Janotus de Bragmardo in the limelight (Gargantua, ch. 19)

Janotus de Bragmardo's appeal to Gargantua to return the bells of Notre Dame (Gargantua 17-20) is not easily accessible to today's students, and has not been adequately dealt with by critics. This article analyzes its comedy stressing Janotus's defects as a Ciceronian orator (his invention, disposition, style, memory, and delivery are all disastrous), but also his stylistic inventiveness and his effectiveness as a farce actor. The episode brilliantly combines biting satire with several different levels of wit, and implies that in 1533-34, Rabelais still thought laughter could be an effective weapon against intolerance.