Esprit gaulois

The esprit gaulois is a national car stereotype of the French and describes a quality that the old Gauls allegedly already had, namely a mixture of quick-wittedness, wit and lust for ridicule without taboos, but with the condition that one is coarse and suggestive, but not clumsy may be and not grossly hurtful. The esprit gaulois manifests itself almost exclusively verbally, hardly in the form of funny pranks or comical behavior.

The Renaissance author François Rabelais is regarded as a typical representative of esprit gaulois , but Asterix and Obelix can certainly also be considered typical embodiments.

The esprit gaulois should naturally be closed to members of other peoples, especially the Germans .

literature

• Hippolyte Taine: L'esprit gaulois . In: Hippolyte Taine: La Fontaine et ses fables . Hachette, Paris 1903, pp. 1-18.