AG-5

Literature of 1550s France, 15 February 2015

This review is from: The Heptameron (Classics) (Kindle Edition)
Attributed to Marguerite of Navarre and set in mid-1500s Europe, this is an intriguing collection of seventy-two stories.
With a similar framework to the Canterbury Tales and the Decameron, the narrators - five men and five women of noble background - are thrown together in an abbey in the Pyrenees following a flood. As they wait for a bridge to be built, they entertain themselves by telling (supposedly true) stories. These concern chaste - and faithless - husbands and wives, immoral monks, people who love to the death, people who seek revenge, incest...one is even about the horrid state of toilets in an abbey! A glimpse into the world and attitudes of the time.
Each story is followed by the characters debating what they've just heard, and their personalities come out in their talk, from pious old Oisille and sensible Parlamente to the rather brutish Hircan who derides chaste heroes, and the misogynistic Saffredent.
The modern translation makes this completely readable and I quite enjoyed it, though the stories are variable in quality, and I found seventy-two was quite enough! ( )

Thoughts...............The Heptameron, attributed to De Navarre, sister of Francois I, is a collection of 72 short stories told by a group of stranded travelers awaiting rescue. This is the premise used for retelling, possibly true, stories which were circulated by De Navarre and her medieval circle of friends concerning adulterous acquaintenances, leacherous friars and circumstances which are amusing and sometimes thought provoking. Mainly, the book is a living testament to life as it was lived in medieval France told by people who actually lived it. Voices from the grave, so to speak.

Would I recommend it...................yes, I was amused by many of the stories and liken the telling of them to having a group of friends join you for drinks around the bonfire and sharing incredulous stories which my either shock you or leave you laughing. ( )

The best known and most popular of the old tales told in the French language--virtually the first as it appears in written forms. And like so many cutting edge works, it is baudy. Margaret died in 1549. The collection was first published in 1558, in a highly-abridged version (censored to spare real personages?) Mal sur mal n'est pas sante.

read only story 8,story 15 and story 18