Reynard

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Illumination from a manuscript of the Roman de Renart, end of the 13th century

Reynard (French: Renart; German: Reineke Fuchs; Dutch: Reinaert; Medieval Latin: Reinardus; Middle English: Reynard), also spelled Renard, is a red fox and trickster figure who plays a central role in the moralistic fables of the Reynard cycle.

[edit] Etymology of name

Theories about the origin of the name Reynard are:

• From the Germanic man's name Reginhard, which came from 'regin' = "the divine powers of the old Germanic religion" and "hard": "made hard by the gods", but with the disuse of the old Germanic religion was later likely interpreted as "rain-hard" meaning "staying steady under a rain of blows from weapons in battle" or similar.
• From the Germanic man's name Reginhard (later condensed to Reinhard), which comes from 'regin' = "counsel" and 'harti' = "strong", denoting someone who is wise, clever, or resourceful.

[edit] Cultural References

• Robin Hood uses the alias Reynard, and is depicted as a cunning fox
• Zorro (fox in Spanish) often does trickster-like things.