De l’allec au cète, des harengs aux anguilles

What is it about?

Can the fish in the latin tale Ysengrimus and the fish in the french Roman de Renart be lumped together? This article compares the role played by fish in the story written in Latin in the middle of the 12th century and in the French branches of the Roman de Renart. Whereas the famous tail-fishing episode is common to both works and both Ysengrimus and Isengrin share the same immoderate love for fish, the species mentioned are not the same. The choice of species reveals the differences in style and intention between the Latin and French narratives. While the Latin poet names animal fish, large and small, to evoke the image of Ysengrimus's belly, stretched to infinity, the French storytellers give a sensitive thickness to the food fish of their time.

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Photo by Kristin Snippe on Unsplash

Photo by Kristin Snippe on Unsplash