The New International Encyclopædia/Rutebeuf

RUTEBEUF, rụt'bẽf' (c.l220-c.1285 ). A French poet of the thirteenth century. His real name is not known. He wrote, often satirically, about the foibles of his time, rebuking monks and nuns, confessing his own sins, and speculating upon life and death. Some of his ideas reappear in Villon two centuries later. Besides his satirical poems, Rutebeuf wrote a number of fabliaux and Le Miracle de Théophile, a sort of miracle play. Rutebeuf has the merit of a clear style, which is spicy and original when he is really interested. His Works have been edited, with a Life, by Jubinal (new ed. Paris. 1874-75). Consult also Clédat, Rutebeuf (Paris, 1891); Kressnel, Rutebeuf, ein französischer Dichter des XIII. Jahrhunderts (Cassel, 1894).