The Folktale The Fox Rapes the She-Bear (ATU 36)
From the medieval literature to modern orality and Internet
Keywords:
trickster, Ysengrimus, Roman de Renart, Ysopet, InternetAbstract
Several works published over the past decades have provided relevant information on the relationships between medieval narratives and folktales. In the case of the fable known as The Fox Rapes the She-Bear, the links between oral and written parallels have already been subject to discussion. Early elaborations of this tale were included in two beast epics –the Ysengrimus and the Roman de Renart– and two æsopic collections: the Marie de France’s Ysopet and the anonymous Romulus anglicus cunctis. This essay examines a large number of universal versions that have been transmitted in diverse supports: from the medieval manuscripts to the human voice or online blogs. The results will show that there are two different plots of this account: according to one of them, a fox leads a female animal into a trap and, once his prey is trapped and defenseless, he violates her; the second subtype contains an episode in which the victim tries to take revenge on his aggressor, but ends up mocked and humiliated again. The findings of this study contribute to contextualize the medieval versions in this extensive narrative complex.
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