King Philip IV is the Harbinger of the Antichrist: depicted by the Roman de Fauvel.
Adam LaGesse
Music 390
2
According to the Roman de Fauvel, France during the 14th century was a great place to be
if you liked having a tyrant horse for a king, and a cowardly pope.1 In reality France and King
Philip IV was in conflict with England, Flanders, and the Catholic Church.2 The Roman de
Fauvel is a satire that depicts the government as an almighty power that rules over religion and
the country with an iron fist.3 There are reasons to believe that the Fauvel is more focused on the
King himself. The story of the Roman de Fauvel is in the style of a long poem criticizing King
Philip IV of France for his lack of leadership and hostility towards the Pope and the Catholic
Church.
Le Roman de Fauvel is a long poetic political satire that was born in the inner circles of
the French government during the 14th century. The work contains more than 3000 lines of
poetry. The work of le Roman de Fauvel is split up into two different parts. The first book
contains 1226 lines and was completed in 1314, while the second contains 2054 lines and was
completed in 1317. Gervais de Bus is credited with the writing of le Roman de Fauvel, while
there were many people who contributed to the completed work, including Philippe de Vitry,
who is known for the Ars Nova style. The surviving copies of le Roman de Fauvel are kept in the
National Library of France. 4
The first book tells the story of Fauvel and his rise to power. Fauvel is a dark yellow
colored horse that wishes to leave his stable and take over his master’s house. With the help of
“Dame Fortune” or lady fate, Fauvel leaves his stables and moves into a room in his master’s
house. Soon after Fauvel takes a room in the house, Lady Fate granted Fauvel the ruling of his
1
Wathey, Andrew. "Fauvel, Roman de." Grove Music Online. Oxford Music Online. Oxford
University Press, accessed September 15, 2013, p. 1
2
Strayer, Joseph. The Reign of Philip the Fair. Princeton: Princeton University Press, New
Jersey.
3
Wathey, p. 1
4 Wathey, p. 1
3
master’s house. Government and Church officials pilgrimaged to see Fauvel. The pope and many
kings and queens flattered him.5 This represents the corruption of church and state in France at
the time when the Roman de Fauvel was being compiled, and the horse Fauvel, represents
everything the King is doing wrong. Each letter in Fauvel represents a sin in the French language.
For a better understanding, here is a list of the sins in English. F (Flattery), A (Greed), U (Guile),
V (Inconstancy), E (Envy), L (Cowardice). Under the reign of Fauvel, France goes through
hardships. The church falls to its knees in the face of Fauvel and the citizens of France do not
stand a chance to survive in this crumbling country. Even the pope and other religious leaders
obey the wishes of the tyrant king.6
In the second book, Fauvel asks for Lady Fate’s hand in marriage but is denied. She
suggests he marry her handmaiden, Vain Glory, and he does. During their marriage they create
many “fauveaux”7 who are the offspring of Fauvel. They are considered the coming of the
Antichrist. They spread destruction throughout the world and especially France.8 Thankfully the
Roman de Fauvel is not what really happened in France during this time, but it can be interpreted
in a way that makes King Philip IV look like the real Fauvel.
If we look at the story of the Roman de Fauvel and the ruling of Philip IV or Philip the
Fair, side by side, they will appear very similar. Philip the Fair becomes Fauvel, the evil ruler of
France. He feels he should be the one and only ruler of France, just as Fauvel did after he took
control over his master’s house. In 1297 Pope Boniface attempts to bring peace between England
and France. Philip the Fair responded by saying “The government of the kingdom belongs to the
king, and to him alone; that he recognizes no superior; that he owes submission to no living man
Wathey, p. 1
Wathey, p. 1
7 Wathey, p. 4
8 Wathey, p. 1
5
6
4
for temporal things.”9 This is a clear indication that Philip the Fair felt the same way as the
greedy tyrant Fauvel, as depicted in the Roman de Fauvel by Gervais de Bus, who was very
close to Philip the Fair.
Gervais de Bus is described as a cynical and bitter man who criticized Philip the Fair’s
treatment of the church.10 He did so by means of writing the Roman de Fauvel. It is in 1312 that
he is first recorded working for Marigny, a subordinate of the king, where he had access to
government documents to observe the kings actions from a far. In 1313 when the Roman de
Fauvel is written, he takes a position in the royal service as the king’s notary, where he meets
Michel de Maucondit and Philippe le Convers, who have connections with people like the Count
of Valois.11 Having connections like these grants Gervais de Bus access to the inner political
circles where he learns more about the king’s actions. Gervais was also a notary for the king.
People in this position may have been writing letters for the king and may have also been reading
them. 12
Pope Boniface VIII was elected into office on December 24, 1294. This is during the
reign of Philip IV. Like many Popes before him, he found it difficult to gain full respect from
kings. Pope Boniface VIII was only pope for nine years before he died. Pope Boniface was
replaced by Pope Clement V 1305. During Pope Clément’s reign the headquarters for the pope
were moved to Avignon France.13
King Philip had reason not to like Pope Boniface VIII. In 1296, the Pope refused to have
his clergy taxed by the French king. The Pope found it unfair to tax the Holy Roman Church;
Woods, Charles. Philip the Fair and Boniface Viii. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
n.d. p. 39
10 Strayer, p. 290
11 Wathey, p. 1
12 Woods, p. 84
13 Woods, p. 18
9
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however, the church had been taxed in the past to help fund the crusades. Now that the crusades
were over, the Pope refused to have his clergy taxed, but King Philip was used to having this
tax.14 This problem between the two leaders will lead to future problems.
To make things worse Philip the Fair believed Pope Boniface to be evil in some ways. A
member of the King’s court convinced King Philip, that the Pope murdered the Pope before him
to take his throne and that he was an atheist as well. Being a religious man, King Philip had
internal conflict about the matter. It took him awhile but he eventually believed it to be true.15 If
we compare this to the Roman de Fauvel, this is the point in the story right before Fauvel takes
over his master’s house. Philip the Fair will continue, just as Fauvel did in the story, to
continually suppress the church and the people.
It is very peculiar that after Pope Boniface VIII, the new pope moved to Avignon France.
Not only did the pope move the papacy from Rome to France but he also willingly went along
with King Philip’s plan to excommunicate the Knights Templar: the crusade Knights of the
church.16 Pope Boniface VIII would not have let this happen, but the new pope who seems to be
in the hands of Philip, did let it happen. Fauvel was very similar and had the Pope making
pilgrimage just to see the king of France.
The Roman de Fauvel was written and put together by people who were close to
the leaders and political figures in France at the time. Both Gervais de Bus, and Philippe de Vitry
were notaries for French leaders. These people knew more about the goings on of the
government than the average citizen, and had the ability to write such an amazing work as the
Roman de Fauvel. It may be that the Fauvel was written as criticism or advice. It may also be
Woods, p. 35
Woods, p. 89
16 Strayer, p. 290
14
15
6
possible that it was just a satire that was only pointing out the flaws in the French government
and church. Another possibility could be that the completed work was shared in the inner circle
of the French government as a way of giving advice to the king.17 It is very clear that the Roman
de Fauvel was influenced by the French society. More importantly the Roman de Fauvel was
influenced by the actions of King Philip IV.
All of the previously stated possibilities can not be proven because the purpose and
origins of the Fauvel were never written down, but it is hard to ignore all of the signs pointing to
Philip IV being the Fauvel of 14th century France. We can of course look at musical texts for
examples of this. Floret Fex Favellea (example 1)18 is a perfect example of the kind of music in
the Roman de Fauvel, and of text that goes along with the overarching story. Some text examples
are “Fauvel’s dregs are flourishing; the world is changing”, “Today every poor person is the
object of contempt; though created in the image of Christ, man is condemned” and “Now there
is a place for crime; faith is buried, and truth is put to flight”.19 All three examples depict how
Fuavel was destroying the country. If Gervais de Bus was in fact relating the Roman de Fauvel to
Philip the Fair, then these texts express how de Bus felt about his political campaign. Strictly in
the story however, Floret Fex Favellea describes the terror of Fauvel’s rise to power. In the
opening section the piece describes Fauvel taking the throne of King. The second part references
the Christian belief that man is created in the image of Christ, and despite that, man is
condemned during the reign of Fauvel. In the last section it describes that the world has changed
for the worse.
17
Wathey, p. 4
Rosenberg, Samuel, and Hans Tischler. The Monophonic Songs in the Roman de Fauvel.
N.p.: University of Nebraska Press, n.d. p. 20
19 Rosenberg, p. 20
18
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There are many unanswered questions about the Roman de Fauvel, like When exactly
was it written, who were all of the contributors, and why was it written? These questioned can
not be answered for sure, but more facts point to the fact that the Roman de Fauvel is written
about Philip IV. Whether he ever read it as advice, or if it was used in political circles as a joke,
it is impossible not to acknowledge the signs pointing to Philip the Fair as the Fauvel. We will
have to keep searching for more answers but we do know that the Fauvel is actually King Philip.
8
Appendix
Example 1
Floret Fex Favellea
9
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