Category Archives: Tale/Collection of Tales

Renard: Chanteclere the Cock and his wife, Pinte the Hen

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About the scene and clip:
In this scene, Chanteclere the Cock reproaches his wife, Pinte, for her silly fears, and he begins to nap. The performer imitates the Cock and the Hen. Imitation of animals is central to performance of the Renart stories and of many other medieval works.

About the work:
Le Roman de Renart–The Romance of Renard [or Reynard] the Fox-is the work of many poets, some known, some unknown, of the 12th and 13th centuries. It consists of different “branches,” which recount in octosyllabic rhymed couplets the adventures of Renard and his generally-violent tangles with Isengrin the Wolf, Tibert the Cat, Chanteclere the Cock, and numerous other birds and beasts. Tone and treatment vary, but parody and satire predominate. Many scenes mock feudal institutions, royal justice, religious practices, and courtly love, as well as literary genres such as the epic, romance, and saint’s life; obscenity is frequent. The Renard material apparently originated in France, and then traveled widely, finding receptive audiences in the Low Countries and elsewhere in Europe.

This story comes from Branch II–one of the earliest and most important branches–by Pierre de Saint-Cloud. This particular episode tells about Chanteclere the Cock and his wife, Pinte the Hen; Renart catches Chanteclere but is tricked into letting him go.

The website contains several clips from the Renart that demonstrate some of the many different ways in which characters and scenes from this work can be performed.

About the genre:
While these stories are called a “roman,” that is a romance, Le Roman de Renart is primarily a loose compilation of related tales; these stories also partake of the mock-epic and of satire. Thus, they do not fit neatly into any genre classification.

The tale, like the epic, is an ancient genre and one found everywhere in the world. Many tales are firmly rooted in oral tradition and are recited or told by amateur and professional storytellers and performers. Other tales are the work of literarily sophisticated authors and are often intended to be read aloud or silently from written texts. Some tales circulate separately, while others are part of collections, which may be set in complex frames (as in the case of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Boccaccio’s Decameron and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales). There are many sub-groups of tales with specific characteristics; see for example the “lai” and the “fabliau.”

About the edition/translation:
Renard the Fox: The Misadventures of an Epic Hero, trans. Patricia Terry, Boston, Northeastern University Press, 1983, pp. 29ff. French: The Earliest Branches of the Roman de Renart, ed. Anthony Lodge and Kenneth Varty, New Alyth, Lochee Publications, 1989 (other French editions also exist).

About the performer/ensemble:
Alexander Sarian is a student in Educational Theatre at New York University’s Steinhardt School of Education (spring 2004).

About the production:
This performance was created for the course “Acting Medieval Literature,” taught by Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz at New York University in spring 2004. It took place in an open class held at the Maison Française in April 2004, and was videoed by NYU-TV.

Metamorphoses: Narcissus

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About the scene and clip:
This clip is drawn from the story of Narcissus who, having refused to love in return any of the young nymphs who loved him, was cursed by Echo to love in vain. Seeing his reflection in the mirror, he fell in love with himself and died of despair, becoming a flower (the narcissus) in death. The performer has drawn on the use of a mirror and video-recording as props to suggest Narcissus’ self-infatuation.

About the work:
The story of Narcissus is told in Book III of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, a collection of tales of love and other human passions, in which men and women are transformed–“metamorphosed”–into animals, birds, and plants, and live on in these new forms. Some scholars argue that the Metamorphoses is an epic.

About the genre:
The tale, like the epic, is an ancient genre and one found everywhere in the world. Many tales are firmly rooted in oral tradition and are recited or told by amateur and professional storytellers and performers. Other tales are the work of literarily sophisticated authors and are often intended to be read aloud or silently from written texts. Some tales circulate separately, while others are part of collections which may be set in complex frames (as in the case of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Boccaccio’s Decameron and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales). There are many sub-groups of tales with specific characteristics; see for example the “lai” and the “fabliau.”

The epic is an ancient genre and is found in almost every culture. It is a long heroic narrative which tells of war and great deeds. Epics are generally composed in verse, and sung from memory or improvised in performance by professional performers with instrumental accompaniment. These narratives are created from traditional elements, commonly without recourse to writing, by poets whose names are often unknown to us. Among the famous traditional epics are the Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to Homer; the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf; and the Old French Song of Roland. Many known poets adopt epic forms and themes for their literary verse (such as Virgil in his Aeneid).

About the edition/translation:
Adapted from The Metamorphoses of Ovid, trans. A.E. Watts, Berkeley, University of California Press, 1954, Book III, pp.61ff. Original: Ovid, Metamorphoses, ed./trans. Frank Justus Miller, Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press (Loeb Classical Library), 1976-1977, 2 vols.

About the performer/ensemble:
Adam Jones is a Drama student in the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (2003).

About the production:
This scene was part of a volunteer project on performing Ovid’s Metamorphoses with Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz in fall 2003. This performance took place in September 2003 at the Maison Française of New York University at an informal gathering of medievalists held under the auspices of the Colloquium for Orality, Writing and Culture, co-convenors Prof. Nancy Freeman Regalado and Prof. Vitz. The performance was videoed by NYU-TV.

Tain: Opening Tales

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About the scene and clip:
This clip comes from the beginning of The Tain, and tells “How The Tain was found again”; “How Conchobor was begotten, and how he took the kingship of Ulster”; and “The pangs of Ulster.” The performer tells the stories and also impersonates the various characters.

About the work:
The Tain is an 8th-century collection of heroic tales from Ulster which tell (among other stories) of a great cattle raid.

About the genre:
The Tain is in part a collection of stories and in part an epic; as its translator Thomas Kinsella says: “It is Ireland’s nearest approach to a great epic.” The Tain is an epic in its emphasis on battle and heroism; it is a collection of tales primarily by its episodic structure.

The epic is an ancient genre and is found in almost every culture. It is a long heroic narrative which tells of war and great deeds. Epics are generally composed in verse, and sung from memory or improvised in performance by professional performers with instrumental accompaniment. These narratives are created from traditional elements, commonly without recourse to writing, by poets whose names are often unknown to us. Among the famous traditional epics are the Iliad and the Odyssey, attributed to Homer; the Anglo-Saxon Beowulf; and the Old French Song of Roland. Many known poets adopt epic forms and themes for their literary verse (such as Virgil in his Aeneid).

The tale, like the epic, is an ancient genre and one found everywhere in the world. Many tales are firmly rooted in oral tradition and are recited or told by amateur and professional storytellers and performers. Other tales are the work of literarily sophisticated authors and are often intended to be read aloud or silently from written texts. Some tales circulate separately, while others are part of collections which may be set in complex frames (as in the case of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Boccaccio’s Decameron and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales). There are many sub-groups of tales with specific characteristics; see for example the “lai” and the “fabliau.”

About the edition/translation:
The Tain, trans. Thomas Kinsella, Oxford, Oxford University Press/Dublin, Dolmen Press, 1969, pp. 1-8. Original: Tain Bo Cuailnge in The Book of Leinster, formerly Lebar na Nuachongbala, ed. R.I. Best, Osborn Bergin and M.A. O’Brien, Dublin, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1954-.

About the performer/ensemble:
Gina Guadagnino graduated from New York University in May 2003 with a major in English; she minored in Medieval and Renaissance Studies and Irish Studies.

About the production:
This performance is one of a series done under the direction of Prof. Vitz in spring and fall 2003. This clip comes from a performance that took place in September 2003 at the Maison Française of New York University at an informal gathering of medievalists held under the auspices of the Colloquium for Orality, Writing and Culture, co-convenors Prof. Nancy Freeman Regalado and Prof. Timmie (E.B.) Vitz. The performance was videoed by NYU-TV.