Social, cultural and literary contexts of the crane in the fabliau, Cele qui fu foutue et desfoutue

What is it about?

This paper reveals the various ways in which the crane can be understood in a thirteenth-century old-French fabliau. The fabliau as a genre is known for its ribald, often irreverent, and comedic nature. In this paper I focus on the didacticism in the tale to argue that the crane is central to the plot as having an informative presence. Whilst the tale is humorous, arguably, it also carries a variety of messages one of which concerns vigilance - the nursemaid's lack of vigilance leads to her ward's downfall.

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Why is it important?

Taking the notion that literature reflects the society in which it was produced, it is important to extend the ways in which the fabliaux have been studied previously (comedy). By taking an extensive approach - considering the text (or in this case, a character) in its social, cultural and literary contexts - it is possible to extend our understandings of medieval society.