Rutebeuf

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Rutebeuf (also Rutebuef or Rustebués , creative period approx. 1250 - 1285 ) was a French writer . The name is probably a nickname that Rutebeuf himself derived from the rudeness with which he led his literary attacks as a rude bœuf ("rude ox").

Live and act

Today he is considered the first major Parisian author in French literary history. We are only vaguely informed about his biography from fleeting information in his works. The dates of their creation must be deduced from their content and other indicators. The years around 1230 to around 1285 can be assumed as dates of life.

Apparently, Rutebeuf had come to study, probably from Champagne , in Paris, which had risen to become the undisputed power and cultural center of France under the long and successful ruling kings Philip “Augustus” (1180–1223) and Louis the Saint (1226–1270) . However, as he states, through his own fault, namely addiction to drinking and gambling, he had not found a permanent place in society. Rather, he led, increasingly pessimistic and bitter and constantly complaining about his poverty, an insecure existence as a commissioner for changing patrons, as an entertainer with text and singing performances in the houses of rich people and above all as a minstrel at popular festivals.

As an author he was very versatile and worked in many genres, with the exception of courtly poetry and the courtly novel . He wrote social satires (e.g. La Bataille des vices contre la vertu ), a miracle play ( Le Miracle de Théophile ), saints' lives (e.g. Vie de Sainte Marie l'Égyptienne ), Fabliaux ( Schwänke ), a satirical allegorical fox - Poetry ( Renart le bétourné ), personal poetry that mostly addresses his misfortune (e.g. Le Mariage de Rutebeuf or La Complainte de Rutebeuf ), but also rhymed crusade propaganda that denounces the lethargy of Christians and their leaders. A not inconsiderable part of his poems, z. B. the Renart , served wholly or on the side of the polemic against the young mendicant orders who fought the popular amusements on which he and his fellow showmen and musicians lived. However, he polemicizes on a more political level, scourging the monks' influence on the king and other powerful people and denouncing the hypocrisy with which they, he believes, hide their hunger for power and greed. At the same time, with his polemics, he tried to support the professors of the Paris University , to which he felt connected, in their struggle to defend themselves against the orders that sought to share in their privileges.

Rutebeuf, who did not feel that he was wrongly traded under value, is a relatively isolated, unconventional voice in the literature of his time. He is hardly mentioned by other contemporaries and has never attended school. The 200 years younger François Villon , with whom he is often compared, probably did not know anything about him.

A representative selection of 17 poems by Rutebeuf did not appear in German until 2017, around 750 years after the poet's creative period, in a translation by Ralph Dutli. "Rutebeuf, a new type of urban poet in the Middle Ages, radically subjective and rude, who reports on poverty, despair, addictions and temptations and provides insights into the marginal milieus of impoverished intellectuals and minstrels. An all-rounder of the pen, time-critical tightrope walker over existential abysses, a Job in the Parisian streets. A reminder and warning against falsehood and hypocrisy, against greed and greed. " ( Ralph Dutli )

Rutebeuf in contemporary popular culture

Rutebeuf's poems inspired the chansonnier Léo Ferré to write his song Pauvre Rutebeuf ( Poor Rutebeuf ), which appeared on his album 8 Chansons Nouvelles (1956). He recorded it more times. Well-known cover versions exist by Catherine Sauvage (1956), Joan Baez (1965), Hugues Aufray (1966), Nana Mouskouri (1970) or Vaya Con Dios (2009).

literature

  • Léon Clédat : Rutebeuf (=  Les grands écrivains français ). Hachette, Paris 1891 (French).
  • Germaine Lafeuille: Rutebeuf. Un tableau synoptique de la vie et des oeuvres de Rutebeuf et des principaux événements contemporains . Seghers, Paris 1966.
  • Rutebeuf: Winter bad luck & summer bad luck. The poem of the big dice: of misfortune, misfortune and all sorts . Translated from the 13th century French and with an essay by Ralph Dutli. Wallstein, Göttingen 2017; ISBN 978-3-8353-3125-9 ; Bilingual edition, with the original French text (based on the Rutebeuf edition: Oeuvres complètes , Paris 1959–1960) and German translation in verse form by Ralph Dutli.
  • Ralph Dutli : Stinginess is completely without attraction . In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . No. 168 , July 22, 2017, p. 16 ( ralph-dutli.de [PDF; 251 kB ]).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ralph Dutli: Winter bad luck and summer bad luck: the poems of big dice, of misfortune, misfortune and all sorts ; Translated from 13th century French and with an essay by Ralph Dutli; Wallstein Verlag, Göttingen 2017; ISBN 978-3-8353-3125-9 ; especially p. 203.
  2. ^ Jacques Le Goff : Art. Work. Part V: Middle Ages . In: Theologische Realenzyklopädie (TRE), Vol. 3, pp. 626–635, here p. 632.
  3. ↑ Search for "Pauvre Rutebeuf" on Discogs. Retrieved June 9, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Rutebeuf
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Rutebuef; Rustebeuf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French author
DATE OF BIRTH 13th Century
DATE OF DEATH 13th Century