A History of French Literature
From Chanson de geste to Cinema
DAVID COWARD

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A History of French Literature

For Olive

A History of French Literature
From Chanson de geste to Cinema
DAVID COWARD

© 2002, 2004 by David Coward 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148-5020, USA 108 Cowley Road, Oxford OX4 1JF, UK 550 Swanston Street, Carlton, Victoria 3053, Australia The right of David Coward to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by the UK Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988, without the prior permission of the publisher. First published 2002 First published in paperback 2004 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Coward, David. A history of French literature / David Coward. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0–631–16758–7 (hardback); ISBN 1–4051–1736–2 (paperback) 1. French literature—History and criticism. I. Title. PQ103.C67 2002 840.9—dc21 2001004353 A catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

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Contents

Preface 1 THE MIDDLE AGES Introduction Language Literature Its diffusion Authors Hagiography The chanson de geste Lyric poetry to Rutebeuf Romance Comic realism Le Roman de Renard The fabliau The literature of devotion, moral reflection and information Learning and ideas Theatre Later lyric poetry Fifteenth-century ‘modernism’ Chartier Charles d’Orléans The anti-courtly reaction ‘Rhétoriqueurs’