It is in a Greek hunting and fishing tome by Oppianus. Scheve, the earliest mention we have of this is from the first century AD. Jonson was working from a central image: a fox on its back feigning death to lure birds of prey close to its mouth. Both appear before the king for a trial and Reynard shrewdly worms his way out of trouble (usually, by showing the king a hidden treasure or tricking the king into believing the aggrieved animal is actually at fault). The animal does so and realizes later it’s been wronged. The stories of Reynard are legion and tend to go like this: Reynard dupes another animal into harming itself, either for Reynard’s benefit or sheer amusement. Gathercole writes that one manuscript depicts Reynard at the top of a Wheel of Fortune (a medieval idea which depicted the natural rises and falls of man), “with cape and crown, in glory.” He even wrestles with Noble, the lion king of the beasts. He tricks a sheep into stranding itself at the bottom of a well so he can escape the well. He tricks a rooster into pulling him in a cart so he doesn’t have to walk. ![]() He robs other animals of their food and possessions without a thought. He jousts with his lifelong enemy, Ysengrin the wolf. These manuscripts depict Reynard doing what comes most naturally: fooling other people for his benefit. ![]() By the thirteenth century, there were two French manuscripts depicting a fox who routinely flouted law and authority: Reynard. The fox, already known as a cunning animal, was an obvious choice to embody the traits of the conman. In the Middle Ages, monks picked up the practice and illuminated the margins of their manuscripts with mini-fables. He began the practice of giving animals human characteristics to impart moral lessons. ![]() The most popular of these were Aesop’s fables. There is a reason that the characters in Volpone behave like beasts: one of Jonson’s sources was beast fables that dated back to antiquity.
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