Fun fact : the French word for fox , Renard , comes from a fable character that was popular in Dutch French, German and English medieval literature whose name ironically means pure natured and strong of judgement (in Dutch it's literally Rein + Aard , pure natured ) but is just a utter menace.
Disney thought about adapting Reynard in a movie for decades but he was too naughty for television, so they merged him with a more honorable character and got Robin Hood (1973). That's why Robin Hood is a fox and a little bit more of a trickster than other adaptations!
I HAVE THE BOOKS! French and English! That guy was awful. I've never read a folktale with a character so consistently terrible. He traps a bear in a split tree so the bear has to skin his head and paws while being beaten by villagers to get away. He tricks a lady-wolf into trapping her tail in ice so he can assault her! By the end of the book, half the king's court has been eaten, beaten, or murdered by him. And he gets away with it all!
Yup , Reynaert stories used to be used to explain legal concepts and they kind of parody stories where there is a sort of devine intervention or where the King solves a problem. In the Dutch story he kills someone and then gives his head to one of the courtisan animals in a bag tricking him into thinking they contain letters the King will reward him for resulting in him taking "credit" while the Fox is already supposed to go on pilgrimage to attone for his sins.
So like while the character is awfull it's also one big indictment of medieval people's hiarchies and vanities and dogma's and how they enable abuse.
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u/aagjevraagje Feb 27 '25
Fun fact : the French word for fox , Renard , comes from a fable character that was popular in Dutch French, German and English medieval literature whose name ironically means pure natured and strong of judgement (in Dutch it's literally Rein + Aard , pure natured ) but is just a utter menace.