Reynard the Fox

Reynard the Fox is a trickster figure and the protagonist of a medieval story cycle of animal fables. The earliest written accounts were in Old French and originally used the Latin-style name Reinardus. Spellings and variations have changed over the centuries and according to the language. The French Roman de Renart from the later 12th century is one of the best known versions. In most of the stories, Reynard is cunning but also cruel and murderous, and many versions satirize the medieval church and aristocracy. Apart from Reynard, significant characters include his arch nemesis Isengrim the wolf, the lion King Noble (who, as in so many fables, rules the entire animal kingdom), and the rooster Chanticleer. 
Foxes as trickster figure in folklore predates Reynard, but the character became so famous that later publications of Aesop's Fables or other folk stories (like the German version of "The Gingerbread Man") specify Reynard as the vulpine in question.
Reynard and Chanticleer figure in one story from The Canterbury Tales, and Faust playwright Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote an 18th century version. Another Reynard tale was reworked for Br'er Rabbit. For decades, the Disney Studio attempted to adapt the character for an animated feature, with Walt Disney himself expressing concerns early on about Reynard's unsympathetic nature. Chanticleer and the king were also involved at various stages, with the project ultimately abandoned, but character designs and other elements worked their way into the 1973 animated Robin Hood. 
==References==
* The puppet fox Reynardo in the stage musical Carnival (built by the Muppet Workshop for a 2002 Encores! production) is named after Reynard.
* Reynard stars in issue 3 of the graphic novel series The StoryTeller: Tricksters. In the full issue story "A Tale of Two Markets," this version is a silver-tongued con artist, lacking the more murderous or sexual tendencies of the medieval tales, who believes in the value of stories as "medicine for the soul." After the rational, scientific minded Stork is dismissive of Reynard, the fox decides to prove him wrong by using his persuasive gifts to sell air, stones, and other ordinary items. The Storyteller mentions in passing that Reynard has made soup from a stone. The cover by Peach Omoko uses a border of grapes, linking Reynard to the Aesop's fable of the fox and the grapes.
==Connections==
*Hans Dagelet played Reynaert in Van den vos Reynaerde (1979, Dutch radio)
*Angélique de Boer played Hermeline in Van den vos Reynaerde (1979, Dutch radio) 
*Jean-Pierre Denys voiced Renart on Moi Renart (1986 French animated series)
*Hans-Helmut Dickow played Isegrim the wolf in Reineke Fuchs (1960, German radio)
*Klaus Höhne played Reineke in Reineke Fuchs (1960, German radio)
*Andreas Mannkopff voiced Isegrim in Reineke Fuchs (1989 TV animated feature)
*Tobias Meister voiced Reineke in Reineke Fuchs (1989 TV animated feature)
*Inge Meysel narrated Reineke Fuchs (1948, German radio)
*Dick Scheffer played Bruun the bear in Van den vos Reynaerde (1979, Dutch radio)
*Gérard Surugue voiced Brun in Le Roman de Ronart (2005 French animated feature)
*Hans Teuscher played Braun in Reineke Fuchs (1993, German radio)
*Olaf Wijnants played Martinet in Van den vos Reynaerde (1979, Dutch radio)
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Category:Literary References
Category:Folklore