A specialist in medieval literature Jacqueline Sarkilari Tule explains how to get along Villon robber and an intellectual, a heretic and a good Christian, a poet of death and the singer's life.
We know of Villon by two types of sources: first, according to the archival documents, the judiciary and the University, and secondly, in his poetry.
In the judicial archives it acts as the "bad guy" and I must say that securing Villon the image of the robber, even the murderer, greatly contributed to its success. The University archives, as a rule, bypass Villon. We only know that his tutor was the chaplain Guillaume de Villon, Professor of ecclesiastical law that is, a lawyer. Francois Villon received a University education and all the degrees that existed in his era, from bachelor to master.
In the poetry of Villon reflected both these aspects of his life. We can say that in her experience the daily life connected with a University scholarship, especially legal sense. The image of the gangster in the slang and the descriptions of street life in Paris: a spiteful tongue women fish vendors, prostitutes, restaurants. The image of the scientist in quotes: he quotes the grammar of Donatus, Macrobius, Virgil. In his poetry he has been confidently uses legal language. He knows the language of the clerks bases and even their theatre practice.
Another source of legal knowledge Villon his complicated relationship with the law. At the same time as his experience of imprisonment known to us not primarily in the judicial archives, and poetic texts. Take the story "the harsh Maine's prison" ("la dure prison de Mehun"). Bishop Thibault of Assignee concluded Villon into custody in the city of Meung-sur-Loire.
But not a single archival document that would testify about this episode of his life, did not survive.
Where possible, it is interesting to consider the poetic text in parallel with archival documents. For example, it is known that during the last confinement in the Chatelet.
Villon asked to mitigate his sentence really undeserved: he had not struck the victim with a dagger, but only part of the group involved in the crime. But since he already had a criminal record, he was sentenced to death by hanging. Appeal Villon won.
Position Villon in relation to the Church is extremely ambiguous. There is no doubt that he is a Christian, at the time, could not be otherwise but it is clearly marginal position. Villon sensitive to the heretical movements, which were then very numerous, he mentions the Waldenses, a heretic Hussites. You should recall the fact that he lives in a period marked by the difficulties encountered after the Great schism. In one of the manuscripts there is a moment where the scribe obviously varies: the line can be read "if any man love God, the Church honors", or "one Who loves God, running from the Church". You see, in old French the "s" and "f" the letter is very similar. And I don't know how it should read because about Villon is not obvious. He is not opposed to religion, he is opposed to the Church. That is the real Bible, not a book, and that in the shower. It is a kind of inner religion, which is opposed to the religion official.
Three hundred years in three hundred lines
In the poetry of Villon everything goes through him, everything that he describes, he sees with his own eyes.
The boost to the overall argument about death gives it this "I" that is looking at the skull. This subjectivity of opinion is rather characteristic of modern times than for the middle Ages. In another poem Villon writes: "I know everything, but not themselves".
("Je connois tout, fors que moi-mêmes"). I would say that this interest is a related to the fact that, unlike other poets of that time, his poetry has appeared lyrical hero who is also called "modern subject".
In two different places "Big will" Villon says about death in agony. For the first time more generally: "Die of any of examples walls of anguish" ("Quiconques meurt, meurt à blend") that is just dying suffering.
This time he describes his own agony. This is very interesting, because if we consider the history of literature in General, such a transition from death itself to personal death that occurred from the XII to the XV century. And Villon made it for three hundred lines. I believe we can rightly call it a modern feature of his poetry that is, a feature rather peculiar to the New time.
Francois Villon says: "a foreign country to me my native land" ("En mon pays suis en terre lointaine") that is, he writes about his own break state with himself, the isolation from himself. After him I have the feeling the gap will describe in the twentieth century Jacques Lacan.
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