Le chien, l’enfant et le serpent

Starting from the tale “Canis” as it appears in the French Roman des Sept Sages in verse (version K) and in the Dolopathos of Jean de Haute-Seille, as well as in its adaptation into Old French by Herbert, I will discuss the complex imaginary relationships between the human and animal actors in a tale which recounts a family drama. Our attention will be focused on the presence of snakes, which maintain a strange familiarity with domestic space. In this respect, different versions of the fable of “The Man and the Snake” will be discusses, as they often include, like the story of “Canis,” the murder of a child by a snake.

I propose to consider a political reading of these narratives of negotiated cohabitation and shared food whose implications go beyond the private sphere to take on ethical significance in a feudal context.