The Joys (Juice) and Delights in Late Medieval Verse Narratives. Eroticism and Enlightenment in the Literary Discourse of the Old French Fabliaux

This paper emphasizes that medieval literature was just as much determined by religious and ethical ideals as by very mundane, ordinary themes, often bordering on the sexual and even pornographic (?). In light of a selection of Old French fabliaux, this study sets out to analyze how the poets inject the theme of sex into their texts, and then analyzes what different purposes the authors might have pursued, apart from offering humorous entertainment and erotically titillating themes. As the analysis demonstrates, behind the laughter triggered by these texts, we can recognize significant efforts to offer critical perspectives regarding economic, political, and philosophical issues, apart from debating the gender relationship and the relationship between the clergy and the laity.