The ''Ballade des pendus'', literally "ballad of the hanged", also known as ''Epitaphe Villon'' or ''Frères humains'', is the best-known poem by

François Villon François Villon (; Modern French: ; ; – after 1463) is the best known French poet of the Late Middle Ages. He was involved in criminal behavior and had multiple encounters with law enforcement authorities. Villon wrote about some of these e ...

. It is commonly acknowledged, although not clearly established, that Villon wrote it in prison while he awaited his execution. It was published posthumously in 1489 by Antoine Vérard.

Title

In the Coisline manuscript, this ballade has no title, and in the

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

printed in

1501 Year 1501 ( MDI) was a common year starting on Friday in the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 17 – Cesar Borgia returns triumphantly to Rome, from Romagna. * February 1 – The Duchy of Bavaria-Dachau, c ...

by Antoine Vérard, it is just called ''Autre ballade'' (literally, "Another ballad"). It is titled ''Épitaphe Villon'' in the Fauchet manuscript and in 's 1489 edition, and it is called ''Épitaphe dudit Villon'' in the Chansonnier de Rohan. In his

1533 Year 1533 ( MDXXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events January–March * January 25 – King Henry VIII of England formally but secretly marries Anne Boleyn, who becomes his second queen cons ...

commented edition,

Clément Marot Clément Marot (23 November 1496 – 12 September 1544) was a French Renaissance poet. He was influenced by the writers of the late 15th century and paved the way for the Pléiade, and is undoubtedly the most important poet at the court of Fr ...

names it: ''Épitaphe en forme de ballade, que feit Villon pour luy & pour ses compaignons s'attendant à estre pendu avec eulx'', which translates approximately to: ''Epitaph in the form of a ballad, which Villon made for him & for his companions expecting to be hanged with them.'' The modern title is due to the romantics and is problematic because it reveals the identity of the narrators too early and compromises the effect of surprise desired by Villon. The title ''Epitaph Villon'' and its derivatives are also improper and confusing, because Villon had already written a real

epitaph An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...

for himself at the end of ''

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller no ...

'' (around 1884 to 1906). Moreover, this title (and in particular the Marot's version) implies that Villon composed the work while awaiting his hanging, remains in question. Villon's historians and commentators have now mostly resolved to designate this ballad by its first words: ''Frères humains'' (literally, "Human brothers"), as is customary when the author has assigned no title. The title ''Ballade des pendus'' subsequently given to this ballad is all the less appropriate since there already exists a ballad with that title by

Théodore de Banville Théodore Faullain de Banville (; 14 March 1823 – 13 March 1891) was a French poet and writer. His work was influential on the Symbolist movement in French literature in the late 19th century. Biography Banville was born in Moulins in Allier ...

, in his one-act play ''Gringoire'' (1866). This ballad has been renamed , but that is not the title given by the author either.

Context

It is often said that Villon composed this ballade while awaiting his execution following the Ferrebouc affair, in which a papal notary was injured in a brawl with Villon and his friends. In support of this point of view, underlines the desperate and macabre nature of the text and concludes that Villon must have composed it in prison. However, as Claude Thiry notes: “It is a possibility, but among others: we cannot completely exclude it, but we should not impose it.” He remarks indeed that it is far from the only text of Villon which refers to his fear of the gallows and to the dangers which await ''lost children''. The , for example, contain many allusions to the gallows, but they were not necessarily composed during his imprisonment. Moreover, Thiry points out that, if we disregard the modern title, the poem is an appeal to Christian charity towards the poor more than towards the hanged, and, unlike the large majority of Villon's texts, the poet does not present this one as autobiographical. In addition, the macabre character of the ballad is not unique to it, as it is also found in the evocation of the mass grave of the innocents from stanzas CLV to CLXV of the ''Testament'' .

Background

This poem is an appeal to Christian

charity Charity may refer to: Common meanings * Charitable organization or charity, a non-profit organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being of persons * Charity (practice), the practice of being benevolent, giving and sha ...

, a highly respected value in the Middle Ages (as seen in the third and fourth lines of the first stanza: "For, if you take pity on us poor fellows, God will sooner have mercy on you."). Redemption is at the heart of the ballad. Villon recognizes that he has focussed too much care of his physical being to the detriment of his spirituality. This observation is reinforced by the very raw description of the rotting bodies (probably inspired by the macabre spectacle of the mass grave of the innocents) which contrasts with the religious themes of the poem. The hanged first exhort passers-by to pray for them, then in the final stanza, the prayer is extended to all humans.

Form

The poem is in the form of a large ballade (3 dizains and 1 quintil, with decasyllabic verses) *All lines have 10

syllables A syllable is a basic unit of organization within a sequence of speech sounds, such as within a word, typically defined by linguists as a ''nucleus'' (most often a vowel) with optional sounds before or after that nucleus (''margins'', which are ...

. *The last line is the same in each

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'', ; ) is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have either. ...

. *The first three stanzas have 10 lines, and the last has 5 lines. *Each stanza has the same

rhyme scheme A rhyme scheme is the pattern of rhymes at the end of each line of a poem or song. It is usually referred to by using letters to indicate which lines rhyme; lines designated with the same letter all rhyme with each other. An example of the ABAB rh ...

. *There are several

enjambment In poetry, enjambment (; from the French ''enjamber'') is incomplete syntax at the end of a line; the meaning 'runs over' or 'steps over' from one poetic line to the next, without punctuation. Lines without enjambment are end-stopped. The origin ...

Text of the ballad with English translation

The translation deliberately follows the original as closely as possible. French Source:, English source:

References

External links

* Livres audio mp3 gratuit
'Ballade des pendus'
de François Villon - (''Association'' Audiocité). *
Sung version of the poem
performed by Serge Reggiani, composed by Louis Bessières (on YouTube). *
Sung version of the poem
performed by Anika Kildegaard, composed by Jean-François Charles (on YouTube). {{DEFAULTSORT:Ballade Des Pendus 1489 works French poems Poetry by François Villon