The Heptameron

by Marguerite de Navarre

Other authorsPaul A. Chilton (Introduction)

Paperback, 1983

Status

Available

Call number

843.3

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

Collection

Your library

Publication

Penguin Classics (1983), Paperback, 544 pages

Description

In the early 1500s five men and five women find themselves trapped by floods and compelled to take refuge in an abbey high in the Pyrenees. When told they must wait days for a bridge to be repaired, they are inspired - by recalling Boccaccio's Decameron - to pass the time in a cultured manner by each telling a story every day. The stories, however, soon degenerate into a verbal battle between the sexes, as the characters weave tales of corrupt friars, adulterous noblemen and deceitful wives. From the cynical Saffredent to the young idealist Dagoucin or the moderate Parlamente - believed to express De Navarre's own views - The Heptameron provides a fascinating insight into the minds and passions of the nobility of sixteenth century France. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member Carmenere

Thoughts...............The Heptameron, attributed to De Navarre, sister of Francois I, is a collection of 72 short stories told by a group of stranded travelers awaiting rescue. This is the premise used for retelling, possibly true, stories which were circulated by De Navarre and her medieval

circle of friends concerning adulterous acquaintenances, leacherous friars and circumstances which are amusing and sometimes thought provoking. Mainly, the book is a living testament to life as it was lived in medieval France told by people who actually lived it. Voices from the grave, so to speak.

Would I recommend it...................yes, I was amused by many of the stories and liken the telling of them to having a group of friends join you for drinks around the bonfire and sharing incredulous stories which my either shock you or leave you laughing.

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LibraryThing member keylawk

The best known and most popular of the old tales told in the French language--virtually the first as it appears in written forms. And like so many cutting edge works, it is baudy. Margaret died in 1549. The collection was first published in 1558, in a highly-abridged version (censored to spare real

personages?) Mal sur mal n'est pas sante.

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LibraryThing member starbox

Literature of 1550s France, 15 February 2015

This review is from: The Heptameron (Classics) (Kindle Edition)
Attributed to Marguerite of Navarre and set in mid-1500s Europe, this is an intriguing collection of seventy-two stories.
With a similar framework to the Canterbury Tales and the Decameron,

the narrators - five men and five women of noble background - are thrown together in an abbey in the Pyrenees following a flood. As they wait for a bridge to be built, they entertain themselves by telling (supposedly true) stories. These concern chaste - and faithless - husbands and wives, immoral monks, people who love to the death, people who seek revenge, incest...one is even about the horrid state of toilets in an abbey! A glimpse into the world and attitudes of the time.
Each story is followed by the characters debating what they've just heard, and their personalities come out in their talk, from pious old Oisille and sensible Parlamente to the rather brutish Hircan who derides chaste heroes, and the misogynistic Saffredent.
The modern translation makes this completely readable and I quite enjoyed it, though the stories are variable in quality, and I found seventy-two was quite enough!

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