A selective survey of visual representations of Reynardian Literature and fox lore in the last fifty years

Studies

An interpretation of the single miniature of ms. O of the Roman de Renart (BNF f. fr. 12583) which accompanies branche I (‘Le jugement de Renart’) but illustrates branche XVII (‘La mort et la procession de Renart’).

A study of the fox scene in the chapel of Plaincourault and its potential relations with the Roman de Renart.

Reaction on Varty 2007. Pays attention to the relations of the marginal illustrations in ms. D to branche I of the Roman de Renart with medieval marginalia in general.[ p.246 ]

Art historical study of the miniatures in ms. I of the Roman de Renart (BNF f. fr. 12584)

Catalogue of an exhibition on books about animals. There are three categories: animals in medieval manuscripts; the medieval animal epic tradition (Latin, French, German, Dutch) up to the incunabula period; modern Reinardian books. 156 pp., 32 illustrations, all b & w.

Introductory study of Reynaerts historie. At the end much attention is given to the missing illustration cycle in ms. B (Brussel, KB, 14601).

The book as a whole studies the importance of manuscript studies for literary history. In Chapter 4 (‘Text, Miniature, and Rubrics’) is analysed how miniatures influence the reading experience in the manuscripts of the Roman de Renart (226–253, esp. 233–253).

Analysis of the influence of those codicological aspects of ms. Paris Bnf fr. 1630 of Renart le contrefait that influence the reception of the text. Regarding the miniatures a comparison is made with miniatures in manuscripts of the Roman de Renart and the Roman d’Alexandre.

Identifies wolf as Hersent and suggests that she features in a scene from br. VII of the RdR. Repeated by Lefèvre 1978, rejected by Varty 1986 and Varty 1991b.

Analyses the illustration cycles that were designed or used in the 19th century for a version of the Reineke story (mostly Goethe’s). Attention is given to Virgil Solis, Allaert Van Everdingen, Johann Heinrich Ramberg, Wilhelm von Kaulbach, and others.

Discusses images of the duel between fox and wolf of Andreas Paul Weber, Jelina Kisseljova and Fritz Eichenberg.

Discusses images of Tibeert’s castration of the priest (from Van den vos Reynaerde and its tradition) in book illustrations and in ex libris. Cf. Goossens 1988 and 2000.

Discusses the scene of the fox on the gallows in Van den vos Reynaerde and its tradition in book illustrations and in ex libris.

Discusses the illustrations made for the Ysengrimus translation by J. van Mierlo (1946).

Analyses images of the hare in illustrations of Reynardian stories and on some woodcuts.

Discusses technique and source of a large print of the fox on the gallows, meant for use in the classroom.[ p.247 ]

Discusses the three ‘penny prints’ with the Reineke story from the Münchener Bilderbogen. The illustrations were made by Eduard Ille and were based on Kaulbach’s illustrations.

Analyses how the cock is presented in illustrations in some editions of the Roman de Renart and Goethe’s Reineke Fuchs.

Analyses a Flemish ‘penny print’ (Glenisson & van Genechten, ca. 1856) which tells the Reynard story in 20 woodcuts, each accompanied by 4 rhyming lines.

84pp., 133 b & w illustrations + three in colour. They represent the submissions to an international ex libris competition so all are modern graphics related to the fox stories.

Gives a list of Reynardian images in miniatures and sculpture, carving, etc.

Catalogue of an exhibition of modern illustrations of foxes. It also contains richly illustrated introductions on the fox in literature (Dieter Arendt), fairy tales (Wolfgang Schultze) and art (Bingfriede Baumann).

Art historical study of the miniatures in a manuscript of Renart le nouvel and in ms. I of the Roman de Renart. Stylistic aspects are pointed out and some comparisons are made with other contemporary miniatures. It “is useful only for its reproductions of a few miniatures” (Busby 2002, I, 234 n. 19).

Catalogue of an exhibition of books. The 116 illustrations are all related to Goethe’s Reineke Fuchs.

Analyses the Reynaert illustrations of Guido de Graeve (1929–2005) in stained glass windows, paintings and graphics.

Studies the Haarlem Master/Wynkyn de Worde/Mohnkopf (Dutch/English/German) illustrations to Reynaerts historie and their relations. On this basis a reconstruction of the Haarlem Master’s cycle is given. Wackers suggested a few minor changes to this reconstruction. See his review in Leuvense Bijdragen 73 (1984), 370–373.

All illustrations from the three series are shown, as are the later Dutch and English series. For the later German illustrations see Vedder (1980). Cf. also Rijns 2007.

152 pp., 33 illustrations. Studies the adaptations of text and illustrations of the scene of Tibeert and the priest in the Dutch and the German tradition from the 15th to the 20th century. Cf. Feliers 2000a.

Shortened presentation of the main results of Goossens 1988. Cf. Feliers 2000a.

Concentrates on the preaching fox-friar motif in literature (including the RdR), and in art. The origin is seen in Mesopotamian myth.

Studies marginal illustrations as help for research on cultural history. Among other subjects attention is paid to illustrations of the fable of fox and crane and of the fox teaching the hare the creed (scene from Van den vos Reynaerde) in manuscripts of the so-called Dampierre group.

A series of remarks on images of foxes in Avignon (tile), Venice (a 17th c. copy of a 14th c. capital), Murano (mosaic), Modena (sculpture) and in the margin of a manuscript from the Cistercian abbey Ter Doest, now kept in Bruges.

317 pp. Contains 96 illustrations of which 25 are pre-1600 and 56 are post 1900. Twelve are full-page and in colour. The book starts with a general introduction on animal stories and fables. Then the medieval tradition of the animal epic is sketched, but the majority of the book is devoted to the Dutch tradition up to the 20th century.

Catalogue of an exhibition of Reynardian books and drawings. The German tradition (from the Lübeck 1498 edition to Goethe’s Reineke Fuchs) dominates, although there are some English books. Artists stem from 5 centuries, the most recent one is Rainer Herold. 88 pag., 50 ill., 8 in color.

Analyses the illustration tradition of Goethe’s Reineke Fuchs. The text considers all known illustrations of German artists with special attention for Kaulbach. In an appendix all known editions, in whatever language, with Kaulbach’s series are listed. A division is made by etchings in metal and etchings in wood.

Contains studies of aspects of the German Reynke tradition. The illustrations show manuscripts of Reinhart Fuchs and the Dutch Reynaert tradition, printed Dutch and German Reinaert/Reynke books from the 15th–18th century, illustrations for Goethe’s Reineke Fuchs (Van Everdingen + Kaulbach) and modern Reynaert/Reynke illustrations. 172 pp., 102 full-page illustrations, a few in colour.[ p.249 ]

A general, descriptive survey, concentrating on images of funeral processions.

The title indicates the object. The article contains no illustrations.

Supports the view that the supplice d’Hersent refers to br. VII, challenged by Varty 1986 and Varty 1991a. See also Clemens 1976.

Studies the commission and the intended place for 7 panels painted by the Flemish painter Henri Verbuecken, based on Kaulbach’s Reineke illustrations. Cf. Van Daele 1993, 146–148.

This article acts as preparation for a re-edition of the etchings that Ramberg published in 1826 as illustrations of the Reynard story. (This book appeared as Maierhofer 2016, see Reynardian sources). The line of argument is slightly fuzzy but attention is paid to the relations between the etchings and the drawings that were made as preparation and to the text versions of D. W. Soltau (1803) and Goethe, because adaptations of the original etchings were used in editions of these two versions.

Discusses the possibility that two marginal illustrations in ms. Trinity B.11.22 refer to the (Dutch?) Reynaert story and that they have sexual connotations. Important because of the reflection on the difficulties that are inherent in this type of interpretation.

Slightly popularising version in Dutch of Meeuwese 2006.

Descriptive bibliography of all the known printed European Fox-epics to the 19th century. Every chapter, based on a language, contains a set of illustrations from the books described in that chapter. Added are also some ‘iconographic dossiers’ of specific scenes. 472 pp. and 260 illustrations.

First concentrates on variations in the text of the prologue in the thirteen mss that contain this branche; then on the different places it occupies in those mss; then on variations in its length; and, finally, on the miniatures that illustrate it.

This article deals with the manuscript as a whole, it is not very iconographical but makes remarks on the manuscript’s special place in the tradition because of the 514 miniatures.

Studies the fable of Fox and Crane in text and images from antiquity to modern times. 134 pp.

A comprehensive study of the six Renart scenes in the dramatized procession at Philip the fairs Pentecostal celebration in Paris of the knighting of his sons in 1313. The detailed analyses and discussion draw on scholarly work about dramatic performance, civic and royal processions, iconographical evidence (there are numerous illustrations), and the political issues of the time. Cf. entry 236 in Varty, The Roman de Renart. A Guide to Scholarly Work (note 2).

This is first and foremost a synoptic edition of all the printed Reynaert books in Dutch up to 1700. It has, however, also iconographic importance because it contains reproductions of all the illustrations in these books. In principle this material is also available in Goossens 1983, but there one finds only the copies of the series of Quellijn and Jegher from the Southern Dutch chapbooks and here the original Quellijn/Jegher woodcuts are given next to the copies. Cf. 359–392.

Study of medieval visual representations of the fox preaching. 119 pp.

Catalogue of an exhibition of Reinardian books. Most attention is paid to the German tradition with a special place for the Grimm brothers and for Goethe. 81 pp., 26 illustrations, five in colour.

Description and analysis of the paintings on wooden panels in Gloucester cathedral of Reynard’s funeral.

Analysis of a broadsheet with a 16th century polemical text from Lutheran perspective. It uses illustrations based on a capital in the minster of Strasbourg, showing the funeral procession of the seemingly dead fox, a theme that is also handled in branche XVII (‘La mort et la procession de Renart’).[ p.251 ]

Interpretation of the Reynardian scene on the tympan of the Porta della Pescheria of the cathedral of Modena (two cocks bearing a seemingly dead fox). It is linked with branche XVII (Mort et procession de Renart), and with the Arthurian scenes on the arch above. Lastly the function of these two worldly themes is interpreted within the whole iconographic programme of the cathedral.

Studies the representation of the fox’s funeral on the frieze of the parish church in Marienhafe, on the Reynard capital in the cathedral of Strasbourg and on 19th century picturesheets.

Describes the scenes on the (now mostly lost) frieze in the church in Marienhafe and compares them with other images. Here are only relevant the images of the funeral of the fox and the theft of the fishes. The text is mainly descriptive, there is not much scholarly depth.

In an illustrated publication accompanying an exhibition in various municipal libraries of France, this article gives an overview of the French fable and beast epic traditions, with reproductions of several miniatures (Fleur de vertu, Isopets, Roman de Fauvain, Roman de Fauvel, Roman de Renart, two marginalia and an historiated initial).

Tiecelijn. 1–20 (Tijdschrift voor Reynaerdofielen), 21- (Jaarboek van het Reynaertgenootschap)

Tiecelijn is a periodical for people interested in Reynardian stories, especially Van den vos Reynaerde. Its articles range from scholarly important to just of local interest. It must be mentioned, however, because it always pays attention to the visual representation of Reynardian stories and characters. Almost all articles are available on line. For the volumes 1–20 and for 21–25 (=Jaarboek 1–5) see http://​www​.dbnl​.org​/tekst​/_tie002tiec01​_01/ For the volumes 26 (Jaarboek 6) up to now see http://​www​.reynaertgenootschap​.be​/node​/163.

Treats the way the lion and then the fox is said to carry its prey flung over its shoulder, and is often shown to do so in drawings and paintings. Relevant to br. IIb and to the Nun’s Priest’s Tale. 6 ills.

Discusses the same five Reynaert cabinets as Wackers & Van Daele 1988.

Analysis of the role of Cantecleer the cock in the Reynardian tradition and of the way he is depicted in images. 16 ills.

Shows the influence of the Kaulbach cycle on visual art in the Low Countries, especially in Flanders. Special attention is given to seven panels by Henri Verbuecken (end 19th century) – cf. Van Daele 2012a and Maclot 2012 – and to the (loose) illustrations for a scrapbook produced by the Victoria chocolate factory.

Cf. Van Daele 1993 and Maclot 2012.

Studies six painted panels by Constant Montald, made specifically for a house in Antwerp. The panels are based on the cycle of Kaulbach.

Studies two drawings on the wall of corridors under a hill in Maastricht. The drawings were made by novices of the Jesuit order and based on two of Kaulbach’s illustrations.

Shows influence of Kaulbach’s Reineke illustrations on wood carvings in the Saint Martinscathedral in Bratislava.

Continuation of Wackers & Van Daele 1988. Describes two more pieces of furniture from the same workshop but with other images.

Examples found may be divided thus: non-historiated. The natural fox (alone) – 18 examples; pursued by dog(s) or a man – 17; carrying off prey (bird, rabbit) – 74. historiated examples: posing as a religious (priest, friar, monk, pilgrim, etc) – 63 (of which 30 preach from a pulpit); fox and cock story – 27; trial and associated matter – 12; fox physician – 10; musician – 9; fabulist’s fox – 8; Bestiary fox – 7. musician – 9.

A simple exposition of the way Wynkyn de Worde’s cycle of woodcuts may be established is given here on pp. 252–54.

Studies the Wynkyn de Worde woodcuts, their links with the continental tradition and their following on the British Isles. A complete set of WdW cuts follows from p. 369 onwards. There are 147 reproductions of early woodcuts in this volume.

An outline history of the illustrations of the Beast epic in its manuscript and printed forms, with a description of some recent research and descriptions of the miniatures in Roman de Renart manuscripts and of a selection of woodcuts from the incunabula period. Now superseded by Zumbült 2011 and Varty 1999.

Reviews published research (Clemens 1976, Lefèvre 1978 and older studies) on the mosaics on the floor of the choir, and in particular suggestions about the meaning of the fox or wolf tied to the tail of an ass. Argues that this scene depicts part of a three-hundred-line episode in br. IX. Foulet dates this branche c. 1200; art historians date the mosaic 1130–1140.

Slightly revised version of Varty 1986.

Studies the relations between the chapter on the fox in the bestiary tradition and its illustrations on the text and the miniatures of the Roman de Renart.

Studies the visual representations of branche XVII (‘La mort et la procession de Renart’) in the visual arts (miniatures, mosaïques, friezes, carvings, drawings). Revised and expanded version of a study from 1966. 35 ills. Of which several had not been previously be published.

Studies visual anthologies of the matière renardienne, first in the manuscripts of the Roman de Renart, then in the cycles of the earliest printed editions, and lastly in wood (misericords in Bristol), pewter (on a Antwerp cabinet: see Van Daele 1988), and textile (Lübeck altarcloth).

After a brief survey of the history of Aesopian fable, the Bestiary and Emblem traditions, turns to the Beast Epic proper and to its evolution from the Middle Ages to the present day. The RdR is mentioned briefly (p. 8–9). The mutations experienced by the Beast Epic (and especially the RdR) are shown through illustrations from scholarly, popular adult, and children’s versions; also from dramatizations, films and comic strips.

Most of the categories listed in Varty 1967 above are repeated but expanded. Most notable additions concern the fox’s funeral and the Wynkyn de Worde series of woodcuts and some of it imitators.

Argues that the fox in the cartoons by Paul Weber (1893–1980) may be identified with Reineke and discusses the satirical content of these cartoons.

Studies the – later added – marginal illustrations of branche I of the Roman de Renart in ms. D (Oxford, Bodleian, Douce 360)

Discusses the disappearance of the Roman de Renart from French literature after the manuscript period and its reappearance in the 19th century, especially by the influence of Paulin Paris. Some other modern adaptations are discussed, the last of which is Le Polar de Renard (1979), a comic book with a completely new intrigue.

Studies the German tradition of Reynke woodcuts. Woodcuts from the 1498 Lübeck edition begin on p. 408. There are 147 reproductions of early woodcuts in this volume.

Discusses among other subjects the series of 40 woodcuts for the 1566 Reynaert de vos/Reynier le Renard edition by Plantijn, drawn by the Parisian Geoffroy Ballain and cut by Jehan de Gourmont. Attention is given to the discrepancy between drawings (70) and cuts (40), the link with the emblemata tradition and influence of the Haarlem Master tradition on this series.

Sketch of the Dutch chapbook tradition. It is shown that on the basis of small differences in seemingly identical illustrations in different chapbooks, these can be divided into groups. It is also shown that some illustrations prove the existence of lost editions.

Study of the texts (on walls, on paper, in books, etc.) present on Kaulbach’s Reineke illustrations.

Exploration of the illustrations of Reynaert’s summoning by Bruun, mainly in the Dutch tradition, from the first printed books to modern times. 35 ills.

Argues that Van Everdingen’s illustrations were originally not meant for a book, although they have become reasonably well known by their inclusion in Gottsched’s Reineke, and later in some impressions of Goethe’s Reineke. A possible Maecenas is suggested, some technical and iconographical properties are discussed, as are possible sources.

144 pp., 127 illustrations, mostly full-page and in colour. Most of the illustrations are based on the Reineke collection of Friedrich von Fuchs. They are ordered according to the story of Goethe’s Reineke Fuchs.

Analysis of a modern graphic novel, retelling Van den vos Reynaerde. The illustrations are remarkable by their references to other works of art and their strong realism.

Review of a modern graphic novel with a new Reynardian story placed in the contemporary world, but loosely based on Van den vos Reynaerde.

Overview for non-specialists of the representations on the Haarlem master cycle in printed Reynardian editions in Dutch, English and German from the 15th to the 19th century.

Proves that the illustration cycle in Segher van Dort’s Reynaert adaptation (Antwerp 1651) and – in simplified form – in the Flemish chapbooks is based on Jost Amman’s cycle for Hartmann Schopper’s Speculum vitae aulicae (Frankfurt am Main, 1574–75).

Discusses a pewter badge of a fox with a pilgrim’s staff and a goose on a chain, linking it with some illustrations of the chapter on the fox in bestiaries and on the stories about the fox’s pilgrimage in branches VIII (Le Pèlerinage) and I (Le Jugement) of the Roman de Renart and in Van den vos Reynaerde.

Studies the intended but not executed illustration cycle in ms. B of Reynaerts historie (Brussel, KB, 14601) and its possible links with the miniatures for branche I in ms. I of the Roman de Renart (BN f. fr. 12584) and the woodcut cycle in the 15th century Reinardian incunabula.

Description of five luxury cabinets made by the atelier of Hendrik van Soest (Antwerp, ca. 1700). They contain pewter illustrations based on the Reinardian cycle of Quellijn and Jegher.

Argues that in studying the iconography of the fox stories attention must be paid to which scenes were chosen for illustration, for what reason and how they were composed. These compositions must then be compared to other, contemporary iconographic or pictorial genres.[ p.256 ]

Art-historical study of the European Reynardian illustrations in miniatures and in woodcuts of the incunabula period. Vol.1, 421 pp. + vol. 2, 513 pp. Vol. 1 contains 731 descriptions of miniatures over 271 pp. Colour reproductions of 175. In the first seven early printed books there are 188 woodcuts, all described; 95 are reproduced. There are 131 black and white illustrations towards the end of the second volume. See the review by Baudouin Van den Abeele in Scriptorium 67 (2013), p. 124*–125*.

Reynardian sources

The Roman de Renart is an older text than Renart le Nouvel, but this is the oldest Reynardian manuscript with miniatures. In a colophon it is dated October 9th 1288. Cf. Zumbült 2011, I, 36–81 and II, 1–29.

It contains more than 500 miniatures in oblong format. It is dated between 1375 and 1450. Cf. Busby 2002, 248–253; Zumbült 2011, I, 122–159 and II, 122–271; and Bausch-Bronsing 2010.

Edition and facsimile of the remaining fragments of an incunabulum printed by Gheraert Leeu in Antwerp between 1487 and 1490. That book contained the woodcut series by the Haarlem master. Only 2 ½ woodcuts remain. For a reconstruction of the whole cycle see Goossens 1983.

Woodcuts based on the series of the Haarlem Master

Woodcuts based on the series in the Lübeck Reynke.

Woodcuts by Jehan de Gourmont based on drawings by Geoffroy Ballain. Cf. Verzandvoort 1988–1989.

Title woodcut by Virgil Solis, woodcuts from the series of Jost Amman. Cf. Menke 1992, 343–345 (nr. VII 26(1–3)).

Woodcuts by Jost Amman and Virgil Solis.

Woodcuts copied from the series by Jan Christoffel Jegher based on drawings by Erasmus Quellijn. Cf. Wackers 1989.

Woodcuts ultimately based on the series of the Haarlem master. Cf. Verzandvoort 1989.

There are many later editions with this series and most of the illustrations are also easily found on the internet but we have used:

Edition with the first publication of the ca. 100 drawings that Oswald Jarisch (1902–1979) made as illustrations for Reineke Fuchs while he was in a Russian prison camp in 1944–1948.

Contains all the Reynardian etchings that Ramberg (1763–1840) published in 1826 and also of the drawings that he made as preparation. Cf. Maierhofer 2014 and Czech 1993, 19–28. For a pre-publication of a part of the images see http://​www​.goethezeitportal​.de​/fileadmin​/PDF​/db​/wiss​/bildende​_kunst​/maierhofer​_reineke​_fuchs​.pdf

Illustrations by A. Paul Weber

The original had no illustrations. In the facsimile illustrations by Weber are added.