Rabelais, François

Abstract

François Rabelais is a major French figure of the Renaissance. Active in his time as a physician, humanist, monk, and scholar of Greek, Rabelais was well-known in humanist circles, but it is his reputation as a writer of novels that has sustained his renown over the centuries. The protagonists of his most famous novels are two giants, Gargantua and Pantagruel; their fantastic and grotesque adventures, along with Rabelais’ characteristic coarse and lewd humor and satirical tone, have become the distinctive features of his work. However, it was not always plain sailing for Rabelais, as his works were banned and systematically condemned by church authorities. His writings have multiple meanings, and the reader is constantly urged to go beyond the text’s surface meaning to discover the other levels of interpretation. Rabelais’ novels and their success are a testament to his literary prowess, and his influence on literature has been acknowledged by critics who recognize him as one of the creators of the modern European novel. Today, he is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time.