Animal Origins in Perceforest

The animal lies at the heart of Perceforest’s representation of origins. This article explores, with reference to Agamben’s work on the circular logic which connects human and animal, a series of interrelated episodes tracing the intimate relations between the civilised and the savage in this cyclic romance. The animal is a means of figuring that which is savage and primitive, from which courtly culture wishes to distance itself. Yet the division between the animal and the human is constantly renegotiated in Perceforest: while humans can appear bestial, individual animals can be portrayed as displaying qualities more associated with the rational human.