Guignol
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Guignol () is the main character in a French
puppet show Puppetry is a form of theatre or performance that involves the manipulation of puppets – inanimate objects, often resembling some type of human or animal figure, that are animated or manipulated by a human called a puppeteer. Such a performan ...
which has come to bear his name. It represents the workers in the silk industry of France. Although often thought of as children's entertainment, Guignol's sharp wit and linguistic verve have always been appreciated by adults as well, as shown by the motto of a prominent
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
troupe: "Guignol amuses children… and witty adults."


History

Laurent Mourguet Laurent Mourguet (3 March 1769 – 30 December 1844) was a French puppeteer, creator of the famous puppet Guignol. See also * Guignol Guignol () is the main character in a French puppet show which has come to bear his name. It represents th ...
, Guignol's creator, was born into a family of modest silk weavers on 3 March 1769. The certificate of his marriage to Jeanne Esterle in 1788 shows he was unable to read. When hard times fell on the silk trade during the French Revolution, he became a peddler and, in 1797, started to practice
dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...
, which in those days was simply the pulling of teeth. The service was free; the money was made from the medicines sold afterward to ease the pain. To attract patients, he started setting up a puppet show in front of his dentist's chair. Mourguet's first shows featured
Polichinelle Polichinelle is French for the Commedia dell'arte character Pulcinella. It may also refer to: * ''Polichinelle'' (album), 2001 ''The Prayer Boat'' album *"Polichinelle", 1962 Edith Piaf song from album '' Les Amants De Teruel'' *"Polichinelle", a 1 ...
, a character borrowed from the Italian
commedia dell'arte (; ; ) was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is also known as , , and . Charact ...
who, in Britain, would become
Punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...
. By 1804, the success was such that he gave up dentistry altogether and became a professional puppeteer, creating his own scenarios drawing on the concerns of his working-class audience and improvising references to the news of the day. He developed characters closer to the daily lives of his Lyon audience, first Gnafron, a wine-loving cobbler, later Guignol, in 1808. Other characters, including Guignol's wife Madelon and the
gendarme Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to "Man-at-arms, men-at-arms" ...
Flageolet soon followed, but these are never much more than foils for the two heroes. Although nominally a silkweaver like much of his original audience, Guignol's profession changes, as does his marital status; he can be in turn valet, peddler, carpenter, shoemaker, or unemployed; at times he is Madelon's husband, at times her smitten suitor, according to requirements of the scenario. What remain constant are his poverty, but more importantly his good humor and his sense of justice. The use in French of "guignol" as an insult meaning "buffoon" is a curious misnomer, as Guignol is clever, courageous, and generous; his inevitable victory is always the triumph of good over evil. Sixteen of Mourguet's children and grandchildren continued his tradition, and many of the companies performing today can trace their artistic heritage back to him, although Laurent Mourguet's last descendant, Jean-Guy Mourguet, died on 8 October 2012, at the age of 82, after working all his life in the Theatre de Guignol at Lyon. Jean-Guy learned his job helping his grandmother Augustine and then his parents. He later became the director of the whole theatre until his death. Guignol's original caustic satire has often been watered down to simple children's fare, and has even been used to parody grand opera, but his original spirit still survives in his hometown of Lyon, where both traditional and original contemporary performances are an integral part of local culture. In addition to his social satire, Guignol has become an important protector of the local dialect, the ' ("Lyonnais dialect").


See also

* ''
Les Guignols de l'info ''Les Guignols'' (, ''The Puppets''), formerly ''Les Guignols de l'info'' (, ''The News Puppets''), was a daily satirical latex puppet show broadcast on the French television channel Canal+. It was created in 1988, inspired by '' Le Bébête Sho ...
'' *
Victor-Napoléon Vuillerme-Dunand Victor-Napoléon Vuillerme-Dunand (1810 in Turin – 4 May 1876) was a 19th-century French puppeteer whose family originated from Jura. He was one of the greatest manipulators of the théâtre de Guignol in the nineteenth century, especially the c ...
*
Grand Guignol ''Le Théâtre du Grand-Guignol'' (: "The Theatre of the Great Puppet")—known as the Grand Guignol–was a theatre in the Quartier Pigalle, Pigalle district of Paris (7, cité Chaptal). From its opening in 1897 until its closing in 1962, it spe ...


References


External links


Société des Amis de Guignol
* Spectacle de Guigno
Web site


* http://www.sagecraft.com/puppetry/performance/ltg/
Museum-theatre Guignol in Brindas, France (near Lyon)
* http://guignolsland.com/w-guignol.html
A musical site
{{Authority control Theatre characters introduced in 1808 Puppets Entertainment in Lyon