Little is known about Rutebeuf except that he was a 13th century person of the male persuasion, born in 1230 and presumably died about 1285, nearly one thousand years ago. Extrapolating from his name, which is probably a nickname, he may have been a hearty soul (“rude boeuf”). He hailed from the Champagne region but spent most of his time in Paris. Much of what we do know about him appears in his own writings. For example, he claims that in 1261 he married an ugly old woman with neither charm nor dowry, and a series of misfortunes eventually brought him poverty and misery. It is thought that he had some formal education and worked as a juggler (jongleur) and troubadour (trouvère). As with Shakespeare, it is not really known whether Rutebeuf was a single individual. What IS known is that 56 related poems have been attributed to him--a large and diverse oeuvre.

When Léo Ferré composed his 1955 song “Pauvre Rutebeuf,” he selected verses from two of Rutebeuf’s poems:  La Complainte Rutebeuf (“The Rutebeuf Complaint”) and De La Griesche d’Yver (“Winter Gambling”). La Griesche has a double meaning in old French: it was a popular medieval dice game and, by extension, also means risk. Ferré’s release of his song in 1956 encouraged covers by many other artists, including one by Joan Baez in 1965 that brought poor Rutebeuf much-needed international attention. So, the lyrics to Ferré’s song are effectively Rutebeuf’s, filtered through translations of his old French dialect and Ferré’s adaptation. Ferré composed the music and the performances belong to the artists.