Little critical attention has been drawn to the fact that, on four occasions in the Roman de Renart, Renart is termed a “heretic [herite]” and thus associated with one of the population groups most persecuted at the time of this text’s composition. This article argues that Renart is termed a heretic, not so much because he espouses religious doctrines that would subject him to prosecution at this time, but because he exhibits a characterological duplicitousness that was identified with heretics during these years. Remarkably, however, in a world where there was little toleration for heretics, Renart is not condemned but, rather, celebrated for his identification with these deviants. - [Abstract]

Language: English

Locators: DOI: 10.1075/rein.16.12sul