''Van den vos Reinaerde'' (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

title: ''Of Reynaert the Fox'') is the

Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarc ...

version of the story of

Reynard Reynard the Fox is a literary cycle of medieval allegorical Dutch, English, French and German fables. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the Late Middle Ages, a ...

, as written by Willem die Madoc maecte. The poem dates from around 1250. It is considered a major work of Middle Dutch literature and has been called "the pinnacle of Gothic literature in the Netherlands." Joseph T. Shipley, ''Encyclopedia of Literature'', Philosophical Library, New York, 1946, p.693.

Sources

Willem was reliant for the story of ''Van den vos Reinaerde'' on the French epic poem ''Le Plaid'', the first story of a larger collection of fox tales known as the ''Roman de Renard'' - written by Perrout de Saint Cloude in 1160.A.Th. Bouwman , ''Reinaert en Renart. Het dierenepos "Van den vos Reinaerde" vergeleken met de Oudfranse "Roman de Renart"'', 2 dln., Amsterdam, 1991. He freely adapted and developed the original source, doing so "so deftly and with so much freedom and originality that his adaptation is universally conceded to be the best specimen of the genre in any language."Adriaan J. Barnouw, ''The Pageant of Netherlands History'', Longmans Green, New York, 1952, p.62.

Content

Satire about a fox who kills and bullies, and gets away with his deeds. The rest of society isn't much better. The nobility is being portrayed as lazy and often stupid. Clergymen are sexually active. The common population is often violent and cruel. Many women are sexually promiscuous and include prostitutes.

Meaning

André De Vries writes that the work is an allegory of contemporary netherlandish politics at the court of Philip I of Namur, known as "Philip the Noble":

It is supposed that Willem wrote ''Van den Vos Reinaerde'' to encourage Siger III, chatelain of the Counts’ Castle in Ghent, who was unjustly deprived of his post around 1210 by Philip the Noble, Count of Namur and Regent of Flanders. The figure of the concupiscent and vacillating Noble the Lion seems to be based on Philip, who slavishly followed the King of France’s orders and handed over two princesses as hostages to his master. Reinaert’s castle is actually Siger III’s country retreat at Destelbergen, which appears on later maps by the same name as Reinaert’s lair, Malpertuus, meaning Hell’s Gate.André De Vries, ''Flanders: A Cultural History'', Oxford University Press, New York, 2007, p.100-101.

De Vries argues that the animal characters represent barons who conspired against the Count of Flanders. He is accused of various crimes, but generally outwits his accusers. Nevertheless, he is in the end sent into exile.

Popularity

Willem's ''Reynard'' was translated into Latin verse by a contemporary. Another, unknown, poet wrote a sequel, expanding the original to a full eight thousand line version. This version, when printed in 1487, proved very popular across Europe. It was the foundation for most later Dutch, German, and English versions, including those of

William Caxton William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer to be the first English retailer of printed books. His parentage a ...

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

, and F. S. Ellis.

References

External links