Aymon or Pierre L'Ermite of Godefroy

 

2
L'Oeuvre, pp. 7-8.

119

_g Bouillon and their use of the pilgrim's staff as a
powerful implement to slay numerous enemies, we realize
that Gargantua's, Pantagruel's, and Frere Jean's staffs
have epic precedent.

As Rabelais progresses from PantagrueE to Gargantua,
he chooses to parody various epic pgpgg first treated
in PantagrugE, and he thereby expresses the burlesque
potential of these topics through dealing with them
again. Through a comparison of the mocked commonplaces
of Gargantua and Pantagruel, it has been demonstrated
that in Gargantua, Rabelais provides a portrayal of
warfare which more closely parodies the conventional
representation of combat in the chansons gg,gggpg. He
deserts the predominant implementation of ruse which
characterizes the Dipsode conflict in favor of physical
feats of prowess in the Picrocholine war where he depicts
Open warfare, detailed battlefield encounters, Special
weaponry, sieges of castles, and a warring monk
patterned after the traditional epic hero who fearlessly
rushes into the melee and kills great numbers of adver-
saries in his defense of the homeland. In this respect,
Rabelais manifests a definite concern with producing
in Gargantua a mock epic which surpasses that of
Pantagruel. With reference to the influence which
medieval works have on his creative process, we see

him achieving in Garggntua a more pronounced affirmation

120
of the inspirational force which the gest romances and
romances of adventure exerted on him.

It has been demonstrated that techniques
traditionally employed to burlesque the epic are found
in Gargantua and Pantagruel: exaggeration or hyperbole:
deflation of the nominal hero and corresponding aggran-
dizement of a secondary figure: reliance on epic pgpgg
which are then parodied: use of epic formulae: oral
narrative devices: caricature of the heroes. It is
remarkable to note that Rabelais uses the same parodic
tools in both works.

Parody was defined at the outset as a travesty
of literary works with the intent of producing laughter.
It has here been demonstrated how the war passages of
Gargantua and Pantagruel represent parodies of the

medieval chansons gg geste.

APPENDIX

APPENDIX

CORE PLOT SYNOPSES OF THE MEDIEVAL GEST
ROMANCES AND ROMANCES OF ADVENTURE

Core plot synopses are presented here for the
medieval works used in this study. These are included
in the hope that Rabelaisian scholars may thus easily
familiarize themselves with the literature which
Rabelais knew. With the exception of Pulci's Morgant
Eg éant, for each work, there are several manuscripts
written by assorted scribes in various places at
different times: therefore dates Of composition and
authors are not cited here. The purpose of this
appendix is to provide summaries of the romances'
plots and not analyses of specific editions or a

complete paleography of their manuscripts.

121

122

Chronique gg Turpin

St. Jacques comes to Charlemagne in a vision
and asks him to deliver Spain and the sepulcher of
St. Jacques at Compostella from the infidels.
Charlemagne and his army set off for Spain and soon
take Pamplona. The Christians kill heathens who
resist baptism, as well as Catholics who had adOpted
the pagan religion and refuse to return to the
Church. In the war the Saracens are decimated until
Charlemagne controls all of Spain. With the gold and
silver from his conquests, he establishes churches
and abbeys, and endows religious enterprises. The
Emperor goes back to France, but soon Spain is invaded
by an African king, and Charlemagne must battle again.
After the defeat of the Saracens, Roland combats a
fierce pagan giant, Ferragut, who had defeated many
Christian knights. Roland and the giant carry on a
theological dispute and finally the pagan falls.
Roland is killed at Roncevaux and Ganelon's treachery
is retold. Charlemagne has his revenge, and the
Moslems die in great numbers. Various miracles,
dream visions, expressions of Catholic dogma, and
commentary on Charlemagne's holy nature are interspersed
in the epic. The author concludes with the death of the

Emperor.

123

Fierabras

The pagan giant Fierabras, son of a Saracen
calif, Baland, conquers Rome, Jerusalem, and other
cities: he and his army steal the relics of the Passion,
which Baland keeps at his castle Aigremoire in Spain.
In France, Fierabras defies Charlemagne who must
then send a knight to battle the giant in order to
defend the Emperor's honor. Olivier volunteers for
single combat and is victorious. When Fierabras
believes himself near death, he requests baptism.

He survives and later aids Charlemagne in the crusade
against the infidel. Olivier and other French knights
are captured by Baland's men and taken to Aigremoire
where they are imprisoned. Florippe, Baland's daughter
and Fierabras' sister, helps the Frenchmen because of
her love for Guy de Bourgogne whom she hopes to marry
one day. The Emperor's men travel to Spain to rescue
their nobles: they defeat the heathen and recover the
relics. Baland refuses baptism and is executed.

Florippe marries Guy following her conversion.

124

Galien rethoré

Galien is born out of wedlock to Olivier and
Jacqueline, the daughter of King Hugon of Constantinople.
Soon after Galien's birth, two fairies provide, through
enchantment, for his protection in battle: any wound
he may receive will heal within three days. Galien is
also named after one of them, Galienne. As he grows up,
he demonstrates great talents as a knight, and his
mother's brothers are Jealous of his feats: they treat
him cruelly. Galien goes in search of his father: he
learns that Olivier is in Spain where he is battling
the Saracens. En route to Spain Galien has various
adventures. He arrives at Charlemagne's court and
offers his services: the Emperor arms him. .Galien
goes to Roncevaux: he arrives Just in time to Speak
to his father who recognizes him as his son. Galien
avenges the death of his father and kills many Saracens.
The fall of Roland and the Twelve Peers is recounted.
Galien is betrothed to the daughter of Marsile and

marries her after her conversion.

125

Geoffroy g lg grant dent

 

At the age of twenty, Geoffrongoes to Ireland
to subdue barons who refuse to submit to his father,
their ruler. Geoffroy succeeds and returns to France.
He then sets off to help his brothers in the East,
Urian and Guion, in their crusade against the infidel.
After their triumph, Geoffroy leaves his brothers,
travels for a time, and eventually goes back to France.
He fights an evil giant who is threatening the land.
The burning of the abbey and the history of Mélusine's
enchantment are recounted. Geoffroy battles another
giant who escapes through a passage. Geoffroy follows
him and discovers the place where his grandfather was
enclosed in the mountain by Mélusine and her two sisters.
He also learns about the curse on his mother. Geoffroy
trails the giant, frees those held captive, and the
giant is slain. Geoffroy's act of vengeance against
his uncle and his reconstruction of the abbey are

reiterated. (See Mélusine.)

126

Godefroy gg Bouillon

This work deals with the First Crusade. The
young Godefroy is educated, armed, and knighted. In
the East, the pagan sorceress Calabre predicts the evil
which will befall Islam at the hands of Godefroy de
Bouillon and the crusaders. After learning of this
prophecy, Cornumarant, a Saracen, wishes to travel to
France to kill Godefroy: he finds Godefroy and his men
preparing for the voyage to the East. Cornumarant does
not slay Godefroy, but returns to his land to report
the knights' plans. The Christians capture Nicea, and
continue on to Antioch which they take with the aid of
a local Christian who had dealings with the Moslems.
Other cities are conquered by the Frenchmen, and
eventually, Jerusalem comes under their control.
Godefroy falls in love with a Saracen princess and
marries her. Godefroy is made King of Jerusalem, but
he is poisoned by a traitor and dies. Baudoin then
becomes the ruler of the holy city. The story ends
as the narrator announces a new campaign against the

Saracens.

127

Guerin gg_Monglave

The duo Guerin de Monglave sends his four sons,
Arnault, Milon, Régnier, and Girard, on adventures so
that they may bring honor to the family. Arnault goes
to Aquitaine to succeed to the deceased duc Girard,
his uncle. Arnault's father has a bastard son, Hunault,
and the latter challenges the former's right to govern:
but Arnault is lauded by his subJects, and he appears
to be in control. Hunault tells Arnault to request
the hand of a certain sultan's daughter in marriage
so that Arnault may gain the territories of the wealthy
Moslem. However, Hunault tells the sultan that Arnault
is coming to the sultan's court in order to convert to
the pagan religion. They travel to the sultan's
realm to arrange the betrothal. After they arrive,
Hunault lies again: he says to the Moslem that Arnault
wishes to observe the strength of the Saracen forces
so that he will know how to defeat them, and that he
wants to seduce the sultan's daughter. Arnault is
imprisoned. Roboastre, a Christian giant, and the
enchanter Perdigon help the knight to escape from his
captors. Arnault marries the sultan's daughter. All
of the brothers finally settle down and rule their own

lands, marry, and raise children. Aymeri, Arnault's son,

128
goes to Charlemagne's court and tries to cut the queen's
foot. This starts a war between the Emperor and the
Monglave lineage. The conflict is concluded. Charle-
magne is at war with the infidel and the Monglave family
sends Olivier to represent their heritage. The epic
ends with a retelling Of the Roland legend.

129

Huon gg Bordeaux

 

Charlemagne holds court at Paris and announces
his plans to have his son Charlot succeed him. Charlot
is a worthless trouble-maker. At the council, Amaury
de Hautefeuille tells the Emperor about Bordeaux and
its failure to render service for seven years: Amaury
suggests that the brothers, Huon and Gerard, be dis-
possessed because of their disloyalty to the throne.
The brothers receive messengers from Charlemagne and
they are given the chance to go to Paris to demonstrate
their submission. Amaury, a traitor, prepares an
ambush for the two, and Charlot takes part. In a
skirmish. Huon kills Charlot, the aggressor: the
latter's identity remains unknown to the former. Huon
rides on to Paris and reports the incident: Charlemagne
pardons Huon for killing when he was attacked by the
Emperor's forces. Amaury soon arrives with Charlot's
body and claims that Huon provoked the struggle.
Charlemagne, earlier unaware that it was his son who
was slain, now attempts to murder Huon. Single combat
is used to determine Justice in the case of Huon and
Amaury. Huon triumphs, but Amaury, after having con-
fessed to the former, attempts to wound Huon and Huon

kills Amaury before anyone else hears his expression of

130
guilt. The Emperor sends Huon on a mission to prove
himself: Huon is to go to Babylon to pull a handful
of hair from the beard of the Saracen calif Gaudisse,
to kiss Gaudisse's daughter three times, and to extract
four of Gaudisse's teeth. He accomplishes his feats
with the help of the dwarf enchanter Oberon, a descen-
dent of Julius Caesar. When Huon returns home, his
lands are in his brother's possession, and his brother
steals the relics of Huon's accomplished deeds. Huon
goes before the Emperor to appeal, but Charlemagne
condemns him to death. Oberon's magical intervention

rescues the hero.

131

Jehan gg Paris

 

 

The King of Spain asks the King of France to aid
him in bringing recalcitrant Spanish barons under control.
Following the monarchs' victory, the Spanish ruler
promises his infant daughter to the young son of the
French king: the agreement is to be fulfilled when the
children grow up. Shortly after the Frenchmen return
home, their king dies, and the King of Spain believes
that their contract is no longer binding. The King of
England asks for the princess' hand in marriage, and
he goes to Spain to claim her when she reaches the age
of sixteen. Jehan, the son of the deceased French
monarch, wishes to express his rights in the matter.

He leaves France with his own entourage and travels

near the English group. Jehan informs his men to say
that he is the son of a rich bourgeois. The King of
England asks him to Join his retinue. As they approach
the royal household in Spain, the two trains file past
while the princess watches from a window. She is greatly
impressed by Jehan and she throws him a scarf. The
English king is angry and Jealous when Jehan is received
with great pomp. The Frenchman reveals his true iden-
tity and is recognized as the Just suitor. Jehan and

the princess are married.

 

132

Mélusine

Raimondin, a nobleman, while on a hunt, sees
Mélusine in the forest: he falls in love with her and
they marry. Mélusine gives birth to a son, Urian.
Raimondin goes to Britanny to regain his father's terri-
tories. He returns to Mélusine who soon has another
son, Guion. They ultimately have eight sons who all
become rulers in their own right. When Urian and Guion
grow up, they voyage to Cyprus to aid the king who is
being attacked by the Sultan of Damascas. Following
their victory, the king gives his crown and daughter
to Urian. Guion travels to other lands to fight the
pagans, is made King of Armenia, and marries. At home,
Raimondin's brother tells Raimondin about a curse
placed on Mélusine: Mélusine's mother made her husband
promise that he would never visit her during her con-
finement for the birth of their children. Forgetting
his vow, the husband saw her immediately after she
delivers triplet daughters, one of whom is Mélusine.
She left her husband and went to Avalon to raise the
children. The daughters were told of their father's
act, and decided to punish him by entombing him in a
mountain. When the mother discovered what they had

done, she cast a spell on each one: Mélusine will turn

133

into a serpent from the waist down every Saturday. If
she should find a husband who respects her right to be
alone on that day, the enchantment will cease. If she
should be seen, She may no longer appear as a normal
woman. Out of curiosity, Raimondin decides to determine
if his brother is lying, and Raimondin spies on Mélusine
and observes her serpent form. At this point, the
narrative shifts to recount the adventures of another
son, Geoffroy a la grant dent, who burns an abbey
because he feels that the particular monks who inhabit
it are lazy and evil. After the interpolation of
Geoffroy's abbey burning, the principal narrative
resumes, and Mélusine pardons her husband's indiscretion,
but she must leave him since she is unable to retain a
human shape. Geoffroy punishes his uncle for betraying
his mother: Geoffroy pursues him and the latter falls
from a tower to his death. Raimondin's father dies,

and Geoffroy rules the family territories. He rebuilds
the abbey and endows it well so that the monks may lead
a devout existence and pray for his mother, his father,

and their lineage. (See Geoffrox g lg grant dent.)

134

Morgant lg géant

In this work by Luigi Pulci (1481) Charlemagne
holds court at Paris. Orlando (Roland) is clearly
the superior knight among the Emperor's men, and Ganelon
becomes Jealous of the power which Orlando possesses.
While en route to fight the infidel, Orlando arrives at
an abbey terrorized by three pagan giants who live on
a mountain above the abbey. The vilest of the three is
Morgant. The monks tell Orlando of their plight and
the knight sets off to battle their enemies. He kills
two and only Morgant survives. The giant is subsequently
converted by Orlando and the former offers his services
to the latter. The monks have a roomful of armor where
the giant finds only one piece which fits his enormous
body--a rusty breastplate. After a series of adventures,
they enter a castle where many mysterious events occur:
they slay pagans together: they rescue damsels in
distress. Morgant meets Margutte, a giant even bigger
than Morgant and a master of trickery. Morgant dies.

The epic ends with a retelling of the Roland legend.

135

Ogier lg Danois

Charlot, Charlemagne's son, kills Baudoin, Ogier's
son, in a dispute over a chess game. Charlemagne refuses
to grant Justice in the matter and Ogier's war of revolt
against the Emperor begins. The Dane leaves his court
and is pursued by Charlemagne for years. Ogier kills
many of the Emperor's men, and Charlot tries to bring
about a reconciliation with him, but Ogier wishes to
continue. seeking vengeance. Finally, Ogier is captured
and Charlemagne wants to execute him immediately: however,
Turpin encourages the Emperor to imprison Ogier so that
he may die a slow death. The archbishop has an ulterior
motive: instead of gradually starving Ogier as the
Emperor wishes, Turpin feeds him well out of affection
for the Dane. The Saracens threaten Charlemagne,
and he begins to fear defeat. Turpin suggests that
Ogier's great prowess is certain to deliver them from
the Saracens, and Ogier is freed to fight for France.
Following his victory, he goes on a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land, after which he is tranSported to Avalon by
Morgan and he resides there for two hundred years: he
then returns to France to kill the pagans, and saves

France again.

136

Les guatre fils Aypon

 

While Charlemagne is holding court, at Pentecost,
it is brought to his attention that the duo Beuves
d'Aigremont is not rendering service to the Emperor:
Charlemagne sends messengers to ask the rebellious baron
to come to Paris. The messengers are killed by Beuves
and his men. Charlemagne then sends his son Lohier to
Beuves, and Lohier threatens him. Beuves responds with
an attack on Lohier and the latter is killed. Beuves
and two of his three brothers go to war with Charlemagne:
Aymon de Dordogne, the other brother, remains loyal to
the throne. The three rebellious brothers are defeated
and surrender. Despite their submission, Charlemagne
arranges to have Beuves assassinated. Aymon's sons are
given arms by the Emperor. Soon after being knighted,
Renaud, Aymon's most outstanding son, kills Berthelot,
Charlemagne's nephew, in a diSpute arising out of a
game of chess. This prompts a war between the four
brothers and Charlemagne. The Aymons are aided by
their cousin Maugis, who uses ruse and magic in the
struggle to avenge the death of his father, Beuves.

The rebels flee, and their father battles with the royal
forces. The Emperor pursues them, and they finally go

to Gascony where King Yon offers his protection. Renaud

137
eventually marries Yon's sister. They build a mighty
fortress named Montauban. Charlemagne besieges it,
but the four brothers hold him off for years. Finally,
famine and plague weaken their forces and they submit
to the Emperor. Renaud goes on a pilgrimage to the
Holy Land where he meets Maugis, and together they
fight the infidel. Upon their return to France, Renaud
discovers that his wife is dead: he sends his sons to
serve Charlemagne. Renaud then goes to Cologne, and
pretending to be a simple craftsman, he works on the
cathedral. His fellow laborers become Jealous of
Renaud's abilities and they kill him. After his death,

Renaud becomes a martyr.

138

Robert lg Diable

After many years of marriage, duc Hubert de
Normandie reproaches his wife for their childless union.
Since God does not give her a child, she prays to the
devil. She becomes pregnant, Robert is born, and the
devil controls him. The evil Robert leaves home at
an early age: he leads a group of bandits who burn holy
places, kill, rob, and rape. One day, Robert learns
that his mother is nearby. She relates to him the
events surrounding his birth. He asks her pardon and
promises to reform. He goes to Rome to seek absolution
from the pOpe. The pope sends him to a hermit to whom
he must confess. For penance, Robert must play the
fool, act mute, and fight with the dogs for food. The
Saracens threaten Rome, and an angel presents Robert
with white armor. He valliantly defeats the pagans,
and everyone wishes to know the identity of the myster-
ious knight. The daughter of the Emperor of Rome falls
in love with him. They eventually discover the identity
of their savior. The hermit releases Robert from his
vow. The Emperor offers his daughter and the throne to
Robert, but he wishes only to serve God. He lives with
the hermit and dies a holy man: after his martyrdom,

an abbey is built in his honor.

139

Valentin gp Orson

Pepin marries his sister Bellysant to Alexander,
the Emperor of Constantinople. The ArchbishOp of
Constantinople falls in love with her soon after the
marriage. When he expresses his feelings to her, she
shows no interest. In anger, he goes to her husband
and makes false accusations about her. Alexander
banishes the Empress. After six months, she has twin
sons, Valentin and Orson. Orson is stolen by a bear
which suckles him while one of Pepin's officers finds
Valentin who is raised at court. When they grow up,
Valentin is given the duty of finding Orson, the savage.
Following his capture, Orson is soon civilized. The
two brothers become famous for their adventures--fights
against enemy Christians and evil Saracens, interludes
with fairies, giants, mysterious creatures. The dwarf
enchanter Pacolet helps them escape death as they per-
form great feats. Unknowingly, Valentin kills his
father. He does penance for his sins, dies a holy man,
and is martyred. Orson rules Constantinople. After
having gained the reputation for being a good monarch,

he becomes a hermit, dies, and is martyred.

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