Perrow—The Last Will and Testament in Literature. 717 
Le Testament et epitaphe de maistre Pierre de Quignet 
(1491) seems also to be an imitation of Villon. 1 La Confes¬ 
sion et le Testament de lamant trespass de Dueil, (of the lat¬ 
ter part of the XV century) is serious rather than satirical. 2 * 
Le Testament de Perre de Nesson (XV century) is decidedly 
pious in tone. 5 
Le Testament de Pathelin, probably of the last half of the 
fifteenth century, is a farce of four characters, Pathelin, his 
wife Guillemette, an apothecary, and the cure, master Jehan. 
Pathelin is sick unto death, and the apothecary and cure are at 
his bedside where they have been brought by his wife. With 
some difficulty Jehan extracts a confession from, Pathelin and 
a somewhat doubtful repentance for his evil deeds. Jehan 
then suggests that the dying man make his testament. Before 
entering upon his task Pathelin demands a drink. After a gen¬ 
erous draught of wine he proceeds to make his will, the provi¬ 
sions of which are of a satirical character. He then asks to be 
buried under a hogshead of wine and provides for himself a 
satirical epitaph. 4 
What interests us most in this piece is the fact that we see 
the confession and the disposition of property brought together 
side by side in the same ceremony, and both made in the pres¬ 
ence of the same man, a representative of the church. Given 
that this took place regularly, it is not hard to see how the two 
things might have come to to be regarded as parts of the same 
ceremony. 
Quite independent of the Villon influence, the tradition of 
the Animal Testament was still alive in France during the fif¬ 
teenth century. Peignot cites a Testamehtum Canis, “Facetie 
du Pogge,” which seems to belong to the earlier part of the 
century. 5 
Le Testament de la Mule de Barbeau (1465) by Henri 
Baude is the testament of a mule that for twenty years has trod 
1 Grasse, s. v. Testament. 
2 Heinrich Adalbert von Keller, Romvart, Paris, 1844, pp. 180 and 626. 
s Modern Language Notes, XX, 70. 
4 La Farce de maistre Pierre Pathelin, avec son Testament d quatre 
personnages, Paris, chez Durand, 1762, p. 115. 
s II, 281. 
