(1494-1563) french writer
It is difficult for the modern reader to believe that a Catholic monk was the author of one of the funniest books in world literature. There is hardly a book more popular than the work of François Rabelais. Only during two-thirds of the 16th century, and in France alone, it was reprinted more than 100 times.
"Gargantua and Pantagruel" is a kind of cheerful encyclopedia of the mores of the European Renaissance. And it is thanks to the author's ability to laugh that they continue to read and re-read it today.
François Rabelais was born in the small French town of Chinon in the family of a lawyer and landowner known in those places. but exact date his birth is unknown. Researchers name 1494, 1495, and even 1483.
But it is known for sure that he was the youngest son in big family... He had two older brothers and a sister. The boy was barely nine years old when his father sent him to a Franciscan monastery. There François Rabelais received primary education... He studied very well and studied several foreign languages, as well as the classical languages \u200b\u200b- Greek and Latin.
However, the level of education at the Franciscan school did not satisfy Francois Rabelais, and the local bishop D "Edissac, who patronized the talented young man, invited him to join the Benedictine order, which he did. And Pope Clement VII himself gave permission for this. However, soon François Rabelais leaves the monastery and moves to the bishop's house to become its secretary. famous people his time - the poet K. Marot, the theologian J. Calvin.
With the permission of the archbishop, the future writer began to study medicine and soon went to the University of Montpellier. The oldest medical faculty in Europe was located there. François Rabelais stayed in Montpellier for two years and left the university with a Bachelor of Medicine degree.
After that, he moved to the large French city of Lyon, where he became a doctor at the city hospital. There he first begins to engage in literary creativity. Perhaps this happened thanks to the support of the famous humanist Erasmus of Rotterdam, with whom Rabelais was in correspondence. At the beginning of 1532, François Rabelais published the first book in which he told about the adventures of the giant Gargantua.
She came out under the pseudonym Alcofribas Nazier, composed of the letters of his name, arbitrarily rearranged in the form of an anagram. The anonymous author immediately becomes famous far beyond the borders of his city.
In the next year, 1533, the continuation of the book is published, and a little later new and new chapters. The author was engaged in their release for almost the rest of his life, combining literary work with medical studies.
On the initiative of Bishop Jean du Bellay, François Rabelais went to Rome as part of the embassy of King Francis. During this trip, he did not stop work for a day, and on his return to Lyon wrote another volume of his epic, which tells about the life of Pantagruel, Gargantua's father. In it, François Rabelais in an ironic form set forth his impressions of his trip to Italy and his stay at the papal court.
Not surprisingly, shortly after the publication of the book, François Rabelais was banned by the French Inquisition. At this time, the name of the author was already known. He stopped hiding under a pseudonym.
Fearing persecution, Rabelais again left for Italy and settled in Rome, where this time he spent more than three years. Formally, Rabelais was listed as secretary to the Bishop du Bellay, who by that time had become a cardinal. It was only thanks to the patronage of du Bellay that he managed to avoid the persecution of the Inquisition.
While in Rome, Francois Rabelais was engaged in medical practice, and also became seriously interested in archeology and even published a book on the ancient monuments of Rome.
In 1537 he came to France for a short time in the retinue of Cardinal du Bellay and finally received his doctorate in medicine. Then he manages to get the royal privilege for the further publication of his books in France. In 1542, the most complete edition of the works of François Rabelais was published, in which not only for the first time he was told about Italy of his day, but also ridiculed the court of the French king.
The sharpness of Francois Rabelais' attacks again attracts the attention of the Inquisition to him, and contrary to the royal privilege, the writer's books are once again burned in the square. On the advice of his friends, Rabelais decides not to tempt fate anymore and soon leaves France. This time he found refuge in the German city of Metz, where he also got a job as a doctor. Leaving, François Rabelais left the manuscript of the fourth book to his Lyon publisher. It was published in 1548, when Rabelais returned to Italy with his friend Cardinal du Bellay.
Thanks to powerful patrons, the life of François Rabelais is finally gaining stability. In January 1551 he became a priest at Meudon, near Paris. Such an appointment was common in those days in reward for actions pleasing to the church. The position did not require diligence in the performance of duties and gave good income. Rabelais could now spend all his time on scholarship and literary pursuits. He quietly completed yet another book of his epic and published it in 1552.
Influential friends again help François Rabelais, and he receives the royal privilege. The book goes out of print, and its reprints appear immediately. As one of his contemporaries pointed out, François Rabelais publishes more than the Bible. A book in which the writer harshly criticizes political activity catholic church, spreads throughout France and far beyond its borders. Almost immediately denunciations rained down on François Rabelais: he was accused of freethinking, heresy and disrespect for the king. Friends once again advised the writer to hide, and Rabelais secretly left for Lyon, spreading the rumor that he was allegedly arrested and imprisoned.
Perhaps, thanks to this timely undertaken trick, the writer again managed to avoid arrest. For several months he lived in Lyon, then returned to Paris and brought with him the fifth, as it turned out, the last book. It came out of print after Francois Rabelais died in Paris from heart disease.
He took the plot for his book from popular popular literature: funny tales about kind and funny giants were read and loved in Germany, and in Italy, and in France. But the author enriches him vivid descriptions contemporary French life, caustic remarks to the greedy priests, corrupt judges, philosophers, the Pope and the king. It seems that nothing has escaped the infectious laughter of his heroes. The brilliant translator N. Lyubimov helped the Russian reader to feel the magnificent, bright and juicy language of Rabelais. In French literature, the influence of François Rabelais on his work was recognized by J. B. Moliere, Voltaire, O. Balzac, R. Rolland, A. France and many other famous writers.
About childhood and adolescence Francois Rabelais, the famous humanist of the Renaissance, one of the greatest satirical writers in the history of world literature, little is known. He was born in the French province of Touraine, in the city of Chinon between 1483 and 1494, most likely in November 1494. It is also known that the father of the future writer was called Antoine Rabelais and he was either a tavern keeper (according to some sources), or pharmacist or lawyer (according to others).
In 1510, his father sent young François as a novice to the Franciscan monastery of Celia, from there Rabelais went to the monastery of de la Baumette, then to the abbey in Fontenay-le-Comte. The young man studies Latin, Greek, Hebrew, law, receives the dignity of a priest. In 1525 Rabelais sought permission to transfer to the Benedictine Order, which paid special attention to intellectual development: the reason was the negative attitude among the Franciscans (one of the most conservative monastic orders) to the study of the Greek language. At the Benedictine monastery, Rabelais studies natural science and medicine. However, the Benedictines also cramped the freedom-loving and inquisitive Rabelais, and soon he left the monastery walls to go to Paris, and then to the University of Montpellier, where in 1530 he received a bachelor's degree in medicine. In the same year, Rabelais moved to Lyon and two years later became a doctor at a local hospital. The beginning of Rabelais's literary activity dates back to the same time: he publishes Aphorisms by the outstanding physician of antiquity, Hippocrates, with his own commentaries. And soon, under the pseudonym Alcofribas Nazier (anagram from Francois Rabelais), the book “Pantagruel, the king of dipsodes, shown in his authentic form with all his horrific deeds and exploits” was published, which became the first (in the time of publication, but not in the chronology described events) by the book of his famous epic "Gargantua and Pantagruel", which brought the author immortal fame. The impetus for writing the novel was the success of the anonymous adventure book "The Great and Incomparable Chronicles of the Huge Giant Gargantua, containing stories about his ancestry, the size and strength of his body, as well as outlandish exploits, which were performed for King Arthur, his master", this unassuming work was then used during France a colossal success. Rabelais decided to write a kind of continuation of this "bestseller" of that time, in a similar entertaining vein, but filled with much deeper content, the sharpest social satire. Not surprisingly, fearing reprisals, the author hid his name behind a pseudonym. In 1534, returning from a trip to Italy, where he was a member of the retinue of his patron bishop of Paris (and later cardinal) Jean du Bellay, Rabelais publishes under the same pseudonym the prehistory of Pantagruel - The Tale of the Terrible Life of the Great Gargantua, Father Pantagruel. " Both books achieve resounding success, but very soon find themselves among those prohibited by the theologians of the Sorbonne. In addition, the situation in the public life of France is changing dramatically: the formerly liberal king Francis I tightens censorship, calls for the extermination of heretics. Rabelais hurriedly left Lyon and in June 1535 arrived in Rome, where he sought an audience and absolution - including for the escape from the monastery - from Pope Paul III.
For unauthorized absences, Rabelais lost his place as a doctor in Lyon, he again took ordination and in 1536 received the post of canon in the monastery of Saint-Maur-de-Fosse, but did not stay in the monastery for a long time: with the help of du Bellay, he sought permission to practice medicine. having received a doctorate in medicine, he works as a doctor in different cities of France, gives lectures and after a while is recognized as one of the the best doctors country. He receives a fairly high post at court - the position of receiver of petitions submitted to the king. At the same time, the literary fame of his novel is growing. In 1542 Rabelais republished Gargantua and Pantagruel, softening, however, some of the most poignant passages in the work. The third part of the epic comes out in 1546 (under the real name of the author). The book was again attacked and Rabelais was forced to hide abroad for some time - in the German city of Metz and in Rome and returned to his homeland only in 1549. At the beginning of 1548, eleven chapters of the fourth book were published in a separate edition, and in 1552 - its full text.
Thanks to powerful patrons, the last years of the writer's life passed relatively calmly - despite the incessant pursuit of his books. In 1551, François Rabelais received a parish at Meudon (near Paris). He died in 1553 in Paris, having managed, as legend has it, to say before his death: "Draw the curtain, the farce is played."
Already after the death of the writer, in 1564, a fifth part of the book appeared based on his rough sketches.
Rabelais's book entered the golden fund of world literature, although the attitude towards it still remains ambiguous: frank humor (there is even an expression "Rabelaisian humor"), numerous physiological details have created the book's reputation as one of the most "obscene" classics. For example, George Orwell once called Rabelais "an extremely vicious, unhealthy writer." At the same time, Chateaubriand and Hugo extolled Rabelais as the founder of all French literature, Balzac saw him as his teacher. "Gargantua and Pantagruel" is a grandiose encyclopedia of European life in the Renaissance: an incredibly life-loving book glorifying the joys of the flesh, marking a change in the outlook of people of that time, many hints and allegories of the book have not yet been fully deciphered.
In the 30s of the last century N. Zabolotsky created a Russian translation-retelling for children, in which all "indecent" episodes were retouched or removed. And the very first (abridged) translation of the book into Russian appeared only in 1901 (!) - translator Anna Engelhardt. There was, however, another translation by V. Markov, made in the 70s years XIX in., but it was never published.
Rabelais is one of the most important authors and forerunners of modern science fiction. Influence of the epic novel "Gargantua and Pantagruel" the development of the fantasy genre is enormous, in the book you can see features of many directions of fiction: the first two parts of the novel are presented by the writer in the form of a grotesque, a kind of parody of a medieval knightly romance with numerous magical and mythological features inherent in these novels, here are both giants and all kinds of monsters and allegorical exaggerations; not without a description of life in the other world; the chapters on the Telem monastery are a classic utopia. In some chapters of the work, the features of dystopia are clearly guessed. Particularly rich in fantastic elements are the fourth and fifth parts of the book, which tell about the journey of friends to the oracle of the Divine Bottle - here Rabelais' fantasy in describing the incredible wonders, nature and amazing inhabitants of the islands encountered on the way has no boundaries. The famous episode with "frozen sounds" is one of the first methods described in the literature to preserve sound information. The chapter on visiting the Island of Iron Tools
Francois Rabelais (presumably 1494, Chinon - April 9, 1553, Paris) - one of the greatest French writers of the Renaissance, best known as the author of the novel "Gargantua and Pantagruel". According to M. Bakhtin, he is one of the authors who laid the foundations of modern European literature.
The place and time of Rabelais' birth are not known for certain. Although some researchers call the year of his birth 1483, most are inclined to believe that he was born in November 1494 near Chinon, where his father worked as a lawyer. His birthplace is believed to be the Devinier estate in Søyi, where the writer's museum is now located.
As a child, Rabelais was given as a novice to the Franciscan monastery at Fontenay-le-Comte. There he studied ancient Greek and latin languages, natural sciences, philology and law, earning for their research fame and respect among his contemporaries-humanists, including Guillaume Bude. Due to the disapproval of his research by the order, Rabelais obtained the permission of Pope Clement VII to move to the Benedictine monastery in Malaise, where he met a warmer attitude towards himself.
Rabelais later left the monastery to study medicine at the Universities of Poitiers. and Montpellier (eng.) Russian .. In 1532 he moved to Lyon, one of the cultural centers France. There he combined his medical practice with editing Latin works for the printer Sebastian Griff. In his free time he devoted his free time to writing and publishing humorous pamphlets that criticized the established order and expressed his understanding of personal freedom.
In 1532, under the pseudonym Alcofribas Nasier (French François Rabelais, an anagram from his own name without a cedilla), Rabelais published his first book, Pantagruel, which later became the second part of the immortal name of Gargantua and Pantagruel. In 1534, her prehistory followed - "Gargantua", which told about the life of the father of the protagonist of the previous book. Both works were condemned by theologians of the Sorbonne and Catholic clerics for their satirical content. The third part, published by Rabelais in 1546 under his real name, was also prohibited.
Thanks to the support of the influential du Bellay family, Rabelais received permission from King Francis I to continue publishing. However, after the death of the monarch, the writer again faced the disapproval of the academic elite, and the French parliament suspended the sale of his fourth book.
Rabelais for some time - in 1534 and 1539 he taught medicine in Montpellier. He often traveled to Rome with his friend Cardinal Jean du Bellay, also for a short time (when he enjoyed the patronage of Francis I) he lived in Turin with his brother Guillaume. The du Bellay family helped Rabelais again in 1540 - in the legalization of his two children (Auguste François and Junie).
In 1545-1547, Rabelais lived in Metz, a republican imperial free city, where he found shelter from the condemnation of Parisian theologians. In 1547 he was appointed vicar of Saint-Christophe-du-Jambet. and Meudona (gave up this post shortly before his death in Paris in 1553).
The most remarkable writer of his era, Rabelais is, at the same time, the most faithful and living reflection of her; standing alongside the greatest satirists, he occupies a place of honor between philosophers and educators. Rabelais is quite a man of his time, a man of the Renaissance in his sympathies and affections, in his wandering, almost wandering life, in the variety of his information and occupations. He is a humanist, physician, lawyer, philologist, archaeologist, naturalist, theologian, and in all these areas - "the most valiant companion at the feast of the human mind." All the mental, moral and social fermentation of his era was reflected in two of his great novels.
Rabelais' satire tool is laughter, gigantic laughter, often monstrous, like his heroes. "He prescribed enormous doses of laughter to the terrible social malaise that raged everywhere."
A satirical novel by the French writer of the 16th century Francois Rabelais in five books about two good giants - gluttons, father and son. The novel ridicules many human vices, does not spare contemporary to the author state and church. In the novel, Rabelais ridicules, on the one hand, the numerous claims of the church, and on the other, the ignorance and laziness of the monks. Rabelais colorfully shows all the vices of the Catholic clergy, which caused massive protest during the Reformation.
1. The largest representative of French humanism and one of the greatest French writers of all time was François Rabelais (1494-1553). Born into the family of a wealthy landowner, he studied at a monastery where he eagerly studied ancient writers and legal treatises. After leaving the monastery, he took up medicine, became a doctor in Lyon, made two trips to Rome in the suite of the Parisian bishop, where he studied Roman antiquities and oriental medicinal herbs. After that, he was in the service of Francis for two years, traveling around southern France and practicing medicine, received the title of Doctor of Medicine, once again visiting Rome and returning, received two parishes, but did not fulfill the priestly duties. He died in Paris. Scientists of Rabelais' work testify to the vastness of his knowledge, but are not of great interest (commenting on ancient works on medicine).
2. Rabelais' main work is the novel Gargantua and Pantagruel, in which, under the cover of a comic narration about all sorts of fables, he gave an unusually sharp and deep criticism of the institutions and customs of the Middle Ages, opposing them with a system of new, humanistic culture. The impetus for the creation of the novel was the published anonymous book "The Great and Inestimable Chronicles of the Great and Huge Giant Gargantua", where knightly novels were parodied. Soon, Rabelais released a sequel to this book entitled "Terrible and terrifying deeds and exploits of the illustrious Pantagruel, king of dipsodes, son of the great giant Gargantuel." This book, published under the pseudonym Alcofribas Nazier, and subsequently constituting the second part of his novel, withstood in a short time a number of editions and even several forgeries. In this book, the comic still prevails over the serious, although the Renaissance motives are already audible. Inspired by the success of this book, Rabelais published under the same pseudonym the beginning of the story, which continued to replace the popular book, entitled "The Tale of the Terrible Life of the Great Gargantua, Father of Pantagruel", which was the first book of the entire novel. Gargantua borrowed only a few motives from his source, the rest is his own work. Science fiction gave way to real images, and the comic form covered up very deep thoughts. The history of Gargantua's upbringing reveals the differences between the old scholastic and the new humanistic methods and pedagogy. "The third book of heroic deeds and sayings of the good Pantagruel" was published after a long time under the real name of the author. It differs significantly from the two previous books. At this time, the policy of Francis completely changed, the executions of Calvinists became more frequent, the reaction triumphed, the most guarded censorship arose, which forced Rabelais to make his satire in the "Third Book" more restrained and covered. Rabelais republished his first two books, eliminating passages expressing sympathy for the Calvinists and softening his attacks on the Sarbonists. Despite this, his three books were banned by the theological faculty of Paris. The "third book" sets out the philosophy of "pantagruelism", which for Rabelais - who has become largely disillusioned and has now become more moderate - is tantamount to inner calmness and a certain indifference to everything that surrounds him. The first short edition of "The Fourth Book of Pantagruel's Heroic Deeds and Speeches" is also restrained. But four years later, under the auspices of Cardinal du Bellay, Rabelais published an expanded edition of this book. Giving free rein to his resentment against royal policies supporting religious fanaticism, he gave his satire an extremely harsh character. 9 years after Rabelais's death, his book "The Voiced Island" was published, and two years later, under his name, the complete "fifth book", which was Rabelais's sketch and prepared for publication by one of his students. The source of ideas for the plot of the epic novel was: a folk book, a rich gratesque-satirical poetry that had developed not long before that in Italy, Teofilo Folengo (author of the poem "Baldus"), who masserly covered not only a parody of chivalric novels, but also sharp satire on the mores of their time, on monks, learned pedants. The main source of Rabelais is folk art, folklore tradition (fablio, the second part of the Romance of the Rose, Villon, ritual and song imagery).
3. All protests against certain aspects of feudalism were raised by Rabelais to the level of a conscious, systematic criticism of the feudal system and opposed to a well-thought-out and integral system of a new humanistic worldview. (antiquity). Many features of Rabelais' artistic technique also go back to the folk-medieval beginning. The composition of the novel (free alternation of episodes and images) is close to the composition of "The Romance of the Rose", "The Romance of the Fox", No. The Great Testament "by Villon + grotesque verses that fill the novel. The chaotic form of his narration \u003d the exit of the Renaissance man to the study of reality, the boundlessness of the world and the forces and possibilities hidden in it are felt (Panurge's journey). Rabelais's language is quirky and full of synonymous repetitions, heaps, idioms, folk proverbs and phrases, he also has as his task to convey all the richness of shades inherent in the Renaissance material-sensual perception of the world.
4. The grotesque-comic stream in Rabelais's novel has several tasks: 1) to interest the reader and make it easier for him to understand the deep thoughts in the novel 2) disguises these thoughts and serves as a shield against censorship. The gigantic dimensions of Gargantua and all his kind in the first two books \u003d a symbol of man's (flesh) attraction to nature after the shackles of the Middle Ages + an approach to primitive creatures. Over the 20 years during which the novel was written, Rabelais's views have changed (felt when passing after 2 books), but he remained true to his main ideas: ridicule of the Middle Ages, a new way of man in the humanistic world. The key to all sciences and all morality for Rabelais is a return to nature.
5. The flesh (physical love, digestive acts, etc.) is of great importance for Rabelais. Rabelais asserts the primacy of the physical principle, but demands that it be superior to the intellectual (Rabelais's picture of intemperance in food is satirical. Especially since the third book sounds a call for moderation. Belief in the natural kindness of man and the goodness of nature is felt throughout the entire novel. that the natural requirements and desires of a person are normal if they are not raped and not forced (Thelemites)., he asserts the doctrine of “natural morality” of man, which does not need religious justification. But in general, there is no place for religion in understanding the world. Rabelais practically excludes religious Everything that is connected with Catholicism is subject to cruel ridicule (compares monks with monkeys, mockery of the immaculate conception of Christ - the birth of Gargantua.) But Rabelais also disliked Calvinism. Rabelais's gospel equates to ancient myths. and "nobility by inheritance ", Displaying in his novel" ordinary people”, And endows people from high society (excluding fairy-tale kings) with sarcastic names (Duke de Chval, military leader Malokosos, etc.). Even in the description of the afterlife, where Epistemon visited, Rabelais forces the royal persons to perform the most humiliating work, while the poor enjoy the delights of the afterlife.
6. In Rabelais' novel, three images are distinguished: 1) the image of the good king in its three versions, which essentially differed little from each other: Grangousier, Gargantua, Pantagruel (\u003d the utopian ideal of a state ruler, the rulers of Rble do not rule the people, but allow him to act freely and abstracted from the influence of the feudal dukes). After the ensuing reaction, the image of the king of pantagruel fades, in recent books he is almost not shown as a ruler, but only as a traveler, a thinker who embodies the philosophy of “pantagruelism”. 2) The image of Panurge is a cheat and a witty mocker, who knows 60 ways to get money, of which the Saami is harmless - stealth theft. The liberation of the human mind from old prejudices suffered by the Renaissance was only in a few cases combined with a high moral consciousness. Panurge combines the image of Shakespeare's Falstaff, a sharp mind that exposes all prejudices, with absolute moral lack of principle. 3) Brother Jean, an irreligious monk, a lover of drink and food, who threw off his robe and beat the soldiers of Picrocholus with a staff from the cross in the vineyard - the embodiment of national power, popular common sense and moral truth. Rabelais does not idealize the people. Brother Jean is not a perfect type of person for him, but Brother Jean has tremendous opportunities further development... He is the most reliable support of the nation and the state.
1. "Gargantua and Pantagruel" is the most democratic and sharpest work of the French Renaissance. Enriched the French language. Rabelais did not create literary school and had almost no imitators, but his influence on French literature is enormous. His grotesque humanistic humor is felt in the works of Moliere, La Fontaine, Voltaire, Balzac; outside of France - Swift and Richter.