fabliau

[ fab-lee-oh; French fa-blee-oh ]

noun

, plural fab·li·aux [fab, -lee-ohz, f, a, -blee-, oh].

1. a short metrical tale, usually ribald and humorous, popular in medieval France.

fabliau

/ fɑblijo; ˈfæblɪˌəʊ /

noun

1. a comic usually ribald verse tale, of a kind popular in France in the 12th and 13th centuries

Word History and Origins

Origin of fabliau¹

1795–1805; < French; Old North French form of Old French fablel, fableau, equivalent to fable fable + -el diminutive suffix; -elle

Word History and Origins

Origin of fabliau¹

C19: from French: a little tale, from fable tale

Example Sentences

In the Fabliau de Gautier dAupais there is mention of un vert mantel porprine (a mantle of green crimson).

From Project Gutenberg

And it is important to repeat that it connects itself in the general literary survey both with fabliau and with allegory.

From Project Gutenberg

This, which is not so much a branch as an independent fabliau, is attributed to Rutebœuf, v. infra.

From Project Gutenberg

In the opinion of the best scholars, the earliest surviving fabliau is that of Richeut, which dates from 1159.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a mistake to suppose, as is frequently done, that every legend of the middle ages is a fabliau.

From Project Gutenberg