surmounted by a cupola. The chevet, reconstructed in the Île-de-France style (late 12th-
early 13th c.), has cross-ribbed vaults and is fortified by flying buttresses.
The western bell tower dates from the 12th century. Above a triple-arcaded porch rise
two stories, each articulated by three arches echoing those on the ground level. The
tympanum above the main portal displays Christ and two Apostles (12th c.). The walls of
the tribune are embellished with late 12th-century wall paintings depicting St.
Austremoine, St. Clement, St. Pancrace, the martyrdom of St. Valérie, and the archangels
Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael.
Nina Rowe
Génermont, Marcel, and Pierre Pradel. Allier: les églises de France: répertoire historique et
archéologique par département. Paris: Letouzey and Ané, 1938.
Rhein, André. “Ébreuil.” Congrèsarchéologique(Moulin-Nevers) 80(1913):100–24.
ECBASIS CAPTIVI
. The oldest beast epic known to us today, the 11th-century Ecbasis captivi is an
important example of the genre. Written in Latin leonine hexameters, the text exists in
two manuscripts, both now in the Royal Library, Brussels. The anonymous work seems
to have been intended for readers who could appreciate the many references to Horace,
Virgil, and Prudentius, to contemporary society, and to monastic life.
The story is told as a fable within a fable. At Eastertime, a calf is caught by a wolf
who plans to eat it. The wolf has a dream that night warning him not to eat the calf.
Meanwhile, the animals of the village have come to the wolf’s cave. In an “inner fable,”
the wolf explains why he and the fox are enemies. Long ago, when the lion, the king of
the beasts, was sick, all the animals except the fox came to him with cures. The wolf
suggested that the fox be hanged. Warned by the panther, the fox appeared at court,
justifying his absence with a tale of pilgrimage. His proposed cure involved flaying the
wolf in order to make a blanket for the king. The fox then usurped the wolf’s position as
regent. Courtiers entertained the king; birds sang songs comparing the king’s suffering to
the passion of Christ. The lion recovered, and the animals returned to their homes,
scorning the dying wolf. Switching to the outer fable, the story continues: the wolf shows
himself to the angry crowd of village animals, thereby allowing the calf to escape. The
wolf is impaled by the steer, and the fox writes his epitaph.
Noteworthy is the degree of humanization of the animals, which will be seen again in
the Ysengrimus and in Old French fable literature, culminating in the Roman de Renart.
Wendy E.Pfeffer
[See also: FABLE (ISOPET); RENART, ROMAN DE; YSENGRIMUS]
Voigt, Ernst, ed. Ecbasis cuiusdam captivi, dasälteste Thierepos des Mittelalters. Strassburg:
Trübner, 1875.
Zeydel, Edwin H., ed. and trans. Ecbasis cuiusdam captivi per tropologiam. Escape of a Certain
Captive Told in a Figurative Manner:An Eleventh-Century Latin Beast Epic. Chapel Hill:
University of North Carolina Press, 1964.
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