Van den vos Reynaerde

Abstract

Van den vos Reynaerde is interpreted as the satiric textualization of a particular social discourse. In the first part, the objectives are the three estates: clergy, nobility and peasants. The second part is focussed on the dysfunction of authority, its lack of moral and social legitimation and the relation individual-authority. The medieval society is criticized in a goliardic-inspired manner, where the satiric subject reflects through inversion the satiric objective. It is pointed out that the text contains a parody on the biblical story of Judith and Holofernes, to discern whether opposing a repressive authority allows for ‘just war’. The results of this study challenge the conventional interpretations of Van den vos Reynaerde based on an Arthurian courtly context. The author’s profile and intended public are reviewed with respect to these conclusions.