author
maistre de Cambray Fouquart
A shadowy late medieval writer, this name survives mainly through Les Évangiles des quenouilles, a witty, unusual collection of women’s sayings, beliefs, and household lore. The book feels playful and earthy, while also preserving a rare glimpse of everyday culture in fifteenth-century France.
1 Audiobook
Les évangiles des quenouilles
by maistre de Cambray Fouquart, Antoine Duval, active 14th century d'Arras Jean
About the author
Very little is known for certain about this author as a person. Library and manuscript resources identify Fouquart de Cambray, also spelled Foucquart de Cambrai or Cambray, as a historical name attached to the medieval text Les Évangiles des quenouilles.
That work is generally attributed not to one clearly documented individual alone, but to a small group of named compilers or contributors, usually Fouquart de Cambray, Antoine Du Val, and Jean d’Arras. It was published at Bruges around 1480 and is written in langue d’oïl and Picard. Framed around women gathered at evening spinning sessions, it collects sayings, practical lore, superstitions, and comic observations about daily life.
Because the surviving record is so thin, it is safest to think of Fouquart de Cambray as an elusive literary figure from the late Middle Ages rather than a fully recoverable biography. What gives the name lasting interest is the work itself: lively, funny, and valuable as a window into popular belief and storytelling.