Department of French & Italian Student-Faculty Forum Series presents
Crime, Punishment, and the Old French Fabliaux
by Travis Hinkle
Friday, November 21
2:30-3:30 pm
Ballantine Hall 305
ABSTRACT: Trickery, deceit, and violence are the building blocks of the fabliaux. Indeed, crimes and misdemeanors abound and seem to be indiscriminately distributed: husbands are cuckolded, wives are beaten, priests and clercs regularly dupe innocent victims, and naïve young girls find themselves seduced by smooth-talking men. However, a surprising number of fabliaux use these themes to address questions of justice and are extremely coherent in their designation of moral rights and wrongs. Crimes and problems range from simple and humorous debate in cases of fault to more serious and weighty issues in cases of adultery, theft, or the abuse of authority. Judicial scenes abound, as do instances of the vigilante punishment of offenders. Far from being immoral or a genre written to only to divert and entertain, the fabliaux actually represent a strict moral code and an imaginative application of medieval law. This presentation will examine not only the connections that exist between the fabliaux and medieval customary law as it was practiced in the regions which produced these tales, but also the gradations in offenses and punishments which exist within the corpus of the Old French fabliaux.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: W. Travis Hinkle is a PhD student in French literature in the Department of French and Italian. He holds a BA in French and Biology from Furman University (2001) and an MA in French Literature from Indiana University (2005). He was the 2007-08 recipient of the William and Maryse Trapnell Fellowship for study of pre-revolutionary France.
This presentation will be in English, to be followed by discussion and refreshments.
If you have a disability and need assistance, accommodations can be made to address most needs. Please call 855-5458.
