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Reynard cycle - English translations?

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  Reynard cycle - English translations? John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-09-17 09:00 -0700
    Re: Reynard cycle - English translations? John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> - 2025-11-06 13:08 -0800

#573 — Reynard cycle - English translations?

I've recently gotten onto a kick with beast-fables of the Middle Ages &
Renaissance, and the longer-form "beast epic." I'm particularly curious
about the other branches of the "Reynard cycle;" the parent works
("Ecbasis Captivi" and "Ysengrimus") are available in English,* but
while there are a number of English versions of "Reynard," every one
I've found is clearly derived from William Caxton's "The Historie of
Reynart the Foxe," except for an 1855 version which is allegedly based
on Goethe's "Reineke Fuchs."

But even Goethe's version is part of the same branch as Caxton's, going
back to a shared 13th-century Middle Dutch source; meanwhile, there's a
whole other branch of the tradition based on the work of Pierre de St.
Cloud in the late 12th century. Has any of that material been given an
English translation? I've poked around a bit, but haven't found one...

* (Mann's "Ysengrimus" is supposedly more accurate than the Syphers';
  I can't speak to that, not being a Latin scholar, but there are
  definitely parts that are clearer in hers. That said, I love the
  Syphers' prose voice, which is oddly reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's
  demented little Genesis stories and delights in wordplay - as did the
  original, I gather - and they have more copious notes re: cultural
  context for the jokes.
  
  Zeydel's "Ecbasis Captivi," unfortunately, is rather dry and function-
  alist, as he expressly admits that his aim is to make it available in
  English *at all.* Still, especially in works of this vintage, it's
  better to have something than nothing.)

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#576

On Wed, 17 Sep 2025 09:00:19 -0700
John Ames <commodorejohn@gmail.com> wrote:

> Mann's "Ysengrimus" is supposedly more accurate than the Syphers';
> I can't speak to that, not being a Latin scholar, but there are
> definitely parts that are clearer in hers. That said, I love the
> Syphers' prose voice, which is oddly reminiscent of Peter Gabriel's
> demented little Genesis stories and delights in wordplay - as did the
> original, I gather - and they have more copious notes re: cultural
> context for the jokes.

Have to correct myself here - Prof. Mann actually wrote a substantial
introduction & commentary to "Ysengrimus," in the original 1987 edition
of her translation. While the Syphers' annotations do cover a number of
things that hers don't, this piece goes a long way towards making up
the balance; unfortunately, for some reason it was left off the later
Dumbarton Oaks edition of her version.

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