Fauvain vs. Fauvel, or MLP Gen Zero · 12:55am Oct 18th, 2023
Long before video,* there was a famous pony prince… Emperor really:
Fauvain or Fauvel, was his name, depending on which manuscript you read. (Maybe even Fauvern; medieval dudes weren't big on consistant spelling.)
The two are very different. One is an outright satire on royal power and the abuses surrounding it, very much in a light-hearted manner. It even has songs and music in it! No kidding, it's a musical:
The other is a much shortened version, very much a serious morality tale. But it has better art:
C’mon! Just look at the character in those faces!
As opposed to this crowd:
Oh, and did you notice the hands? Yeah, Fauvel isn’t consistently a pure horse in this manuscript. That may be fine for you “anthro” fans in the audience, but howabout this one:
Yikes! But this one has the better story. And songs, did I mention the songs? Here’s the opening theme song:
A modern Ancient Music Group has performed some of these! (Conductus Favelli) If you’ve an ear for medieval music, they’re pretty rockin’. Just don’t expect Daniel Ingram.
Both have fight scenes… sort of:
But only one has outright battles and jousts:
And even some M-rated stuff:
Wait… what’s that at the bottom of the bedroom scene?
It looks like they had furry conventions in the middle ages, too! You learn something every day!
So, anyway… Le Roman de Fauvel is a much better (more fun) story, but l’Histoire de Fauvain has the really masterful art, and that’s the book I spent most of my time studying:
Even the outright allegorical stuff still has a sense of liveliness about it. Fauvain (the emperor, remember) being “ridden” by the nobles and churchmen, while the lower classes cling to his tail in hopes of being carried along:
Y’know the phrase “curry favor”? It comes from a line in one of the songs; “Curry** Fauvel to be given much wealth.”
This has been my TED talk. Thank you very much. 
------------------------
* Cartoons were a thing in the Middle Ages. Look it up if you don't believe me.
** Yep, literally curry him, with a curry-comb.
And then of course there's Incitatus; Caligula probably meant the proposition as a roundabout way of insulting the Senate by implying that a literal animal could do their job, in a similar vein to this story.
5751033
Horses and political satire... natural combo!
What a way to start the day....I haven't had enough coffee to give this a truly witty response. Though I must say you have made my morning far more interesting. So I wonder if they read it for the "Plot".....Just saying...oh my, how "Faustian"!
And, of course, there was that time the emperor joined an expedition to the New World.
Or, as it's better known, An American Tail: Fauvel Goes West.
5751088
Honestly, I would have watched the carp out of that, and bought two Blu-ray editions!
Love it
Now we need a Fauvain / Fauvel tag on Fimfiction.
Oh wow, thank you for introducing us to this treasure.
I just love how bloody cheeky that horse looks! He must be an ancestor of Limestone Pie:
derpicdn.net/img/view/2016/8/20/1229558.jpg
5751386
Oh holy carp! You're right!