A FEW NOTES ON THE GENRE MODELS WITHIN THE CONFINES OF “THE GREAT TESTAMENT” BY FRANÇOIS VILLON

Abstract

François Villon is a well-known poet from the Late Middle Ages and is often labeled as a forerunner of The Cursed Poets. His life is filled with wandering, crimes, stays in dungeons but also with residence in aristocratic courts. The current study examines The Great Testament by François Villon and its objective is to shed light on the different genre variations in the confines of Villon’s text. Firstly a short overview of the different receptions of medieval authors’ activity is made. Afterwards the study shifts its course towards unraveling the more prominent genres such as testament and ballad and the smaller ones such as legend, epitaph, advice etc. The text makes an effort to proof that the ostensible chaos which is consisted of different genres is a means for The Great Testament by Villon to acquire the characteristics of a monolithic and syncretic creation in which each miniscule form has its own particular place.