The newly restored statue in Place Guillaume II in Luxembourg-Ville;
Credit: Chronicle.lu
Despite its compact size, Luxembourg has its fair share of fables, folktales, myths and legends, from a mermaid and a wild woman to a wolfman and an underwater bogeyman.
In this series of articles, Chronicle.lu will be delving into some of these tales and their lasting impact in Luxembourg.
Next up is Luxembourg’s famous Renert the Fox.
Among Luxembourg’s best-known fables is Michel Rodange’s Renert, a satirical story that draws on medieval Europe’s literary heritage linked to Reynard the fox. Rodange’s literary work, published in 1872 (and entirely in Luxembourgish), depicts a society of animals representing different social classes and types of people, led by their lion king and often annoyed by Renert the fox, the eponymous trickster protagonist who outsmarts them. The Renert is a critical piece critiquing the corruption, hypocrisy and moral shortcomings of 19th-century Luxembourg society. The Luxembourg literary classic was notably translated into English in 2022, on the occasion of its 150th anniversary. This bilingual edition is available as a free online PDF (via Heydoo).
Modern-day symbols of the Renert include the newly restored statue in Place Guillaume II in Luxembourg-Ville, next to the city hall. The statue was originally erected in the early 1930s in honour of Michel Rodange and his most important literary work. A miniature of it can be found inside the Lycée Michel Rodange. "Renert" remains an important cultural reference in Luxembourg and is often referenced in various forms of local media.
