Bakhtin: The Body Grotesque

"Grotesque," Déjà vu, Russia

Grotesque (from IT. grottesca, derived from the "Grotto"). Ornaments, which combines a fantastically ornamental and figurative motifs (animals and plants, chimeras, human forms and masks), discovered in the Renaissance during the excavation of underground rooms (caves).
Grotesque - the kind of artistic imagery, based on a comic, caricature, burlesque and quirky effect. Grotesque is perceived as a significant distortion of the known or recognized regulatory forms.
Grotesque appeared long before it was coined by the term. Centaurs, chimeras, griffins of Greek mythology, the gods of ancient Egypt with the bodies of humans and animal heads - are the essence of the grotesque body.
Chimera's body are the three bodies - a lion, goat and serpent. Carelessly assembled puzzle or a riddle that had to solve? Ra, the sun god, who headed the Egyptian Ennead of gods, incarnated in the form of a falcon with a human body, crowned with a sun disc. Very long recognized deformity is ambivalent - as a sign of rejection and the election.
Below you can see the thumbnail of XII century. in which nations are represented on the "World's End. The characters of myths and legends depicted on the medieval "maps" (mappae Mundi); with the reality of the monsters are not questioned. mappa Mundi, incidentally, is also a grotesque body, it is like a sponge soaked past, present, and indicates that reveals the future, all three Time does not coexist in the sequence, but at the same time.

Mikhail Bakhtin: Creativity Francois Rabelais and Folk culture of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, Chapter Five: The grotesque image of the body in Rabelais and his sources

As we have analyzed a group banquet images, we met with pronounced exaggeration, hyperbole. The same dramatic exaggeration inherent and body image and bodily life of Rabelais. They are inherent and other images of the novel. But most strikingly, they still expressed in body image and the images of food. Here and to look for the main source and creative principle of all other exaggeration and hyperbole Rabelaisian world, the source of all and any excess and redundancy.

Exaggeration, hyperbolism excessive, the excess is, admittedly, one of the main signs of the grotesque style .

The most consistent and rich on borrowed material attempt to give the history and theory of the grotesque in part by the German scientist G. Schneegans. In his book "History of grotesque satire" (1894) a significant place (about half of the book) devoted Rabelais. Moreover, we can directly say that the history and theory of the grotesque satire Schneegans focuses specifically on Rabelais. Suggested Schneegans understanding of the grotesque image differs clarity and consistency, but it seems fundamentally wrong. At the same time they admitted the error is extremely typical, and they are repeated in the vast majority of works on the grotesque satire before Schneegans, and especially after. Schneegans ignores the profound and essential ambivalence of the grotesque and sees it only denies exaggeration in uzkosatiricheskih purposes. In view of the typicality of such an approach to grotesque we begin this chapter with a critique of views Schneegans.
Schneegans insists on a strict distinction between three types or categories of the comic: dunce (possen haft), burlesque and grotesque . To clarify the differences between them, he analyzes three examples.
As an example of buffoonery is a scene from one of the Italian "commedia dell'arte" (this scene was first brought Flegel, then Fisher). Stuttering in conversation with Harlequin can not utter a single hard word: he makes extraordinary efforts, pants with this word in the throat, covered later , open his mouth , shaking, gagging, face swells and his eyes get out of orbit , "it seems that it comes to birth pangs and spasms . Finally Harlequin, tired of waiting for the word, comes to the aid of a stutterer unexpected way: he hits a running head stutterer in his stomach , and the hardest word finally born . This is the first example.
As an example of burlesque is skarronovskaya travesty of Virgil. Scarron, in order to reduce the high way "Aeneid, everywhere highlights the domestic and material bodily points: Hecuba diaper wipes, a Dido, like all African women, a blunt nose, Aeneas draws its freshness to their physical health, etc.
As examples of the grotesque are such images of Rabelais: the assertion of Jean's brother that "even the shadow of the monastery's bell tower fertile", his assertion that the monastic robe returns the dog lost a productive force, a project to build Panurge Parisian wall of the genital organs.
Schneegans shows different nature of laughter in each of these three types of comic. In the first case (buffoonery) laughter - spontaneous, naive and good-natured (and the stutterer would laugh). In the second case (Burlesque), to laughter mixed with schadenfreude over the decline of high, in addition, laughter is devoid of spontaneity, as you need to know travestiruemuyu "Aeneid." In the third case (the grotesque) is a mockery of certain social phenomena (monastic debauchery, corruption Parisian women) by their extreme exaggeration, there is also no immediacy, as it is necessary to know these mocks social phenomena.

The difference between these three types of laughter and humor Schneegans substantiates the basis of the provisions of the formal psychological aesthetics. Humor is based on the contrast between the feeling of pleasure and displeasure. Based on this contrast all the types of humor, the same distinction between different types are determined by different sources of feelings of pleasure and displeasure, and various combinations of these feelings.

In the first case (buffoonery) feeling of displeasure caused by an unexpected and unusual nature of the healing stutterer, a sense of fun generated by the same good nature of the antics of Harlequin.

In the second case (burlesque), the pleasure generated by the humiliation of a high. All high inevitably tiring. Tired of looking up, and I want to lower his eyes downward. The stronger and more lasting than it was a high dominance, the stronger and the pleasure of his dethronement, and decline. Hence the huge success of parodies and travesties, when they are timely, that is, when the high has already become weary readers. Thus, the travesty Scarron against despotism Malerba and classicism were timely.

In the third case (grotesque) feeling of displeasure and failure generated incredible images: it is impossible to imagine that a woman could get pregnant from the shadow of the monastery's bell tower, etc. This impossibility, the nonlinearity creates a strong sense of dissatisfaction. But this is overcome by a feeling of pleasure in two ways: first, we learn in an exaggerated image of a real expansion and immorality in the monasteries, that is, find for the exaggerated image of a place in reality, and secondly, we feel moral satisfaction, because of the immorality and degradation hit by a sharp caricature and ridicule.

In the first case (buffoonery), no one laughed at - no stuttering or Harlequin. In the second case the object of derision is the sublime style's Aeneid and generally classical, but there is no moral reason to ridicule: it's just frivolous joke. In the third case (grotesque), ridicules a certain negative phenomenon, then there is something improper («Nichtseinsollendes»). It is in this Schneegans sees the main feature of the grotesque: it is a caricature exaggerates a negative thing, then there is something improper. This is what distinguishes the grotesque buffoonery of and from burlesque. And in buffoonery and burlesque can also be an exaggeration, but they denied there is a satirical focus on the improper. In addition, a grotesque exaggeration of an extreme, fantastic character, brought to the monstrosity.

In the visual arts grotesque, on Schneegans, is primarily a caricature, but a caricature carried to fantastic limits. Schneegans examines a number of caricatures of Napoleon III , built on an exaggeration of the large nose of the Emperor. Grotesque are those where the size of the nose are brought to the impossible, where the nose turns into a pig snout or beak of a crow.

Exaggeration of the negative (improper) to the limits of the impossible and monstrous - that is, by Schneegans, the main feature of the grotesque. Therefore, the grotesque - always satire. Where there is a satirical focus, there is no grotesque. From this definition, the grotesque Schneegans and displays all the features of Rabelaisian imagery and its verbal style: redundancy and redundancy, the desire to transcend all borders, immensely long enumeration heaps of synonyms, etc.

This is the concept Schneegans. She, as we have said, is very typical. Understanding of the grotesque image as a purely satirical, that is negative is very common. For Rabelais, as we know, the title stuck satirist, although he was a satirist not to a greater extent than Shakespeare, and to a lesser extent than Cervantes. The fact that Schneegans carries on its narrow Rabelais, in the spirit of modern times, the understanding of satire as a negation of individual private events, rather than as a negation of the whole structure of life (including the dominant truth), denial, inextricably fused with the approval of a new being born .

Schneegans concept is fundamentally wrong. It is based on completely ignoring some very essential aspects of the grotesque, and above all - his ambivalence. In addition, Schneegans completely ignores the sources of folk grotesque.

Schneegans himself compelled to admit that not all Rabelaisian exaggeration can be, even at a stretch, to reveal a satirical thrust. He explains the nature of exaggeration, always striving to go beyond all boundaries: the author of the grotesque in his enthusiasm, even the "intoxication" hyperbole sometimes forget about the real purpose of an exaggeration, losing sight of the satire.

As an example of exaggeration from oblivion the original purpose of his satirical Schneegans leads a fantastic picture of growth of individual members of the body in the first book of "Pantagruel."

Moment of exaggeration (hyperbole) is indeed one of the essential features of the grotesque (in particular, and Rabelaisian of images), but it's still not the most significant sign. All the more intolerable to him to reduce the whole essence of the grotesque image. But the most pathos of exaggeration, the beginning of his motive Schneegans interpreted incorrectly.

One might ask: where does this pathos, this "intoxication" an exaggeration, if exaggerated something negative, improper? On this question Schneegans book does not give us any answer. And the character literally rolling very often in sharp qualitative changes, they are not disclosed.

If the grotesque nature of satire is to exaggerate something negative and improper , it is absolutely nowhere to take that joyful excess of exaggeration, speaks of himself Schneegans. Nowhere to take the qualitative richness and diversity of the image, its diverse and often unexpected connections with the seemingly distant and alien phenomena. Purely satirical exaggeration of the negative could at best explain only a purely quantitative time exaggeration, but not the diversity and richness of the image and its relationships. Grotesque world in which exaggerated if only improper, would be great to quantify, but it would at the same high quality extremely poor, poor, deprived of colors and is not gay (this is the kind of dull world of Swift). That the total would be in a world of fun and rich world of Rabelais? Hola satirical thrust can not even explain the positive pathos purely quantitative exaggeration, there is nothing to talk about the pathos of the quality of wealth.

Schneegans, based on an idealistic aesthetics of the past half century and the narrow artistic and ideological norms of his time, could not find the correct path to the grotesque, he could not understand the possibility of merging into a single image and the positive and negative poles. Still less could he understand that an object can move not only their quantitative and qualitative limits that he may outgrow itself, can be mixed with other items. Fraught and dvutelye grotesque images were not clear Schneegans, he does not notice that in becoming a grotesque world the boundaries between things and events are conducted very differently than in the static world of contemporary art and literature Schneegans.

Let us return to the starting point of analysis Schneegans: given them an example to the buffoonery, burlesque and grotesque. His analysis he was trying to open a purely formal psychological mechanism of their perception, instead of focusing on the objective content of the images themselves. But if we proceed from this objective content, rather than from formal psychological moments, you'll find substantial similarity and relationship of all three above examples, the same set Schneegans differences will be far-fetched and random.

In fact, what is the objective content of the first example? Schneegans himself describes it in such a way that leaves no doubt: the stutterer playing childbearing . It is pregnant with the word, and can not be delivered. Sam Schneegans said: "It seems that it comes to labor contractions and spasms. Gaping mouth, bulging eyes, sweat, trembling, choking, swollen face, etc. - All these are typical signs and symptoms of a grotesque life of the body, in which case they are interpreted is playing an act of birth. Absolutely clear and gesture Harlequin: it helps to leave and, therefore, his intervention very consistently focused on the abdomen , and the word is really born. We emphasize that here is born exactly the word. Highest spiritual act down here and debunked by transferring the material bodily birth plan of the act (which played quite realistically). But thanks to deconstruct the word is updated and how to be born anew (we keep moving in a circle of birth and descent Act). Further, there is obvious and significant topographical moment inverted bodily hierarchy: bottom here, took the top and the word is localized in the mouth and in my thoughts ( in my head ), but here it is transferred to the abdomen , from Harlequin and pushes his head blow. And this is the traditional gesture of hitting his head in the stomach (or back ) is essential topographic: here is the same logic back to the top of the contact with the bottom. Further, there is also an exaggeration: the physical phenomena that accompany the difficulties in the organs of articulation stutterer (tension in the eyes, perspiration, etc.) are so exaggerated that go into effect generic act, as a result of all the event moves from the utterance of the word articulation apparatus in the stomach. An objective analysis reveals, therefore, in this little skit basic and essential features of the grotesque. Scene is very rich and very often, in all the smallest details, meaningful. She, however, and universalistichna: it is like a little satyr play words , the drama of his material birth, or the drama of the body, a generating word. The unusual realism, richness and fullness of comprehension and profound universalistichnost characterized this great skit, like all images of genuine popular comedians.

An objective analysis of the images Skarronovoy travesty would have discovered the presence of the same points. But the images have Scarron poorer simplification; they have a lot of random, made-up literary. Schneegans sees here only to reduce the high, which has already weary the reader. He explains the decline of formal psychosocial considerations: the need to lower his eyes down to rest from looking up. In fact here is debunking the images "Aeneid" by translating them into the material and bodily sphere : the sphere of food, drink, sex and the adjacent bodily manifestations. Scope of this has a positive value . This is - generates low . Therefore, images of the "Aeneid" is not only debunked, but updated. I repeat, Scarron all this is more abstract and surface-literary nature.

Let us turn to the third example Schneegans - a Rabelaisian images. Consider the first of them. Friar says that even the shadow of the monastery's bell tower fertile. This image immediately introduces us to the grotesque logic. It is not easy grotesque exaggeration of the monastery "debauchery". In this way the subject is beyond the boundaries of their quality, ceases to be himself. It blurs the boundaries between body and world, to confuse the body with the outside world and things. It must be emphasized that the bell tower (the tower) - the usual grotesque image of the phallus [ annotated.: Understanding the tallest tower as the phallus was familiar to Rabelais and his contemporaries of the ancient sources. Here is an excerpt from Lucian ("On the Syrian Goddess"): "These are Propylaea phallus height of thirty fathoms. At one of these Fallot twice a year gets to people, and remains on top of it within seven days. The majority explains this practice by the fact that this man with his height comes into close communion with the gods and seeks their benefits for the whole of Syria. " ] And the whole context, prepares this image, creates an atmosphere to justify this grotesque transformation. Should lead Rabelaisian text in the script:

"C'est (dist Le moyne) rentré bien de picques! Elle pourroit Estre aussi layd Que Proserpine, Elle Aura, par Dieu, la saccade puisqu'il ya moynes Autour, UN car bon ouvrier MECT indifferentement toutes Pieces EN oeuvre. Que la j'aye verolle EN CAS Que Ne les trouviez, engroissées á vostre Retour, car seulement l'Ombre du clochier Abbaye d'UNE feconde est " ( the book . I , Sec. XLV ). [ cites the Russian translation: Well, that's Grandma in two said! - Said the monk. - Your wife may be as ugly as Proserpine, but if somewhere nearby infested with the monks, they certainly will not let her pass, and then say: good for the master of all things will find application. Suppose I get sick a bad illness, if on returning you find that your little wife put on weight, because even in the shadow of the monastery's bell tower is something fertility. ]

The entire speech is filled with his brother Jean unofficial and reducing elements, prepare the atmosphere for our grotesque image. First of all, we see an expression borrowed from the game cards ( "rentré de picques" in the sense of - a bad move). Then - the ugly image of Proserpine, the queen of hell, it's certainly not an antique reminiscence and the image of "mother of the devils" medieval Diablerets, this image is, moreover, was colored topographically, as the grave in Rabelais is always connected with a solid bottom. Further, there is also oath («pardieu») and the curse associated with solid bottom ("so I got syphilis"). Further, there are two metaphors for sexual intercourse: one borrowed from the riding («saccade»); another - saying (good craftsman knows how to use it in any material "). In both cases the decline and renewal in terms of the lower stratum of subjects of a different order (horseback riding, crafts), it also prepares our grotesque image.

All these elements create a specific voice arbitrary atmosphere, most of them directly related to the material bodily lower stratum, and they otelesnivayut and reduce the things that confuse the body with the world and it prepares the final transformation of the bell tower in the phallus .

Does this grotesque image of pure satire on the monastic debauchery, as claimed Schneegans?

We analyzed fragment is part of a fairly large scene with the pilgrims, swallowed by gargantuan, together with the salad, but then escaped safely. This episode really sharpened against the pilgrimage, and against the belief in the miraculous power of relics, avoid the disease (in this case the plague). But this particular and private satirical thrust is far from exhausts the meaning of the whole episode and did not determine all components of the scene images. At its center is a typical grotesque image ingestion of pilgrims, then no less than a typical image of the flooding of their urine and, finally, the travesty of the Psalms, ostensibly to predict all of these misadventures pilgrims. Travesty, this gives an interpretation in some way reduces the Psalms. All of these motifs and images have a wide universal significance, and it would be absurd to think that they are all mobilized only to mock parasitism of pilgrims and their faith in the rough relics - it would mean to shoot from guns on sparrows. The fight against pilgrimages and a gross superstition - it's completely official trend of the episode. In his speech to the pilgrims, Granguze openly and frankly expressed it at a high official language of a wise government. Here Rabelais stands straight as an official royal writer, expressing his day public views on the abuse of pilgrimage. It does not deny the faith, but only a rough superstition pilgrims [ annotated.: Criticism of superstition expressed in the spirit of moderate evangelism, which at the time when Rabelais wrote these lines seemed to be supported by royal authority. ] This is the official idea of the episode, expressed open. But the unofficial, popular-festive marketplace and the language of images of this episode says something quite different. Formidable material corporeal elements of these images unleashes and renews the whole world of medieval philosophy and system, with his faith, saints, relics, monasteries, false asceticism, fear of death, eschatology and prophecy. Pilgrims in this sour world - just petty and pathetic details that do not really noticing, swallowed with a salad and almost drowned in the urine. Material and bodily element is here a positive nature. And that material bodily images and exaggerated to epic proportions: the grandiose, like the bell tower, the nuns phallus, and the flow of urine Pantagruel and his all-consuming vast mouthful.

Therefore, the monastery bell tower, debunked and updated in the form of grandiose phallus, impregnates his shadow of a woman, least of all exaggerating here monastic depravity . It debunks the whole monastery, the very ground on which it stands, its a false ascetic ideal, its abstract and barren forever . Shadow of the bell tower - the shadow phallus, regenerating a new life. Absolutely nothing remains of the convent - remains a living person - a monk's brother Jean, a glutton and a drunkard, relentlessly sober and candid, powerful and heroic daring, full of inexhaustible energy and thirst for the new.

We should also emphasize that the image of the bell tower, fertilizing a woman like any other images, topographic: tending upwards , the sky tower turned into a phallus ( solid bottom ), like a shadow, it falls to the ground (topography low ) and impregnates a woman (again bottom ).

Image Panurgovyh walls also prepared context. "My friend! - Said Pantagruel. - Do you know what Agesilaus said when asked why the great lakedemonsky city is not enclosed by a wall? Pointing to its residents and citizens, experienced in military arts, strong and well armed, he exclaimed: "That the city walls!" By this he meant that the strongest wall - is the backbone of a warrior, and that cities do not have a reliable and strong bulwark, than valor of the inhabitants and citizens "(Book II , Ch. XV ). Already here in this ancient reminiscences of high style, is prepared by the grotesque otelesnenie walls . Prepares his metaphor: the most sturdy walls consist of bones of soldiers . The human body here becomes building material for walls, the boundary between the body and the world is weakened (though in high metaphorical sense). All this is prepared by the project Panurge. Here it is:

"According to my observations, the main female lures are cheaper stones. Here are some of them, and must build the wall: first, to place these lures all the rules of architectural symmetry - any more, those at the bottom, then, slightly slanted, middle, top to the smallest, and then larded it all spiky like buttons, such as on the large tower of Bourges, those hardened shpazhonkami that finds in the monastery codpiece. What the devil would destroy such walls? They are stronger than any metal, they are not afraid of any attacks. That devil take them! And the lightning that they never hit. And why? And because they are sacred and blessed "( ibid. ).

It is quite clear that the cheapness of the Parisian women are only incidental motive, and even in the motif that does not have the moral conviction. Leading the same motive - fertility, as the most powerful and strong force . It would be wrong to rationalize this image in this example, the spirit: the fertility of citizens, the population growth are very strong military defense of the city. This idea is not alien to this way, but in general such a narrow rationalization grotesque images is not allowed.

Image Panurgovyh walls and more complex and wider, and most importantly - he is ambivalent. It is a moment of topographical and denial. Panurgovy wall explodes and update and fortifications, and military prowess, and bullets, and even lightning, which is powerless here. Military power and strength were powerless over the material and bodily productive start.

Elsewhere in the novel (in the Third Book, ch. VIII ) have a long argument Panurge that the very first time and most important piece of military armor is a codpiece , which protects the genitals . "If you lose the head, then lost only its owner, and only if eggs are lost, it dies the whole human race" - he says here, and adds that the genitals were those stones with which Deucalion and Pyrrha restored the human race after the deluge . Here, the same image of solid productive start, as the best building stone.

This argument Panurge interesting in another respect: the utopian moment it is clearly marked. Panurge notes that the nature, wanting to keep all of the vegetable kingdom, well armed the seeds and buds of plants, covering them with husks, bony shell, shells, thorns, bark, prickly needles, while the man is born naked and productive bodies of its no protected. The place is inspired by Rabelais similar thoughts of Pliny (they opened VII of his book "Natural History"). But Pliny, in the spirit of his gloomy outlook comes to the pessimistic conclusions about the weaknesses of the human race. Conclusions same Panurge deeply optimistic. From the fact that people are born naked, and his genitals are not protected, he concludes that man is called for peace and peaceful domination over nature. Only the "Iron Age" made ​​him to arm (and he began to adopt it, according to Biblical legend, with a codpiece, ie, with a fig leaf), but sooner or later people will come back to their peaceful purpose and fully disarm [ annotated.: A similar motif is at Erasmus («Adagia», III, 10, 1): it also begins with the fact that only a man is born naked, and makes this the conclusion that man is born "not for war, and for friendship." ] Here explicite, but in a slightly constricted sound form, disclosed that the implicite were made ​​in the image of an invincible body wall , purging any military force.

A mere comparison of these arguments Panurge, to see how inconsequential to the whole image Panurgovyh walls is a satirical motive cheap Parisian women. Stones, which offers Panurge for construction of walls, are the very stones, with which Deucalion and Pyrrha again erected a destroyed building of the human race.

This is the real objective content of all the examples cited Schneegans. From the standpoint of the objective content, the similarity between them is more important than their differences. The latter, of course, there are, but not where they are looking for Schneegans. Artificial theory of the psychological mechanism of perception, on the one hand, and narrow aesthetic norms of the time - on the other hand, prevent Schneegans see the real essence of the phenomenon under study - the grotesque.

First of all, we have analyzed examples - and the scene with Zaika from the commedia dell'arte, and skarronovskaya travesty "Aeneid" and, finally, the images of Rabelais - to a greater or lesser degree linked to the medieval culture of folk humor and grotesque realism . The very nature of the construction of images and especially the concept of the body are the legacy of the comic folklore and grotesque realism. This special concept of the body more substantial all together and have in common with each other all the above example. In all three cases before us the same mode images of bodily life, as dramatically different from "classical" as well as from the naturalistic type of image the human body. This gives us the right to strike, all three events (ignoring, of course, their differences) under the general notion of the grotesque.

At the heart of grotesque imagery is a special presentation of a solid whole, and the borders of the whole. The boundaries between body and world and between individual bodies in grotesque place quite differently than in classical and naturalistic images.

Touch on one more example provided Schneegans: caricatures of Napoleon III, built on the dramatic exaggeration of the nose of the Emperor. Grotesque, according Schneegans, begins where the exaggeration is a fantastic size and human nose turns into a beast. We will not talk about these cartoons to the point: all this is - superficial caricatures, devoid of any genuine grotesque. But we are interested in the motive of the nose - a very common grotesque motifs and in the world literature, and in almost all languages ​​(such expressions as "left holding the bag", "show the nose", etc.), and common human fund abuse and reduces gestures Schneegans correctly notes the grotesque nature of the transition to a beast is the nose. Indeed, mixing human and animal traits - one of the oldest types of the grotesque. But the most important of the nose into a grotesque images Schneegans not understand. Nose they always replaces phallus . The famous doctor XVI century, the younger contemporary of Rabelais, Laurent Joubert, the theory of laughter that we have already mentioned, wrote a book about people's prejudices in medicine [ annotated.: Joubert Laurant. Erreurs populaires et propos Vulgaires touchant la médicine et Le régime de Santé, Bordeaux, 1579 ] Here, it is (in the book V , ch. IV ) tells the story of an extremely widespread among the people the belief that the size and shape of the nose can judge the value and power of the productive body. This idea was expressed by the Friar to his monastery jargon. This is also the usual understanding of the nose in the literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance associated with the popular-festive system of images. Is called as the most famous example, the famous Shrovetide game Hans Sachs' Dance noses " ("Nasentanz").

Of all the features of human faces in a grotesque image of the body play a significant role only your mouth and nose , though the latter as Deputy Falla. Shape of head, ears and nose get the same grotesque character only when they go into animal shapes or forms of things . Eyes also does no role in the grotesque image of a person does not play. Eyes express a purely individual and, so to speak, self-contained inside a person's life, which for the grotesque is not important. Grotesque deals only with bulging eyes (for example, we have analyzed the grotesque scenes with stuttering and Harlequin), since he is interested in everything that comes out, sticks, and sticks out from the body , all that tends away from the body. In the grotesque special significance any shoots and branches , anything that keeps the body and connects it with other bodies or with extracorporeal world. In addition, the bulging eyes so interested in the grotesque, they suggest a purely bodily tension . But the most important in the face for the grotesque is the mouth . He dominates. The grotesque face is reduced, in essence, a gaping mouth - everything else is just the backdrop to this breath for this yawning abyss and the absorbing body .

Grotesque body , as we have stressed repeatedly - becoming the body . It never is not ready, not completed: it is always under construction, is created and self-builds and creates another body , in addition, the body is absorbing the world and self absorbed world (recall the grotesque image of the body in an episode of the birth of Gargantua and holiday slaughter). Therefore, the most significant role in the grotesque body are the parts of those places where it grows itself, beyond its own limits, conceives a new (second) body : the belly and the phallus . They have a leading role in a grotesque image of the body, they are the predominant positive exaggeration - hyperbole, and they may even become detached from the body, lead independent lives as they overshadow the rest of the body as secondary (to stand apart from the body may in part and nose ). Next in importance after the role of the stomach and penis is the grotesque body of his mouth , which is absorbed by the world, and then - back . After all, these convexity and holes are characterized by the fact that it is in them overcome the boundary between two bodies and between the body and the world , there is their interchange and vzaimoorientatsiya. Therefore, the main events in the life of the grotesque body, acts of physical drama - eating, drinking, bowel movements (and other emissions: sweating, blowing nose, sneezing), mating, pregnancy, birth, growth, old age, sickness, death, torn apart, dismembered into pieces absorption of another body - are committed on the boundaries of the body and the world , or at the boundaries of the old and the new body , in all these events corporeal drama beginning and end of life is inextricably intertwined with each other .

Thus, the artistic logic of the grotesque image ignores the closed, flat and desolate plane (surface) of the body and captures only the convexity - shoots, buds - and the holes, that is, only that lead outside the body, and that leads into the depths of the body [ annotated.: Incidentally, this grotesque logic applies to the images of nature and images of things, which also recorded depth (hole) and the convexity of ] mountains and the deep - that's a relief the grotesque body, or, at the architectural language - the towers and dungeons.

Of course, in a grotesque image may appear and any other members, organs and body parts (especially in the images of dismembered body) but they only play the role of extras in the grotesque drama of the body, emphasis on them, never falls (unless they do not replace any lead agency).

In fact, in a grotesque way, if you take it to the limit, not at individual body: because the image consists of dips and bumps that are already conceived by another body, this is - thoroughfare eternally renewed life, the inexhaustible vessel of death and conception.

Grotesque, as we said, ignores the blank surface, which encloses and delimits the body as a separate and complete effect. Therefore, the grotesque image shows not only external but also internal shape of the body: blood, guts, heart and other internal organs. Often, internal and external appearance are mixed into a single image.

We already talked about that grotesque images build in essence, dvuteloe body. In an infinite chain of physical life they fix those parts, where one unit set behind the other, where the life of one's body is born from the death of another - the old .

Finally, we note that the grotesque body is cosmic and universal: it highlights common to all space elements - earth, water, fire, air, and it is directly connected to the sun, the stars, in it - signs of the zodiac, it reflects the cosmic hierarchy; this body could blend in with the various phenomena of nature - mountains, rivers, seas, islands and continents, it can fill in themselves the whole world.

Grotesque mode of body image and physical life was dominated in the art and literary art for millennia. In terms of actual prevalence, he is dominant and now : the grotesque body shapes dominate not only the art of non-European peoples, but also in European folklore (especially the comic), and moreover, grotesque images of the body predominate in vneofitsialnoy voice of life of peoples , especially where body image related to the oaths and laughter ; general themes of battle and laughter , as we have said, almost exclusively grotesque bodily subject , body, appearing in all expressions of the informal and familiar speech - is a body-fertilizes fertilizing, give birth, gives birth, devouring- devoured, drinking, defecating, sick, dying , in all languages, there is an enormous number of expressions associated with these body parts like the genitals, back, stomach, mouth and nose - but at the same time, very little of such expressions, which appeared to other parts of the body such as hands, feet, face, eyes, etc. But even those relatively small numbers of expression, where these negrotesknye parts of the body and figure, are in the vast majority of cases, narrowed, practical in nature: they are related to the orientation in the near space, the definition of distance, size or with a score, and denied any enlargement of the symbolic and metaphorical power They also lack any significant expression (and therefore in the battlefield and laughter, they are not involved).

In particular, where people were laughing and swearing in familiar intercourse, their speech is replete with images of the grotesque body - the body copulating, defecating, overeat, it flooded the productive organs, stomach, feces, urine, disease, noses and mouths, dismembered body parts on. But where are the dam of speech rules, this flow of the grotesque body is still breaking out even in the literary speech noses , mouths and stomachs , especially when the speech is expressive nature - a cheerful, or abusive. The basis of universal stock familiarity and warlike gestures is also a distinctly grotesque image of the body.

In this boundless in space and time ocean grotesque images of the body, filling all languages, all the literature and a system of gestures, a small and limited island is a solid canon of art, literature and respectable voice of modern times. In ancient literature, the canon was never dominant. In the official literature of the European nations it has become completely dominant, in fact, only in the last four centuries.

We will give a brief description and a new, now the dominant canon, focusing less on the visual arts as in literature. Characterization of a new canon, we will build on the background of the grotesque concept, all the time fixing their differences.

For the new body is characteristic of the canon - with all its significant historical and genre variations - a completely finished, completed, strictly circumscribed, closed, displayed outside, unmixed and individually expressive body . Everything that sticks out, gets out of the body, all sorts of sharp bumps shoots and branches, that is all what the body goes beyond its borders and begets another body, is cut off, eliminated, locked, moderated. Also closed and all openings leading into the depths of the body. At the heart of the image is an individual and strictly delimited body weight, its massive and dull facade. Deaf surface, plain body , takes the leading role, as the border closed and undrainable with other bodies and with the world of individuality. All the signs of incompleteness, unprepared this body carefully removed, also removed all of its manifestations vnutritelesnoy life. Speech rules official and literary language defined by this canon, impose a ban on anything related to fertilization, pregnancy, childbirth, etc., that is exactly all that is associated with incomplete and unprepared body and with his pure vnutritelesnoy life. Between familiarity and formal, "decent" speech in this regard is held very sharp boundary.

Fifteenth century in France was in this respect, age is relatively very great voice of freedom. In the XVI century, the same speech rules are much stricter and the boundaries between familiarity and formal speeches are pretty sharp. This process is especially strong to the end of the century, when we finally emerged that the canon of propriety of speech, which became dominant in the XVII century. Against a sharp increase in speech norms and prohibitions in the late XVI century protested Montaigne (Essays, Bk. III , Sec. V ): "What is responsible to the people intercourse - are so important, so vital and so justified - that all, as one, do not dare talk about it without a blush on his face and not allow themselves to deal with this issue in a serious and respectable conversation? We are not afraid to say: kill , rob , betray - but this is a forbidden word gets stuck in our teeth. "

Such body parts like the genitals, butt, belly, nose and mouth, a new canon cease to play a leading role. Also, instead of generic values ​​they are set to only the expressive nature that is expressed only individual life of the unit and limitation of the body. Abdomen , nose and mouth , of course, always remain in the body image, they can not hide - but in the individual and complete body they are either, as we have said, purely expressive function (in essence, only the mouth ), or the function of characterological and personalized. Neither of which is symbolically expanded the meaning of these organs in the individual body can not, of course, no question. If they are not understood characterological or expressively, they are mentioned only in banausic plan that is simple to explain the remark. In general we can say that the literary image of the body all that has characterological and expressive values, converted into a simple remark to bodily words and actions.

The image of the individual body of the new time sex life, eating, drinking and defecation dramatically changed its meaning: they moved to a private household and individual-psychological terms, where their value is a narrow and specific, and cut off from direct communication with society and with the cosmic whole . As such, the new meaning they can no longer carry the previous mirosozertsatelnyh functions.

In a new bodily canon leading role goes to the individual characterological and expressive parts of the body: the head, face, eyes, lips, to a system of muscles, to the individual position occupied by the body to the outside world. At the fore reasonable position and movement of the finished body ready as the external world in which boundaries between the body and the world did not weaken.

The body of a new canon - one body, no signs dvutelosti it does not remain: it dominates itself, speaks only for himself, all that happens to him, only applies to it, that is only of the individual and the closed body. Therefore, all the events taking place with him, acquire an unambiguous meaning : death here - just death, it never coincides with the birth, old age, divorced from his youth; blows are striking given body, and nothing helps to be born. All activities and events are interpreted in terms of one individual's life: they are closed between the limits of individual birth and death of the same body, and these limits - the absolute beginning and end, which can never come together within the same body.

In contrast, the grotesque body of death nothing substantial comes, because the death does not apply to a generic body, it is, in contrast, updates to new generations. The events of the grotesque body is always deployed on the borders of one or other of the body, as if the point of intersection of two bodies: one body gives her death, the other - his birth, but they are merged into one dvutelom (within) the image.

The body of the new Canon retained a faint glow dvutelosti only one of his motives: the motive of breastfeeding [ annotated.: we have given our above arguments from the conversations of Goethe with Eckermann on the painting by Correggio "weaning" and the image of a cow nursing a calf ("Cow "Myron). Goethe draws in these images is retained in them in a weaker degree dvutelost. ] But the images of the body - and the nursing mother and child - is strictly individualized and completed, the boundaries between them are perpetual. This is a completely new level of artistic perception of the interaction of bodies.

Finally, a new solid canon is completely alien to exaggeration. The image of the individual body for it is no ground. Here is admissible only to emphasize the purely expressive accentuation or characterological order. Impossible, of course, and detachment of individual organs to whole body and their independent existence.

These are the main line of rough solid canon of modern times, as they are mainly manifested in literature and speech norms [ annotated.: This is the classic representation of the body lie at the heart of the new rules of conduct in society. Among the requirements of good parenting is: do not put elbows on the table, walk, not protruding shoulder blades and swinging hips, remove the stomach, there are not champing not sniff, do not blow, keep your mouth closed, etc., ie every possible clogging, mark off the body and smooth out its projections. It is interesting to trace the struggle of grotesque and classical concepts of the body in the history of clothing and fashion. Even more interesting issue of combating these concepts in the history of dance. ]

Rabelais' novel completes a grotesque concept of the body, inherited from the folk culture of laughter, from the grotesque realism and familiarity of the verbal element. In all the episodes we have analyzed and selected images of the novel, we only saw the grotesque body. Through the entire novel is a powerful stream of grotesque bodily elements dismembered body parts on, isolated grotesque bodies (eg, Panurgovyh walls), guts and entrails, gaping mouths, devouring, swallowing, eating and drinking, acts of feces, urine, feces, death, birth Acts, infancy and old age, etc. Body blended with one another, with things (for example, in the form of Karemprenana) and with the world. Everywhere betrays a tendency to dvutelosti. Everywhere emphasize family time and space of the body.

The trend towards dvutelosti cash from more or less clarity in all we have analyzed the episodes. We give an example of its more external and crude expressions: "His (ie, Gargantua) badge was a gold plate weighing sixty eight marks, a plank was fastened to the enamel figurine depicting a man with two heads, turn to each other, with four arms , four legs and two bottoms, because, as Plato says in the Symposium, is human nature in its primordial essence of the mystical "(Book I , Ch. VIII ). We must stress that the motive of "androgyne" in this sense it was extremely popular in the time of Rabelais. In the field of visual arts will mention, as a parallel phenomenon, the figure of Leonardo da Vinci «Coitus», depicting the act in its vnutritelesnom aspect.

Rabelais, not only portrays the grotesque image of the body in all its essential points, but it gives the theory of the body at the family aspect. In this regard, a revealing already given us the argument Panurge. In another passage (Book III , Chap. XXVI ) he says: "And here I am on what they decided: from now on in all my stew every criminals sentenced to death by the court, be granted a day or two to steal the monkey, so that in the vas deferens He had nothing to portray the letter igrek. Such a precious thing must necessarily be employed in the business. You'll see from him and someone is born. Then he will die with a clear conscience, because instead of himself to leave the other person. "

In a famous argument Panurge on debtors and creditors, representing a perfect utopian world where everything is given and every one of them get a loan, Panurge is also developing the theory of descent of the body:

"This lend, be extended and holding the world is so good that, completing his food, he begins to think about how to lend to those who are not yet born, and with the help of such loans, bude possible, to immortalize themselves and multiply in such exactly the same beings, that is, in children. To this end, every body worships it necessary to highlight some of the most valuable food and send it down, and then nature has already prepared a suitable receptacle and receivers through which this food is devious and winding paths down to the genitals, take the proper form, and both men and women finds a suitable place for the preservation and extension of the human race. And all this is accomplished through mutual loans and debts - hence the fact and went expression: the marriage debt "(Book III , Chap. IV ).

In the same "Third Book" is the argument about "why the couple are exempt from the obligation to go to war." It develops the same theme generic body. This is generally one of the leading themes of all the theoretical arguments in the Third Book.

We will see in the next chapter, that the same generic theme of the body, but in the historical aspect, as the theme of immortality and the growth of human culture develops in a famous letter of Gargantua to Pantagruel. Subject relative seed of immortality is given here in close connection with the theme of the historical progress of mankind . The human race is not just updated with each new generation, but every time he rises to a new higher stage of historical development . The same theme, as we shall see, the sounds and the glorification of "pantagryuelona.

Thus, the theme of descent of the body merges with the theme of Rabelais and a living historical sense of immortality of the people . We have seen that it is a living experience of people of their collective historical immortality is the core of the whole system of popular-festive image . Grotesque conception of the body is so inseparably part of that system. Therefore, in the images of Rabelais' grotesque body is intertwined not only with space but also with the socio-utopian and historical motifs and, above all with the motive of changing times and the historic renovation of culture.

*

In all the episodes we have analyzed and images of the novel featured predominantly solid bottom in the narrow sense of the word. But in the grotesque images of playing a leading role as the gaping mouth . And it is bound, of course, with topographical bodily lower stratum: it is - open gate leading into the bottom, in the bodily grave.

Gaping mouth - one of the central nodal obrnarodno-festive system. Not for nothing dramatic exaggeration of the mouth-core traditional reception of external design appearance of the comic: the comic masks, all sorts of "funny monsters" carnival (for example, "Mashkruta" Lyons Carnival), the devils in the Diablerets, Lucifer himself.

It is understandable that the gaping mouth, throat, teeth, absorption, ingestion are essential in the Rabelaisian system images.

Especially important, directly leading role played by the gaping mouth of the chronologically first book of the novel - in "Pantagruel." We can assume that the hero of this book is just a human mouth gaping.

Neither the name nor the kernel image was not created Pantagruel Rabelais. Same name existed before him and in the literature, as the name of one of the devils in Diablerets and in the language as the common noun (name) throat disease - loss of voice as a result of booze disease (drunks). Thus, the common noun (name of disease) is associated with a mouth to mouth with a drink, a disease that is a very complex characteristic grotesque. With the same, but with a broader and more complex space-related and the image of Pantagruel in Diablerets.

We have already said that Diablerets, who formed part of the mystery, the character of their images belong to the people's festive polygon shapes. And the images of the body they were pronounced grotesque character. In this grotesque bodily atmosphere Diablerets and appears first image Pantagruel.

First of all, we find this image in the mystery of the second half of XV century - "The Mysteries of Acts" Simon Fucking. Here in Diablerets, Proserpine - "mother of the devils" - represents the four devils Lucifer (petits dyables). Each of them is the embodiment of one of the four elements - earth, water, air and fire. Posing as Lucifer, each imp represents the activity in the corresponding element. Obtained a broad picture of life in space elements. One of the four devils and bears the name of Pantagruel. It embodies the elements of water . "It's easier, I flew a bird of prey of the Seas" - he says about himself. Obviously, here he is impregnated with sea salt , and therefore receive special treatment to salt and a wake up thirsty . In the same mystery of Lucifer says to Pantagruel, that "the night he was waiting for other things, engaged in that throwing salt into the throat of drunkards. "

In the same role appears hell Pantagruel and another mystery, namely the "Mystery of St. Louis." Here he delivers a monologue in which recounts how he was busy all night with young people, propirovavshimi all evening: he "poured them softly with careful movements, not to wake up, the salt in your mouth. Honestly, wake up, they felt thirsty and a half times greater than before! ".

We see here that the image of Pantagruel as misteriynogo trait associated with one party with the cosmic elements (with the element of water and sea salt ) and on the other hand - with grotesque images of the body (open mouth, thirst, alcoholism ), and finally, with purely carnivalesque gesture nasypaniya salt in the gaping mouth . All of these points which form the basis of the image Pantagruel, deeply related to one another. This is the traditional core of the image is fully preserved, and Rabelais.

Must be emphasized that Pantagruel was conceived and written by Rabelais, during an unprecedented heat and drought in 1532. People then actually went with gaping mouths. Abel Lefranc rightly believes that the name dyavolenka Pantagruel and his treacherous role arouse thirst repeatedly commemorated in an environment of Rabelais and caused a lot of humorous comments or curses . Heat and drought have made ​​this way is particularly popular. It is quite possible that part of why Rabelais and used it for his novel.

The first chapter immediately introduces the grotesque image of the body with all its characteristic features. It tells the story of the origin of kinds of giants, to which he belonged Pantagruel. After the murder of Abel's blood-soaked soil was exceptionally fertile. Here is the beginning (second paragraph) of the first book:

"I must let you know that at the beginning of the world (I keep my story from a distance - if you count in the way of the ancient Druids, this was more than forty times forty nights ago), shortly after Abel fell into the hand of his brother Cain, the earth, having absorbed a righteous blood, bore all sorts of fruit, which only grow in her womb, and especially so many dogwood that memorable this year was called the year a large dogwood, for three of its berries were a Boissy (Book II , ch. I ).

This is the first solid theme of this chapter. His grotesque carnival character is obvious, the first death (of the Biblical legend, the death of Abel was reckoned the death on the ground) updated the fertility of the soil , fertilized it . Here - already familiar combination of murder and childbirth , but in outer aspect of the world's fertility . Death, corpse, blood, like a seed buried in the ground, rises from the earth new life - is one of the oldest and most widespread motives. Another variation of it: death obsemenyaet Mother Earth and forces her to give birth again . This variation often comes over the erotic images (of course not in the narrow and specific sense of the word). Rabelais says in another place (Book III , Chap. XLVIII ): "Sweet, the coveted kiss of our great nurse - the land, which is called in our funeral." The image of the burial , as the latter 's embrace of mother earth, obviously inspired by Pliny, which detail develops the theme of motherhood and the death-land burial as a return to her bosom ("Natural History", II , 63). But this ancient image of death-renewal, in all its variations and shades of Rabelais is not inclined to take in the grand style of ancient mysteries, and the carnival, the people's festive spirit, as cheerful and sober confidence in the relative historical immortality of the people and themselves in the people.

Thus, the motif of death, renewal, fertility was the first motive of Rabelais, who discovered his immortal novel . We emphasize this.

Especially fertile land was "on the dogwood" (EN mesl). But people who ate the dogwoods were beginning to grow abnormally: any one part of the body grew to monstrous proportions. And Rabelais typically deploys several grotesque images of individual monstrously exaggerated limbs, the rest of the sheath completely human. Given, in fact, painting dismembered body parts, but only parts of these shows in the grand scale. First of all, people are portrayed with monstrous bellies (typical grotesque exaggeration) to this fun race, pot-bellied belong to the holy Pansar and Fat Tuesday. Holy Pansar (ie St. Paunch) - comic name of the saint, which is usually associated with the carnival. Characteristically, the pot-bellied assigned to the race itself and a carnival. Then Rabelais depicts the incredible value of humps and monstrous noses , extremely long legs , huge ears . Details are shown those who have grown extremely long phallus (they can wrap it around your body, as are six times), as well as those who have grown testicles. As a result, we face a grand image of the grotesque body, while a series of carnival figures (in fact the basis for design of these figures are placed usually the same grotesque motifs).

Directly in front of the gallery of grotesque limbs Rabelais depicts cosmic upheavals in the sky of the same carnival nature: for example, "Sheaf" from the constellation of the "Virgin" has moved into the constellation of the Scales. But these space images Rabelais directly intertwined with bodily grotesque: stellar perturbations were so difficult to understand that "astrologers broken off about them all the teeth, and teeth, then they must assume, were oh what a long, if they could so far get! ". Grotesque image long before the stars of the teeth was born as a result of the metaphor - "chew" difficult astrological question

Rabelais then gives a long list of giants, the ancestors of Pantagruel. It is called many names biblical, ancient, medieval and fictional giants. Rabelais was well acquainted with the vast material images and legends of giants (the ancient giants were, however, already grouped scholar Raviziusom Textor, a book which Rabelais used). Images of giants and legends about them are closely related to the concept of the grotesque body. We have already noted the enormous role of giants in ancient satyr drama (which was precisely the drama of the body ). Most of the local legends about giants connects the various phenomena of nature and the terrain (mountains, rivers, rocks, islands) with a body giant and its individual organs. The body of a giant, thus not bounded away from the world of natural phenomena, the geographical terrain. We have noted also that the Giants belonged to the compulsory repertoire of popular-festive masquerade.

This is the content of the first chapter. Grotesque images of bodies intertwined here with cosmic phenomena. Opens the entire series of images of the novel motif of death, renewal, fertility .

The same motif of the opening and the second chapter: "In the age of Gargantua пятисотдвадцатичетырехлетнем clamping son Pantagruel with his wife Badbek, daughter of King amavrotov living in Utopia. Badbek died in childbirth, as the child was unusually big and heavy and could be born only at the cost of the mother's life. "

It is already known to us by the Roman carnival motif combination of murder and confinement. Murder committed here he is born by an act of birth.

Birth and death - opened, mouth and womb of the earth . Later on stage by the gaping mouth of humans and animals.

Represented by a terrible drought in the birth of Pantagruel: "... the animals were lying dead on the fields, with gaping mouths. For people pitiful sight. They wandered around, tongue hanging out, like greyhounds after a six-hour hunt; others were thrown into wells, some in search of shade climbed in the belly of a cow ... in the church ... you can always see a few dozen casualties thirst, surrounding the one who handed out water, and opened their mouths ... Blessed was he who had then a cold cellar with a fair supply of water! "

It should be noted that the "well", "cow's belly" and "cellar" as the images are equivalent to the "gaping mouth." After all, his mouth in a grotesque topography corresponds belly and «uterus»; so close to an erotic way «trou», ie the "hole", the entrance to the underworld is depicted as open; fall of Satan ("hell mouth"). Well - a well-known folk images are born of the womb, similar in character and has a cellar, but it is stronger than the moment of death-absorption. Thus, even the land here and the holes in it receive additional grotesque bodily significance. This is prepared by further involvement of the land and sea into a solid number .

Rabelais concerns on the ancient myth of Phaeton, who, driving the chariot of the sun, too close to the ground and almost burned her land by the so sweaty that the sweat from her sea became salt (according to Plutarch, this explanation marine salinity gave Empedocles). Rabelais translates these grotesque physical representations of mythical high plan plan cheerful folk-festive cuts: "... in one word, the earth from the terrible heat is then covered with an incredibly abundant and saturate them to sea, that's why the sea and become salty, because every pot solon. You're at it easily can be sure it is worth to you only try to either your own sweat, or sweat venerikov, which doctors forced to sweat - there is no difference. "

The whole complex of images of this small fragment is extremely characteristic: it is cosmic (after all, is sweating the land here and then saturates the Sea), the leading character is played by a typically grotesque image of sweating (sweating is similar to other secretions, sweat - urine), it further includes an image of the disease - syphilis Diseases, "fun" and related bodily lower stratum , in it, finally, the image is associated with sweat edoyu (invited to try the pot to taste) - is weakened by the degree skatofagii characteristic of the grotesque medical (already in Aristophanes). In this passage implicite contained and traditional kernel-image Pantagruel dyavolenka associated with the marine element and awakens desire. At the same time, the hero of the passage is land : in the first chapter of it, filled with the blood of Abel, was fertile and gave birth here, in the second chapter, she is sweating and thirsty .

Next Rabelais gives a bold parody travesty procession and wonder. During molebctviya organized by the church, believers, asking God for rain, suddenly saw how out of the ground are the big drops of sweat , like a heavily sweating man. People thought this dew, sent down by God for their prayer. But they were wrong, because when it started the procession and everyone wanted to drink plenty of dew, it turned out that this brine and saltier, and that he is worse than sea water. Thus, the miracle of pious hopes deceived believers. And here the material and corporeal element acts in its role of purging.

Just in this day and hour, and was born Pantagruel. And therefore gave him the name "Pantagruel," which means, according to the burlesque etymology Rabelais - vsezhazhduyuschy.

Most birth of the hero is in the same grotesque situation: from razverzshegosya mother's womb , first leaves a train loaded with salt which awakens the thirst snacks , and only then appears and he Pantagruel, "a shaggy as a bear."

The third chapter develops an ambivalent theme of death-birth : Gargantua did not know whether to cry about the death of his wife or laugh for joy that a son was born, and then he laughs, "like a calf" (a young infant), then roared "like a cow" give birth, dying ).

The fourth chapter portrayed the early exploits of Pantagruel, committed by him in the cradle, they are all expressed in devouring and swallowing . At every meal, he sucked the milk of four thousand, six hundred cows. Gruel he was fed in a huge bell. 's teeth he had and then so strong and powerful that he chewed off by them from a decent chunk of the old tub. One morning, want to suck on one of the cows, he freed one hand, which was tied to the crib, grabbed the cow's legs and otel her udder and polzhivota together with the liver and kidneys . He would have devoured it all, but people came running and took the cow from Pantagruel, but they could not deprive him of cow's leg, she remained in his hands, and he swallowed it like a sausage. One day he approached the cradle handmade bear Gargantua, Pantagruel grabbed it, ripped apart and swallowed like a chicken. He was so strong that it had to be chained to the crib, but one with a cradle on his back he walked into the room where Gargantua gave a huge feast, because his hands were tied, he stuck out his tongue and began to take off the table language.

All of these feats, as we see associated with sucking, devouring, swallowing, torn apart . We see here a gaping mouth, protruding tongue, teeth, throat, udder, belly.

Will not trace the further development of interest to us images of the heads. Touch on only the most striking examples.

In the episode with limousin Pantagruel student grabbed him by the throat , causing him a few years "died the death of Roland," that is, from thirst (traditional kernel-image Pantagruel dyavolenka).

Chapter XIV is a distinctive image. During the banquet , arranged at the end of the process and Lizhizada Peyvino, drunk Panurge says: "Hey, buddy! If I'd just as quickly he could go up as down wine to my womb, I would too, along with Empedocles ascended above the Moon's sphere! However, what the hell? Does not take an expert in: the wine is superb, prevkusnoe, and the more I drink it, the more I thirst. One can see the shadow of Monsignor Pantagruel as easily makes you thirsty, as the moon - cold " (Book II , Chap. XIV ). We emphasize here topographical point: the higher realms of heaven and the bottom of the stomach. Here again we see the traditional core of the image Pantagruel - awakening of thirst. But here in this role serves his shadow (note the analogy with the fruit-bearing shade the monastery bell tower). Grotesque character is an ancient and traditional idea of the influence of the moon (celestial body) on a cold (illness).

At the same banquet Panurge tells the familiar story that it was almost like roasted roast in Turkey, as he roasted on a spit of a Turk, as it was almost torn to pieces on the side of the dog , he got rid of "toothache" ( ie, from the pain of the teeth of dogs), throwing the dogs a fat, which he was wrapped. There is also the image of the fire , slept all the Turkish city, and the image of healing in the fire : roasting on a spit healed by Panurge lumbago; this purely carnivalesque episode ends with a glorification of a spit and roasts.

The traditional core of the image Pantagruel again revived in the episode with Taumastom. After the first meeting with Pantagruel Taumast felt so thirsty that night was forced to drink wine, and rinse the throat with water. At the time of the dispute, when the audience was clapping, Pantagruel shouted at her: "At these words the congregation froze and more so did not dare to cough like every one of them had swallowed fifteen pounds of feathers, and although he managed to cry out only once, but to drink all wanted desperately, and the thirst for all stuck out his tongue at polfuta, like Pantagruel poured them into the mouth of salt "(Book II , Chap. XVIII ).

In an already familiar to us burning episode of knights and banquet also featured the gaping mouth of Pantagruel. Taken captive by the knight "was not quite sure what Pantagruel not swallow it whole, and precisely: sip at Pantagruel was so broad that it would swallow him as easily as you - pellet, and in his mouth he took captive would be no more space than a grain of millet in the mouth of a donkey "(Book II , Chap. XXV ).

In the image of the war with King Anarchus bitterly opposed by all leading images of the first book: the gaping mouth, pharynx, salt, thirst, urine (instead of sweat), etc. These images run through all the episodes of the war. Pantagruel sends King Anarchus with the captive knight box with spurges and seeds of red pepper to excite his lust. "But as soon as the king had swallowed a spoon in the same moment his throat as if scorched by fire: the tongue formed an abscess, but the language was peeling, and no public funds nor gave him, nothing helped, he only drank without end, and a little shall lead glass from his lips - the language he again lit. I had to constantly pour into his throat wine through a funnel. " Following the king began to drink and his generals. "And for them, and suck all the army, get drunk and cut. In short, drunk to the point that in the middle of the camp fell to sleep like a pig "(Book II , ch. XXVIII ). At the same time, Pantagruel and his companions in his own way was prepared by the battle. He brought with him two hundred thirty-seven casks of wine, and tied to his belt a vat of salt . Then they drink all this great quantity of wine, in addition, Pantagruel takes a diuretic drug . Then they set fire to the camp of the King of anarchy, in which all still continue to sleep after drinking. Subsequent development of the images are so characteristic that we present here in full the relevant passage:

"In the meantime Pantagruel began to pour salt in the tub, as well as enemies slept with open and gaping mouths, he scored them with salt throats, why the poor zaperhali like sheep, and yelled:

- Oh, Pantagruel, because you all have inside us is on fire!

Pantagruel then suddenly wanted to moisten slightly camping, because it had action Panurgovo drug, and he was so abundantly watered and watered the enemy's camp, had been there for the people one and all drowned - it was a real flood, spread to ten miles in circumference, and History says that if there was still a huge mare Pantagryueleva father and the same naprudila, the flood would have been even worse than when Deucalion, because every time she mochilas appeared more rivers Rhone and Danube.

Seeing this, coming from the city said:

- They died a cruel death. See how much blood!

But they were wrong - in the light of burning tents and the pale moonlight , they took urine Pantagruel for blood enemies.

Enemies just awakened and saw the fire on the one hand, and with another flood mochetop not know what to say and what to think. Some said that come the end of the world and the Last Judgement , and that now all burned up, others - that they are persecuted Neptune, Proteus, Triton and other sea gods, and that it is in fact salt water "(Book II , Chap. XVIII ).

We see here how to return all the main images of the first chapters of the book, only salt water is not sweat, urine, and allocates it does not land, and Pantagruel, but he, like a giant cosmic significance gets here. The traditional core of the image Pantagruel are widely deployed and giperbolizovano: an army of gaping mouths, a vat of salt, pour into these mouths, water element and sea deities, the flood of salty urine . Typical images of the game: urine - blood - seawater . All these images are added here in the now space catastrophe, the destruction of the world in fire and flood.

Medieval eschatology is reduced and updated in the images of the absolute of the lower stratum. Here is a carnival fire, renewing the world . Let's remember the "feast of fire" in Goethe description of the Roman carnival, with its "Death to you!". Let us also remember the carnival image of world catastrophe in the prophetic puzzle ", streams of water which fills all were there then , and the world a fire was cheerful fire hearth . In this episode erased all boundaries between bodies and things, there is also erased the boundaries between war and the feast: a feast, wine, salt, and an awakening desire for becoming the primary means of warfare. Blood is replaced with abundant flow of urine after excessive drinking.

Do not forget that the urine (and feces) - a cheerful matter , and simultaneously reduces ulegchayuschaya that turns fear into laughter . If Cal is like a cross between the body and the earth (it - laughter connection between the earth and the body), the urine - a cross between the body and the sea . Therefore misteriyny features Pantagruel, the embodiment of salty sea disaster , it is Rabelais to some extent, the embodiment of fun elements of urine (urine it, as we shall see later, and has special healing properties). Feces and urine otelesnivayut matter, the world space element , making them than something intimate, close and body-friendly (after all, is matter and elements generated and allocated by the body). Urine and feces make cosmic horror in carnival fun monster.

Must take into account the role of an ambitious space of fear - fear of the immensely large and immensely powerful: in front of a starry sky, the masses of material in front of mountains, sea front, and the fear of cosmic upheavals and natural disasters - in the ancient myths, philosophies, systems, images of themselves and related languages with them ways of thinking. some dark memories of cosmic upheavals of the past and a vague fear of the upcoming cosmic shocks inherent in the very foundation of human thought, word and image . This cosmic fear, basically not a mystic in the strict sense (after all, is the fear of the material in front of a large and material force majeure), used by all religious systems in order to suppress the man and his consciousness. But even in the earliest images of folk art finds its expression and control of that space of fear, struggle with memory and anticipation of cosmic shocks and death . In popular imagery, reflecting the struggle, and to forge a truly human consciousness fearless [ annotated.: The images that express the struggle, often interwoven with images that reflect a parallel struggle in the individual body with the memory of a painful birth and the anticipation of agony. Space fear deeper and more substantial, he breeds like, and in the generic body of mankind, so he got into the very foundations of language, images and thoughts. This cosmic fear a significant and strong individual bodily fear of death, although their voices were sometimes mixed in the images of folklore and in particular the images of literature. This cosmic fear - the legacy of ancient human powerlessness before the forces of nature. Popular culture was alien to this fear and overcome it with laughter, comic otelesnivaniem nature and the cosmos, because at the heart of this culture has always been unwaveringly confident in the strength and the final victory of man. The official culture is often used, and even, so to speak, cultivated this fear in order to belittle and oppression of man. ] This struggle with the cosmic terror in all its forms and manifestations is not based on abstract of hope, not an eternal spirit, and on top of the same material in the man himself . People like osvoyal cosmic elements (earth, water, air, fire), finding and keenly conscious of them himself, in his own body, he felt the cosmos in itself .

This exploration of space elements in the elements of the body is particularly acute and deliberately carried out during the Renaissance. Its theoretical expression is found in the idea of the microcosm that is used by Rabelais and in the above argument, we Panurge (about debtors and creditors). These phenomena of Renaissance philosophy, we'll come back. Here it is important to emphasize that osvoyali and feels the material cosmos, with its elements in a purely material also acts and departures of the body: in food, in the faeces, in acts of sexual intercourse , it is they find in themselves and to probe as to the inside of his body and land, sea and air, and fire, and generally the entire world of matter in all its manifestations and this osvoyali it. That images of solid bottom had mainly microcosmic significance .

In the field of figurative art space fear (and all fear) is overcome with laughter . Therefore, feces and urine , both funny and a body-clear matter , play a role here. That's why they appear here in the hyperbolic quantities and on a cosmic scale. Cosmic catastrophe is illustrated by images of the lower stratum is reduced, humanized, and transformed into a funny monster . Space fear defeated laugh.

Go back to the episode of the war with anarchy. We give a detailed picture of the giant Pantagruel combative ghoul. It continues to play the same images. Ghoul approached Pantagruel with gaping jaws (la gueule ouverte). Pantagruel "sprinkled on Ghoul eighteen-plus barrels and one barrel of salt, and salt nabilas Ghoul in the mouth of the larynx in the nose and eyes. " In the ensuing battle Pantagruel struck Ghoul in the groin and shed the remaining wine, "at the sight of whose ghoul concluded that Pantagruel pierced his bladder, because the spilled wine ghoul took for his own urine."

In the next chapter episode Epistemon resurrection and his story about visiting the underworld kingdom. If we remember that the grave in bodily topography depicted in the images of the solid bottom or in the images of gaping jaws of Lucifer, and that death is swallowing or return to the bosom of the earth , it becomes clear that we remain in the circle of the same images gaping mouth or razverzshegosya womb . The episode visits the underworld, we will analyze in detail in the next chapter.

Completes the entire episode fight with King Anarchus two images purely carnival type.

The first image - the carnival-utopian "feast for the whole world": the winners arrived in the country amorotov, everywhere a sign of joy were lit fires, and the streets are arranged beautiful round table with all sorts of foods. It seemed that once again fallen on times of Saturn - a was arranged a banquet. " The second image - Carnival dethroning King Anarchus , which we have already discussed elsewhere. Thus ends the war carnival feast and dethronement.

The next chapter describes how during a heavy downpour Pantagruel covers his "tongue hanging out" a whole army. Then describes the journey of the author (Alcofribas) in the mouth Pantagruel. Once inside the gaping mouth of his hero, Alcofribas found in it a whole unknown world : extensive grasslands, forests, fortified cities. In his mouth was more than twenty-five kingdoms. Inhabitants of the mouth Pantagruel, are convinced that their world is more ancient than the earth. Alcofribas lived at the mouth of his hero six months, fed it to those that passed through the mouth of Pantagruel, and defecate in his throat .

This episode was inspired by Lucian ("true stories"), but it perfectly completes the entire expanded our range of images gaping mouth. In the mouth in the end it turns the whole world, a sort of nether mouth. As the grave in a vision Epistemon, this oral world organized to some extent as "the world inside out: here, for example, do not pay for the work, and for sleeping.

In the episode with a more "ancient than the earth, world, located in the mouth Pantagruel, disclosed the idea of relativity of space and time estimates, but in the comic grotesque aspect.

Chapter XXXIII told about illness and healing Pantagruel. Blockage of the stomach, he fell ill. During the illness of its abundant hot urine formed in several places of France and Italy, hot springs possessing curative power . Pantagruel here again appears as the embodiment of gay body-space elements of urine.

In an episode of illness is portrayed on the descent people in the stomach Pantagruel to clean it. These men, armed with picks, shovels and baskets, include the big brass balls, which Pantagruel swallowed (the image of swallowing), as a pill. Once inside the stomach, people go out of balls and make your cleaning job. As in the previous chapter 's mouth , because there stomach is depicted in the grand, almost cosmic scale.

Finally, in the final - final - chapter contains grotesque images of the body. Here's a plan for subsequent parts of the novel. Among the alleged episodes planned, and the defeat of Pantagruel underworld , where he throws Proserpina into the fire, and Lucifer himself knocks four teeth and break the horn. Further, the planned trip Pantagruel to the moon in order to ascertain whether three-quarters of the moon at the time of injury are in the minds of women.

So from beginning to end throughout the first (chronologically) of the book of the novel takes place as the leitmotif of this book, the image of gaping mouth, throat, teeth and tongue. This gaping mouth belongs to a traditional native kernel image misteriynogo feature Pantagruel.

The image of the gaping mouth is organically combined with images of swallowing and devouring the one hand, and with images of the abdomen, the belly, birth - the other side. At the same time for him gravitate banquet images, as well as images of death, destruction and hell. Finally, with his mouth open and connected the other highlight is the traditional way of Pantagruel - a thirst, water element, wine, urine.

Thus, all the leading bodies and places and all main events of life the grotesque body are deployed and are pictured around a central image - open mouth.

The image of the gaping mouth - the most vivid expression of an open, not closed body. This is - wide-open gate into the depths of the body . Openness and depth of the body is further enhanced by the fact that inside the mouth is a populated world, but in the depths of the stomach down people like in underground mines. Expression of the same body of openness is the image of razverzshegosya bosom of mother Pantagruel, the fertile womb of the earth, drinking the blood of Abel, the underworld, etc. These physical depth of fertile: they die old and new are born with excess, the entire first book is literally filled with images of the productive forces of fertility , abundance. Next to this body are constantly open and codpiece appear phallus (as a substitute phallus). Thus, the grotesque body is deprived of a facade, devoid of hollow closed surface is devoid of well and expressive appearance: the body is - or the fertile depths of bodily or productive conceiving convexity. This is the body absorbs and produces, takes and gives.

Constructed from the depths of fruitful and productive convex body has never clearly bounded away from the world: it goes into it, mixes and merges with him, in him (as in the mouth Pantagruel) lurk new unknown worlds. The body takes the cosmic scale, and space otelesnivaetsya. cosmic elements are transformed into jolly bodily elements of growing, producing and winning body.

"Pantagruel" was conceived and written during the natural disasters that struck France in 1532. These disasters were not, however, particularly dramatic and catastrophic, but nevertheless they were sufficiently strong and palpable, to hit the consciousness of contemporaries and revive it cosmic fears and eschatological view .

"Pantagruel" was pretty much fun at a remark aroused by these natural disasters cosmic terror and religious and eschatological mood. Before us again a wonderful example of Renaissance journalism at People's areal basis. This is - fighting response to topical events and topical thoughts and sentiments of the historical moment.

In 1532 a severe and prolonged heat and drought that lasted from spring to November, that is six months. This drought threatening crops and especially vineyards. Church suit in connection with the drought are numerous Rogation and religious processions, parody travesty which we find in the beginning of the novel. In the autumn of that year in several places of France an outbreak of plague, which lasted well into the next year. At this plague of "Pantagruel" There is also an allusion, she explains malign fumes from the stomach of a hero who suffered from indigestion.

Natural disasters and epidemics of plague, as we have said, awakened in those years, as it was in the XIV century, the ancient cosmic fear and the related system of eschatological imagery and mystical ideas. But the same phenomenon, as it does all sorts of catastrophes, usually evoke historical criticism and the desire for a free review of all dogmatic positions and evaluations (for example, Boccaccio and Lenglend in XIV century). Something similar, albeit in a weaker degree, was in the days when we created the "Pantagruel." For Rabelais, it served as a starting point for his book. It is possible that the image of imp Pantagruel , the causative agent of thirst, and the very tone of this image emerged from the freestyle element of the speech area and familiarity table talk , where the image was a direct target gay curses at the world and the nature and character voluntary travesties on eschatology, fishing, the worldwide disaster, etc. But around this image of Rabelais has concentrated an immense millennia is composed , the material culture of folk humor , reflects the struggle of cosmic awe and eschatology , created the image of gay material and solid, ever-growing and ever-renewing space.

The first book of the most novel is cosmic. The following books are currently weakened and on the foreground themes of historical and socio-political order. But overcoming the fear of cosmic eschatology and remained until the end of the novel one of its leading themes.

In developing this theme the grotesque body has an enormous role. This is a popular , growing and ever-triumphant body feels in space, as in his own house . It - flesh and blood of the cosmos, there are the same cosmic elements and forces , but they are there better organized; body - the last and best floor space , it's - the leading space power , space, with all its elements are not afraid of him. Not afraid of him, and death: the death of an individual - only a moment of triumphant life of the people and of humanity, the time - needed to update and improve them.

Proceed to consider some sources of the grotesque body. Grotesque conception of the body lived in the images of the language itself, especially in the forms of familiar verbal communication; grotesque concept was the basis of all abusive, purging, teasing and amusing forms of gestural Fund (showing of FICO, nose, backside, spitting, a wealth of obscene gestures), this concept of body finally gets many forms and types of folklore. Images of the grotesque body were scattered everywhere, they were understandable, common and familiar to all contemporaries of Rabelais. Those groups of sources, we are here we touch, are the only individual characteristic expressions of the dominant and pervasive concept of the body are directly related to the topic of Rabelais' novel.

First take on the legends of giants and giants. The image of a giant in its very essence is a grotesque image of the body. But, of course, the grotesque nature of the images of giants can be developed to a greater or lesser degree.

In the romances, are extremely common in the era of Rabelais, the images of giants - they are here quite often - almost completely lost their grotesque features. In these images in most cases only show exaggerated physical strength and devotion to his suzerain-winner.

In Italian iroi-comic tradition - in Pulci (Morganti) and especially in Folengo (Frakassus) - the images of giants, translated from the courtly to plan a comic come to life grotesque features. The Italian tradition of comic giants was well known to Rabelais and must be considered as one of the sources of its grotesque bodily imagery.

But the direct and immediate source of Rabelais was well known, popular book "The Great Chronicle of Gargantua (1532). Anonymous work is not without some elements of burlesque travesty romances Arthurian cycle, but it is not in the slightest degree is not, of course, literary parody in later terms. The image of the giants is here a distinctly grotesque bodily nature. The source of this book was an oral folk legend about the giant Gargantua. This legend existed in oral tradition before the advent of the "Great Chronicle" and continues to live in the same oral tradition to the present day, and not only in France but also in England. Different versions of the legend recorded in the XIX century, are collected in P. Sébillot , Gargantua dans les Traditions populaires, Paris, 1883. berrishonskie Modern legends about the giants Gargantua and others collected in the book Jean Baffier , Nos Géants d'autrefois. Récits berrichons, Paris, 1920. The image of Gargantua, even in this late oral tradition is quite grotesque bodily nature. In the foreground is a tremendous appetite for giant, and then the other grotesque administration body is still alive in France the expression: "Quel Gargantua", which means "a glutton!".

All the legends of giants are closely related to topography, wherever it exists one or another legend: the legend always finds a vivid visible support in the local relief , she finds a dismembered , scattered or crushed body giant in nature. And still more in different places of France has a huge amount of rocks, stones, megalithic monuments, dolmenov, menhirs, etc., associated with the name of Gargantua: all this - the different parts of his body and various objects of his everyday life. We find such names: "finger Gargantua," "tooth Gargantua", "spoon Gargantua, Gargantua the boiler," "bowl Gargantua, Gargantua the chair", "stick Gargantua, etc. Here, in fact - Rabelaisian complex Members dismembered body of a giant, kitchen utensils and household items . In the days of Rabelais this stone world of things and dismembered body giant was, of course, even richer.

Scattered throughout France dismembered body parts of the giants and their utensils have exclusive grotesque clarity , and therefore could not have known effects on the images of Rabelais. For example, in "Pantagruel" refers to a huge bowl, which was brewed for the hero pulp, the cup of this, adds the author, can be seen now in Bourges. Currently Bourget no such exists, but the extant evidence of XIV century, that there really existed a huge stone in the shape of the basin, called «Scutella gigantis», that is "a giant cup; it once a year, sales of wine poured wine for the poor. Rabelais, therefore, took this image of reality [ annotated.: Big folk material on the dismembered body of a stone giant and its utensils gives Salomon Reinach , Cultes, Mythes et Religions, T. III: Les monuments de pierre brute dans le langage et les croyances populaires, pp. 364 - 433; see also Sébillot P. Le Folklore de France, t. I, pp. 300 - 412. ]

In addition to bodily grotesque "Great Chronicle", one must also mention the "Student Pantagruel" - anonymous book published in 1537. This book reflects the influence of Rabelais and the influence of Lucian (The "true stories"), but next to it is here and the people's holiday time, and the direct influence of oral tradition of legends about giants. This book had the opposite effect on Rabelais.

Need to emphasize the role of popular-festive giants. Giant was the usual figure of Fair balagan repertoire (where he is next to the dwarf remains to this day). But he was also the obligatory piece in the carnival procession, in the process of "Corpus Christi", etc., at the end of the Middle Ages had a number of cities along with the regular "town clowns" and permanent "urban giants," or even "family of giants", contained at the expense of the city and obliged to act in all the popular-festive processions. This institute urban giants in several cities and even villages of northern France and Belgium in particular has lived up to the XIX century: for example, in Lille, Douai, Kassel and others in Kassel in 1835 at the festival, established in memory of hunger in 1638, involved a giant who was present at the ceremony for free distribution of the soup to the entire population. This communication giants from eating is very characteristic. Belgium has had a special holiday "songs about giant, where the image of the giant's closely linked with domestic hearth and cooking food .

The figure of popular-festive giant and an integral moment of area folk amusements and carnival ceremonies was, of course, well known to Rabelais, although we do not have any specific data on this issue. Were known to him also, and various local legends of giants before us does not come down. The novel mentions the names of legendary giants, talking about their special relationship with eating and swallowing: Engoulevent, Heppemouch, Maschefein etc.

Rabelais knew at last, and antique images of giants, as we have said, particularly need to emphasize his familiarity with the "Cyclops" by Euripides, to whom he refers in his novel twice.

These are the sources associated with the image of the giants. We believe that, for Rabelais, the greatest importance were the popular-festive figures of giants. They enjoyed immense popularity, were familiar to everyone, were deeply imbued with the atmosphere of the popular-festive marketplace liberties, finally, they were closely associated with traditional notions of material and bodily excess and abundance. The image and the atmosphere festive fairground giant certainly had an impact on processing the legend of Gargantua in popular books - "Great Chronicle". The influence of the giants of folk in their fair and marketplace on the interpretation of images of the giants in the first two books of Rabelais' novel seems to be unquestionable.

As for the "Great Chronicle, its impact was more external and reduces, in essence, to simply borrow some moments of pure nature of the plot.

One very important group of sources of grotesque bodily imagery - a series of legends and literary texts, coupled with so-called "Indian miracles." Images of Indian Wonderland had a decisive impact on the medieval fantasy, their influence - both direct and indirect - we find in Rabelais' novel. Let us briefly recall the history of the tradition of "Indian Wonders".

The first who collected all the stories about the wonders of India, was a Greek who lived in Persia - Ktesias Cnidus. He lived in the IV century BC. He collected all the stories about the treasures of the wonderful flora and fauna of the extraordinary physique inhabitants of India. Ktesiasa product did not reach us, but it was used by Lucian (in his "true stories"), Pliny, Isidore of Seville and others.

In the II century AD in Alexandria came «Physiologus», also did not come down to us. "Physiologist" - natural history, mixed with legends and miracles. 3des described minerals, plants and animals. "The kingdom of nature" is often confused most grotesque manner. "Physiologist" has been widely used in the subsequent periods, in particular, Isidore of Seville, whose work served as the main source for the medieval "bestiaries.

Summary of this legendary material was produced in the III century AD, the pseudo-Kallisfenom. There are two Latin versions of his work: one of Julius Valerius, composed around 300 AD, and another, called "History Wars of Alexander the Great", compiled in the X century. Further summary kallisfenovskih legends included in all cosmographical works of the Middle Ages (Bryunetto Latini, Gautier of Metz and others). All these works were deeply imbued with the concept of the grotesque body, inherited mainly from kallisfenovskoy reports "Indian Wonders".

Legends of Indian wonders penetrate further into travel stories as real (eg Marco Polo) and fictional (eg, in an extremely popular book by Jean de Mandeville). In the XIV century, all these trips have been combined in the composite manuscript titled: "Merveilles du Monde", that is "Wonders of the world". In this manuscript there are interesting miniatures depicting the typical grotesque images of people. Finally, Indian wonders penetrate into the poem, written in heroic verse - "Le Romans d'Alexandre" .

Both folded and spread the legend of the Indian miracle. It identified and the motives of many works of art of the Middle Ages.

Which character are all these Indian miracles? Legends tell of fabulous wealth, the exceptional nature of India as well as about the wonders of the purely fantastic order: the devil, spewing flames, magical herbs, the enchanted forest, the source of his youth. A great place is a description of the animals. Near real (elephant, lion, panther, etc.) described in detail and fantastic - dragons, harpies, likorny, phoenixes, etc. So, Mandeville describes in detail the griffin, Bryunetto Latini - the dragon.

But of particular importance for us a description of an unprecedented human beings. These creatures are merely grotesque character. Some of them are half-animal, for example, gippopody, legs are provided with hoofs, sirens, tsinotsefaly, barking instead of talking, satire, onotsentavry etc. We give, therefore, a gallery of images of a mixed body . There are, of course, giants and dwarfs and pygmies. Finally, there are people endowed with a variety of deformities: stsiopody having one leg leumany deprived of his head, his face on his chest, there are people with one eye on his forehead, and eyes are on her shoulders, her eyes on the back, there shestirukie people There are those who eat with the nose, etc. All this - the unbridled grotesque anatomical fantasy , so beloved in the Middle Ages.

Such a fantasy, a free play of the body and its organs and loved Rabelais: it is enough to recall his pygmies, born out of gas Pantagruel, in which the heart is located near the anus, monstrous children Antifizis, the famous description Karemprenana etc. In all these images shows the same character anatomical phantasying.

A very important feature of the legends about the wonders of India - it is their essential connection with the motive of the underworld. The set of demons that appear in the forests and valleys of India, suggests that in some places there are hidden holes , leading to hell. The Middle Ages, it was also confident that it is here in India, is an earthly paradise, a place of the original residence of Adam and Eve: it was placed in the three days' journey from the source of his youth. It was said that Alexander of Macedon had seen in India closed on all sides by tightly "the abode of the righteous, where they will live until Judgement Day. The legends of Prester John and his kingdom (it localized in India) also discusses the ways to hell and an earthly paradise. Through the kingdom of Prester John Fizon river flowing out of the earthly paradise. The presence of paths and holes (trous), leading to hell or paradise on earth, creating a very special character of the space of these wonderful countries. This is due to a common feature of the artistic and ideological perceptions and understanding of space in the Middle Ages. Terrestrial space built as a grotesque body: it consists of the heights and valleys. Deaf plane of the earth all the time is divided desire up or down - in the depths of the earth, the underworld. In these holes and the depths, like Pantagruel's mouth, suggest the existence of another world. Wandering the earth, looking for gates or doors leading into other worlds. Classic expression of such wanderings - a wonderful "Journey of St. Brendan," about which we shall speak in the next chapter. In folk legends this earthly space, consisting of heights and gaps ("holes") to a greater or lesser extent otelesnivalos.

In CE it created the specific nature of the medieval topography and a special understanding of the cosmos. To these questions we will look at in the next chapter.

Terms of legends about Indian miracles enjoyed exceptional popularity in the Middle Ages. In addition to these we cosmographical literature in the broad sense (including travel literature), he had a tremendous impact on all the literary works of the Middle Ages. Moreover, the Indian found a mighty miracles reflected in the visual arts: they are, as we have said, identified the reasons for the numerous miniatures that illustrate the manuscript, and wall sculptures in cathedrals and churches.

Thus, due partly to Indian miracles, the grotesque body was accustomed to the imagination and the eyes of medieval man. And in literature and visual arts, he met a mixed throughout the body, met a stranger anatomical fantasy, free play members of the human body and its internal organs. Violation of the boundaries between the body and the world was for him as usual.

Indian wonders, therefore, very important source of the grotesque concept of the body. I must say that in an era of Rabelais, these legends were still alive and aroused public interest.

In the last chapter of Pantagruel Rabelais, throwing a further plan of his novel, indicates an episode of his hero travels to the country of Prester John, that is, to India, for this was directly followed an episode of the defeat of the underworld, and the entrance to which was obviously in a country priest John. Thus, in the original design of the novel Indian miracles meant a significant role. Particularly large, of course, the direct and indirect effects of the legends of the Indian miracle to grotesque anatomical fiction of Rabelais.

Another very important source of the grotesque concept of the body was misteriynaya medieval scene, in particular, of course, Diablerets.

Body image in Diablerets - the grotesque. Very often appears on the dismembered body parts, broiling, burning, swallowing the body. Rabelais is the images of devouring sinful souls, surely related to the Diablerets.

Extremely important as a source of the grotesque concept of the body, most had a device misteriynoy scene. This scene reflects the medieval idea of the hierarchical organization of global space. Foreground of the scene had a special design, race sites, serving the first floor stage. This area is signified the earth . Background scene took on an elevated, heaven, heaven (now that name is not preserved for the scene, and the highest of places for the public, ie for the gallery, Raika ). Under the same platform, depicting the earth, was the deepening of hell . It was arranged as a broad curtain on which was depicted a vast and terrible head bar (Harlequin). Curtain that parted with cords, and the Devils jumped out through the gaping maw of Satan and jumped on a platform-land.

Thus, the open; mouth is exactly what is seen directly in front of him, all the spectators mysteries. After all, this entry in the hell was placed in the middle of the foreground of the scene, and just at the eye level of spectators. This "hell mouth" ("la gueulle d'Enfer", as she was usually called) to engage the whole attention of the medieval public. All curiosity was focused specifically on it. We have already said that Diablerets - this popular marketplace of mysteries - always enjoyed exceptional success with a wide circles of people and often overshadowed by the rest of their mystery. Therefore, such an organization misteriynoy scene could not have much impact on artistic perception of the spatial world in general medieval audience: the audience to stick with the image of gaping mouths in its cosmic aspect , learned to look into this open mouth and wait it out appearance of the most interesting and grotesque actors. Given the huge proportion of misteriynoy scene in the artistic and ideological life of the late Middle Ages, you can just say that the image of the gaping jaws of srossya with an artistic representation of how the world itself, and about his theatrical spectacular incarnation.

Otto Driesse, who has spent the scenic mouth "Harlequin" series of beautiful pages of his book "The Origin of Harlequin", plays in it on page 149 (Fig. 1) an outline of the ballet XVII century (the sketch is preserved in the archives of the Paris Opera House). Here in the heart of the scene is a huge head with a gaping maw. Inside the gaping jaws of sitting devil, two feature peep from her eyes, one hell sitting in the ears, around her head dancing devils and clowns. This sketch shows that the XVII century image of a huge gaping mouth and stage action inside the mouth were more common and completely understandable. Incidentally, Driesse indicates that even in his time, the expression "Harlequin's Cloak" (Manteau d'Arlequin) served as a technical term in a Parisian theater to describe the whole foreground of the scene.

Thus, topography misteriynoy scene was in its main part grotesque bodily topography. There is no doubt that the gaping mouth, as the leading image of Pantagruel, is associated not only with the traditional core of the image of the hero (throwing salt in his mouth, etc.), but also we have analyzed the device misteriynoy scene. The organization of images of Rabelais, of course, is reflected grotesque bodily topography of the scene. In rablezistskoy literature, to our knowledge, no one said a leading role gaping mouth in the first book of Rabelais and contrasted this with the organization misteriynoy scene. Meanwhile, this fact is extremely important for a proper understanding of Rabelais: he suggests that a great influence had theatrical folk entertainment forms on its first product and the whole character of his artistic and ideological vision and thinking. It also shows that the image of the gaping mouth in his grotesque cosmic significance, so strange and incomprehensible to new readers, for contemporaries of Rabelais was a deeply close and clear : he was quite familiar to the eye , was accustomed, and its universalism and its cosmic connection usual was the fact that out of the gaping mouth popping grotesque figures on the scene, depicting world events and biblical Gospel drama. Clearly and evidently, it was also topographical significance of this gaping mouth, as the gates to the underworld. Such is the influence misteriynoy scene and Diablerets for development of the grotesque concept of the body in Rabelais.

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Some influence on the development of grotesque bodily representations provided and relics, which played a huge role in the medieval world. We can say that all over France (and around the medieval Christian world) have been scattered body parts of saints. There was no such churches or monasteries, which have not kept such a relic, ie part or particle of the body, sometimes quite bizarre (eg, a drop of milk from the breast of the Virgin Mary, the sweat of some saints, which mentions Rabelais); stored arms, legs, head, teeth, hair, fingers, etc. - You can give the enumeration of the longissimus grotesque bodies dismembered body. At the time of Rabelais ridicule relics were quite common, especially, of course, the Protestant satire, even agelast Calvin wrote a pamphlet about the kind of memorabilia, not without a comic tone.

Dismembered body of the saint in medieval literature has repeatedly given rise to grotesque images, and transfers. In one of the best medieval parody travesties - in "Treatise Garcia" (1099), which we have already said, the hero, a wealthy Simonist archbishop of Toledo, brings to Rome as a gift dad miraculous relics of holy martyrs Rufus and Albina. The language of the travesties and parodies of the time these non-existent saints designated gold and silver. Represented a special love for this holy father. He praises them and asks to carry him all the precious relics of the saints, giving a completely grotesque transfer parts of the dismembered body: "... from the kidneys Albina, from the innards Rufina, from the stomach, the stomach, from the back, from the backside, from the edges of chest from the legs, the hands, from the neck. What else? - From all the members of both bodies of the martyrs. " We see that already in the XI century relics gave rise to a purely grotesque anatomy of the dismembered body.

Medieval Latin recreational literature in general was very rich in images of grotesque anatomy. We have already talked about the parodic grammar, where all the grammatical categories of meaning in most cases in terms of solid bottom . Update of abstract categories and abstract philosophical concepts in the material bodily level in general is extremely typical of recreational literature of the Middle Ages. In the famous dialogue of Solomon and Markolfa (the dialogue in quotes, and Rabelais' Gargantua) and high moral sayings of Solomon's contrasted answers cheat Markolfa, in most cases, transferring the issue to a very coarse material and corporeal realm.

I will mention another interesting example of medieval grotesque anatomy. With the XIII century, almost all European countries was very common poem, "Will the donkey." It settled when dying, bequeathed the various parts of his body to various social and professional groups of the Middle Ages, beginning with the pope and cardinals. So here is given by the dismemberment of the body, accompanied by appropriate dissection of the social hierarchy: the head of a donkey - the popes, the ears - the Cardinals, his voice - a chorister, cal - farmers (for fertilizer), etc. The source of this grotesque anatomy donkey's body is very ancient. According to the testimony of Jerome, is already in IV century AD, among the schoolmen were distributed "Will Pigs" ("Testamentum Porcelli"). This old testament was enumerated in the Middle Ages (and it came down to us), it is something, apparently, and was the main source of "Wills ass."

In such a travesty, as "Will the donkey, interesting mix of dismembering the body with the dismemberment of society . That - parody travesty ancient and widespread mythical ideas about the origin of various social groups from different parts of the body of the deity (the oldest monument of the social and physical topography - Rigveda), in most cases sacrificially dismembered [ annotated.: In the Rig Veda ( X, 90) depicted the emergence of the World from the body of the Purusha (Purucha): the gods have brought a sacrifice, and Purusha razyali his body into pieces, according to the technique of sacrificial dismembered; from different parts of the body have different groups of society and various cosmic phenomena: the mouth - the Brahmins, from the hands - the soldiers, from the eyes - the sun out of your head - the sky, from the legs - the land, etc. In hristianizovannoy Germanic mythology we find a similar concept, but here the body is created from different parts of the world: the body of Adam was created out of eight parts - meat from the land, the bones of stone, blood from the sea, the hair from the plants, the thoughts of clouds, etc. ] Here, instead of the body god given in this role, the body of a donkey . The donkey , just as we have said, a very ancient traditional travesty deity . In medieval travesty role of the donkey, its organs, donkey cry, cries of prodding by a donkey - is enormous. Rabelais we meet shouting drovers ass, occurs several times, and very characteristic expletive «viedaze», that is asinine phallus. The topographical nature of the expletive is quite obvious. We mention the Rabelaisian expression: "It is so hard as to extract a sound (pet) from the backside dead donkey ". This is - a kind of potentiation (raising to a higher degree) topographic bottom: butt , and even donkey, and even a dead donkey . These potentiated curses found in the Rabelaisian tongue repeatedly.

Consulted source: Déjà vu Russia

More on The Grotesque
Les Grotesques, Louvre, 2000
Thierry Bézecourt, Grotesques, Bloc-notes, 2.10.2006
HE Yuvalova, Grotesque in Gothic Art, History of Classical Art of the West, 2003, pp. 52-73.
Igor Smirnov, On the grotesque and its related categories, Semiotics of Fear, Moscow: Russian Institute, 2005, pp. 204-221.
Walter S. Arnold, Gargoyles and Grotesques of the World