Jean Bodel
Jean Bodel (c. 1165 – c. 1210), was an Old French poet who wrote a number of chansons de geste as well as many fabliaux. He lived in Arras.[1]
Jean Bodel | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1165 |
| Died | c. 1210 Arras |
| Occupation | poet |
| Nationality | French |
| Period | Medieval |
| Genre | chanson de geste, fabliaux |
| French and Francophone literature |
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| by category |
| History |
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Writings
Bodel wrote Chanson des Saisnes[1] ("Song of the Saxons") about the war of King Charlemagne with the Saxons and their leader Widukind, whom Bodel calls Guiteclin. He also wrote a miracle play called the Le Jeu de saint Nicolas ("The Game of Saint Nicolas"), which was probably first performed in Arras on 5 December 1200. Set in the middle of an epic battle between Christians and Muslims, the play tells the story of a good Christian who escapes the battle and is found praying to a statue of Saint Nicolas by the Muslim forces. The Muslim leader decides to test the saint by unlocking the doors to his treasury and leaving the statue as a guardian, stipulating that if anything were stolen the Christian would forfeit his life. Three thieves attempt to steal the treasure, but Saint Nicolas stops them. As a result, the Muslim ruler and his entire army convert to Christianity.[2]
Like another French miracle play from the same time period, Le Miracle de Théophile, Le Jeu de saint Nicolas contains an invocation to the Devil in an unknown language:[3]
- Palas aron ozinomas
- Baske bano tudan donas
- Geheamel cla orlay
- Berec hé pantaras tay
Bodel was the first person of record to classify the legendary themes and literary cycles known to medieval literature into the "Three Matters":
- the "Matter of Rome", or retellings of stories from classical antiquity
- the "Matter of Britain", concerning King Arthur and related topics
- the "Matter of France", concerning Charlemagne and his paladins
Bodel contracted leprosy in 1202 or 1205,[1] and entered a leprosarium.[1] He then wrote a long farewell, "Les Congés",[1] his most personal and touching work.
References
- Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 108.
- Lynn T. Ramey, "Unauthorized Preaching: The Sermon in Jean Bodel's Jeu de Saint Nicolas," in n: Speculum Sermonis: Interdisciplinary Reflections on the Medieval Sermon, ed. Georgiana Donavin, Cary J. Nederman, and Richard Utz (Turnhout: Brepols, 2004), pp. 221-33.
- Discussed in: Grillot de Givry, Witchcraft, Magic & Alchemy, Courier Dover Publications, 1971, p. 109.
External links
French Wikisource has original text related to this article: Jean Bodel- Works by or about Jean Bodel at Internet Archive