"the Farce of the Fart" and Other Ribaldries
Twelve Medieval French Plays in Modern English
Published on 14. March 2013
Book
Paperback/Softback
496 pages
978-0-8122-2251-7 (ISBN)
Description
Was there more to medieval and Renaissance comedy than Chaucer and Shakespeare? Bien sUr. For a real taste of saucy early European humor, one must cross the Channel to France. There, in the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the sophisticated met the scatological in popular performances presented by roving troupes in public squares that skewered sex, politics, and religion. For centuries, the scripts for these outrageous, anonymously written shows were available only in French editions gathered from scattered print and manuscript sources. Now prize-winning theater historian Jody Enders brings twelve of the funniest of these farces to contemporary English-speaking audiences in "The Farce of the Fart" and Other Ribaldries. Enders's translation captures the full richness of the colorful characters, irreverent humor, and over-the-top plotlines, all in a refreshingly uncensored American vernacular.
Those who have never heard the one about the Cobbler, the Monk, the Wife, and the Gatekeeper should prepare to be shocked and entertained. "The Farce of the Fart" and Other Ribaldries is populated by hilarious characters high and low. For medievalists, theater practitioners, and classic comedy lovers alike, Enders provides a wealth of information about the plays and their history. Helpful details abound for each play about plot, character development, sets, staging, costumes, and props. This performance-friendly collection offers in-depth guidance to actors, directors, dramaturges, teachers, and their students.
"The Farce of the Fart" and Other Ribaldries puts fifteenth-century French farce in its rightful place alongside Chaucer, Shakespeare, commedia dell'arte, and MoliEre-not to mention Monty Python. Vive la Farce!
Those who have never heard the one about the Cobbler, the Monk, the Wife, and the Gatekeeper should prepare to be shocked and entertained. "The Farce of the Fart" and Other Ribaldries is populated by hilarious characters high and low. For medievalists, theater practitioners, and classic comedy lovers alike, Enders provides a wealth of information about the plays and their history. Helpful details abound for each play about plot, character development, sets, staging, costumes, and props. This performance-friendly collection offers in-depth guidance to actors, directors, dramaturges, teachers, and their students.
"The Farce of the Fart" and Other Ribaldries puts fifteenth-century French farce in its rightful place alongside Chaucer, Shakespeare, commedia dell'arte, and MoliEre-not to mention Monty Python. Vive la Farce!
Reviews / Votes
"Scurrilous, sexy, stupid, satirical, scatological, side-splitting, and probably something else beginning with 's,' Jody Enders's translation of twelve French farces is a real discovery that goes a long way to readjusting our perception of the Middle Ages. Enders is a great champion of comedy at its most vulgar and hilarious. She points out that however silly or banal these farces may appear to us, they nonetheless confront the real controversies of their day over the law, politics, religion, social order, or the battle of the sexes. Thoroughly grounded in her academic approach to the subject, Enders nevertheless writes with liveliness and humor and wit. She is unafraid to reference modern comedy in her translations and insists on the primacy of performance in assessing these comedies from half a millennium ago." (Terry Jones)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Pennsylvania
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Dimensions
Height: 226 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 28 mm
Weight
680 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-8122-2251-7 (9780812222517)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Jody Enders
"the Farce of the Fart" and Other Ribaldries
Twelve Medieval French Plays in Modern English
E-Book
05/2011
1st Edition
University of Pennsylvania Press
€43.99
Available for download
Person
Jody Enders is Professor of French and Theater at the University of California, Santa Barbara and the author of many books, including Murder by Accident: Medieval Theater, Modern Media, Critical Intentions.
Content
On Abbreviations Short Titles, Notes, and Bibliography
Preface
Introduction
-History, Development, and the Actors of the Basoche
-Performance and Performance Records
-The Question of Genre
About This Translation
-Editions and Printed Sources
-Critical Apparatus
-Stage Directions
-Prose, Verse, and Music
-Repetition and Repetitiveness
-Language and Style
Brief Plot Summaries
THE PLAYS
Actors' Prologue
1. The Farce of the Fart [Farce nouvelle et fort joyeuse du Pect]
2. The Edict of NoEe, or, Shut Up! It's the Farce of the Rights of Women [Farce des Drois de la Porte BodEs]
3. Confession Lessons, or, The Farce of the Lusty Husband Who Makes His Confession to a Woman, His Neighbor, Who Is Disguised as a Priest [Farce de celuy qui se confesse A sa voisine]
4. The Farce of the Student Who Failed His Priest Exam because He Didn't Know Who Was Buried in Grant's Tomb [Farce du Clerc qui fut refusE A estre prestre]
5. Blind Man's Buff, or, The Farce of "The Chokester" [Farce du Goguelu]
6. Playing Doctor, or, Taking the Plunge (The Farce of the Woman Whose Neighbor Gives Her an Enema) [Farce d'une Femme A qui son Voisin baille ung clistoire]
7. At Cross Purposes, or, The Farce of the Three Lovers of the Cross [Farce de trois Amoureux de la Croix]
8. Shit for Brains, or, The Party Pooper-Scooper [Farce de Tarabin-Tarabas]
9. Monk-ey Business, or, A Marvelous New Farce for Four Actors, to Wit, the Cobbler, the Monk, the Wife, and the Gatekeeper [Le Savetier, le Moyne, la Femme, et le Portier]
10. Getting Off on the Wrong Foot, or, Who's Minding the Whore? for Three Actors, to Wit, the Lover Minding the Store, the Cobbler, and His Wife [Farce de Celuy qui garde les Patins]
11. Cooch E. Whippet, or, The Farce of Martin of Cambray [Farce de Martin de Cambray]
12. Birdbrain: A Musical Comedy? or, School Is for the Birds [Farce joyeuse de Maistre Mimin]
Appendix: Scholarly References to Copyrighted Materials
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments
Preface
Introduction
-History, Development, and the Actors of the Basoche
-Performance and Performance Records
-The Question of Genre
About This Translation
-Editions and Printed Sources
-Critical Apparatus
-Stage Directions
-Prose, Verse, and Music
-Repetition and Repetitiveness
-Language and Style
Brief Plot Summaries
THE PLAYS
Actors' Prologue
1. The Farce of the Fart [Farce nouvelle et fort joyeuse du Pect]
2. The Edict of NoEe, or, Shut Up! It's the Farce of the Rights of Women [Farce des Drois de la Porte BodEs]
3. Confession Lessons, or, The Farce of the Lusty Husband Who Makes His Confession to a Woman, His Neighbor, Who Is Disguised as a Priest [Farce de celuy qui se confesse A sa voisine]
4. The Farce of the Student Who Failed His Priest Exam because He Didn't Know Who Was Buried in Grant's Tomb [Farce du Clerc qui fut refusE A estre prestre]
5. Blind Man's Buff, or, The Farce of "The Chokester" [Farce du Goguelu]
6. Playing Doctor, or, Taking the Plunge (The Farce of the Woman Whose Neighbor Gives Her an Enema) [Farce d'une Femme A qui son Voisin baille ung clistoire]
7. At Cross Purposes, or, The Farce of the Three Lovers of the Cross [Farce de trois Amoureux de la Croix]
8. Shit for Brains, or, The Party Pooper-Scooper [Farce de Tarabin-Tarabas]
9. Monk-ey Business, or, A Marvelous New Farce for Four Actors, to Wit, the Cobbler, the Monk, the Wife, and the Gatekeeper [Le Savetier, le Moyne, la Femme, et le Portier]
10. Getting Off on the Wrong Foot, or, Who's Minding the Whore? for Three Actors, to Wit, the Lover Minding the Store, the Cobbler, and His Wife [Farce de Celuy qui garde les Patins]
11. Cooch E. Whippet, or, The Farce of Martin of Cambray [Farce de Martin de Cambray]
12. Birdbrain: A Musical Comedy? or, School Is for the Birds [Farce joyeuse de Maistre Mimin]
Appendix: Scholarly References to Copyrighted Materials
Notes
Bibliography
Acknowledgments