Indeed, the reasons why authors appropriate and exploit this prestigious royal figure are quite different. In "Renart the Counterfeit," the story of his life is attributed to the main hero, Renart, and introduced in a new scene of the trial of the fox at Noble's court. Having just been sentenced to death by the king, Renart chooses to develop a long, scholarly discourse. His mastery of a knowledge that claims to be truth and wisdom fascinates Noble so much that he forgets the trial and, despite Renart's more than established reputation as a virtuoso of cunning and lies, addresses him as a master of truth, an authority. He begins by questioning him about the origin of the fox and listens to his long lecture on biblical history, then urges him to reveal the whole truth about Alexander (v. 9231-9236). Renart then gives himself the stature of a serious author by retracing his search for and discovery of the best Latin source, which he would have translated into Romance and put into verse, so that he appears as a double of the Trojan cleric. - [Author]

Language: French

DOI: 10.54563/bdba.1507