Renart le Bestourné is an animal allegory whose characters are borrowed from the Roman de Renart. The meaning of this piece and even its title have greatly preoccupied most of the critics who have studied Rutebeuf's work. It is also, of all his poems, the one that has provoked the most interest, giving rise to comments of all kinds and, naturally, the most diverse interpretations and identifications of characters. As for the title, Jubinal has affirmed that bestourné means 'doubly changed, metamorphosed'; for Paulin Paris, it simply means 'returned into the world'; for Oswald Bienert, 'the new, the second'. More interesting, and sometimes more amusing, are the various interpretations to which the piece itself has given rise. - [Author]

Language: French