Et Renart créa la femme : représentations du sexe féminin dans le Roman de Renart

The Roman de Renart presents female genitals in five of its stories: in the Viol d’Hersent, Comment Renart Parfit le con, Renart nigromancien, the Confession Renart, and the Monstrance des culs. The texts use two common metaphors to designate female genitals, namely the hole and the animal, but closely link them through its poetics, where bestiality and desire are central. These terms show the importance given to vision, since they allow us to grasp what seems elusive. This vision is intended, above all, to be male domination over the female body: the Roman de Renart bears witness to a most powerful male gaze. However, it is also the first literary text to evoke the clitoris, thanks to the term “landie”, defined as specific to women. In this sense, the Roman de Renart also reveals flaws in this male domination.