Fabliau

Fabliau, short, ribald tale in octosyllabic verse, realistic in detail, that burlesques human weaknesses and shows savage disrespect for authority. Fabliaux, composed and recited by wandering minstrels, flourished in France in the 13th and 14th centuries.

Of the enormous number of fabliaux produced, about 150 survive, and approximately 20 of the authors are known. The fabliaux strongly influenced French writers of prose narrative of the 14th to the 16th century. The form was used by many Middle English writers, including Geoffrey Chaucer, whose masterpiece The Canterbury Tales contains six fabliaux, notably The Miller's Tale. In later times, such writers as Giovanni Boccaccio, Shakespeare, and Molière made use of material from the fabliaux in their works. Because of its characteristic brevity and emphasis on plot and climax, the fabliau is considered a forerunner of the modern short story.