The Cambridge Reinaert Fragments

First published in 1927, this book contains photographic reproductions of the fifteenth-century Reinaert Fragments, with an English introduction.

First published in 1927, this book contains photographic reproductions of the fifteenth-century Flemish Reinaert Fragments, alongside transcriptions of the text and woodcut illustrations. The introduction sketches the development of the Reynard the Fox story from its origins in the medieval beast epic, examining the relationships between the various texts.The Reinaert Fragments are a collection of seven pages of a Middle Dutch poem attributed to the fifteenth-century Flemish writer Hinrek van Alckmer, and printed in Antwerp in about 1487. This book, originally published in 1927, contains photographic reproductions of the pages, alongside clear transcriptions of the text and three beautiful woodcut illustrations. Karl Breul's detailed introduction sketches the history and development of the story of Reynard the Fox, from its origins in oral tradition and the medieval beast epic to Goethe's famous 'Reinecke Fuchs', indicating the place of the Reinaert poem amongst the various verse and prose versions. The book also includes a corrected version of the van Alckmer fragments, and examines their relationship with the Reinaert II and Reinke texts. The book will be useful to those studying Middle Dutch and Middle Low German literature or printing history, and others interested in the Reynard story.