The Book “Roman de Fauvel”
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The
original “Livre de Fauvel” has been regarded as one of the great
masterpieces
of Gothic poetry.Created during
the second decade of the 14th century, written by various officials of
the Royal Court in Latin and in a number of contemporary French
dialects,
the work is a sharp-tongued satire on the establishment of the day.At
the center of this monumental verse epic stands the figure of Fauvel, a
donkey who rises from the depths of humiliation to become ruler of the
world. Soon
after its composition the work was set to music for both single voiced
and polyphonic arrangements.The
versions for one voice - conductus, sequence, rondeau - were written by
various composers; the polyphonic arrangements are primarily the work
of
Philippe de Vitry. |