SOURCE: “Villon's Le Grand Testament and the Poetics of Marginality,” in Modern Philology, Vol. 93, No.2, 1995, pp. 139-60.

In this essay, the author reviews Romantic, Victorian, and Modernist interpretations of the legend of Villon, arguing that such legends have been detrimental to readings of Villon's most famous poem. With comparisons to Le Roman de la Rose and the genre of hagiography, Uitti demonstrates how Villon illustrates issues of marginality and power in the context of Medieval France.

My discussion will focus upon François Villon's best-known work, the 2,025-line poem called Le Grand Testament. This work, usually dated around 1461, may be contrasted with an earlier poem, often labeled Le Legs (“The Legacy”) or Le Petit Testament, from which it largely derives and to which it responds. Le Grand Testament is made up of a series of huitains, or octaves, each containing eight lines of eight syllables each; this narrative-like...