Fabliaux Expose Urban Wit and Clergy Satire in Medieval France

Welcome back to the Age of Cathedrals. This article delves into the "fabliaux," or "little fables," which offer a glimpse into the urban values and social dynamics of the 12th and 13th centuries, particularly as they contrast with the philosophical concerns of figures like Peter Abelard.

The Rise of Urban Values and the Fabliaux

Peter Abelard, a prominent figure of his time, was characterized by his individualism, his engagement with bodily appetites, his philosophical inquiries into God and godlessness, his relativistic perspective, and his highly verbal approach to social interaction. He famously stated, "I made use of my tongue instead of working with my hands," a sentiment that encapsulates a significant aspect of social life around the cathedrals of the 12th and 13th centuries.

These emerging urban values, which were hinted at in Abelard's autobiography, The Story of My Misfortunes, find their fullest expression in the fabliaux. These mostly comic, short verse tales, written in Old French, are populated by the new social classes of the late 12th and 13th centuries:

• Artisans and craftsmen
• Merchants and haulers of goods
• Shopkeepers and bookkeepers
• Students and wandering entertainers
• Village priests and monks
• Lawyers and doctors
• The wealthy bourgeoisie
• Low-life pimps and prostitutes

These individuals, who either lived in or frequented the towns of North and Northwest France, thrived through their reliance on:

• Cleverness and wit
• Anticipation and quick thinking
• Cunning and daring
• Inventiveness and endurance
• Above all, right timing within the new urban social environment.

Two Representative Fabliaux: Priests and Profanity

To illustrate these themes, we examine two representative fabliaux that feature priests who, much like Abelard, succumb to carnal desires. However, unlike Abelard, they fail to transform their misfortunes into a higher philosophical understanding. These tales are "The Crucified Priest" and "The Peekaboo Priest."

The Crucified Priest

"The Crucified Priest" tells the story of Roger, a manufacturer of liturgical objects like crucifixes and religious statues. Roger suspects his wife of having an affair with a local priest and devises a plan to catch them. He pretends to leave for work, intending to return unexpectedly.

The story unfolds as follows:

1. The Setup: Roger's wife, consumed by passion, has taken a priest as a lover. Roger announces he must go to market to deliver a statue for profit, a ruse that delights his wife, who eagerly anticipates his departure. Roger, however, notices her joyful expression and suspects her infidelity.
2. The Return and the Hiding Place: After the wife and priest settle down for dinner, Roger returns. The quick-thinking wife advises the priest to hide in Roger's workshop, strip naked, and pose among the holy carvings. The priest, willingly or reluctantly, complies, standing "as if he'd been carved out of wood."
3. The "Inspection": Roger, taking his time, drinks and eats before sharpening a knife. He then asks his wife to help him inspect a recent carving in the workshop.
4. The Discovery and Castration: The wife, without protest, accompanies him, holding a candle. Roger, the master carver, immediately spots the priest with his arms outstretched. Noticing the priest's exposed genitalia, Roger exclaims, "Lady... how it appalls me this indecent crucifix. Such holy objects don't have pricks. I must have had too much to drink. Some light. I'll fix it in a wink." The terrified priest remains motionless as Roger, true to his word, cuts off his genitalia, leaving him "nothing without failure to warrant further amputation."
5. The Escape and Ransom: Realizing he must flee, the castrated priest runs into the street, where he is apprehended by two ruffians. They beat him until he pays a 15-pound ransom.

The fabliau concludes with a moral: "This parable has demonstrated no matter who is implicated, in no case should a clergyman mess with a wife of any man or hang around her, I allege he'll leave his balls there as a pledge, just as the priest, Father Constants, left his three hanging ornaments."

Interpretation: Sacred vs. Profane

While one might interpret the moral as a straightforward warning about marital fidelity, a deeper analysis reveals a more complex interplay between the sacred and the profane, and the triumph of debased forms of exchange.

The story is rich with religious symbolism, particularly centered on the crucifix. However, in this tale, the crucifix is reduced to a mere object of exchange. Roger, the master carver, is an artist and a member of a guild, skilled in creating statues and crucifixes for profit. The religious object here holds no sacred value; it is a commodity to be bought and sold, not an item for worship or spiritual inspiration.

Similarly, the priest, Father Constants, is not a devout, pastoral figure but a worldly, amorous individual driven by sexual desire. His attempt to "play at being Christ" by posing as a statue ultimately leads to another economic exchange. Roger, the clever businessman, turns his own cuckoldry into profit. He barters with the priest, who is pretending to be a statue, over his life, after removing the "excess material" that is supposedly the source of sin.

This comic castration stands in stark contrast to Abelard's experience. Abelard's castration, inflicted by Fulbert's men, was a source of profound humiliation and metaphysical anguish. Father Constants' castration, however, is presented as a source of humor and, ultimately, money. Roger, the master carver and guild member, embodies the urban values of wit, persistence, and cleverness, which ultimately prevail in this world.