At a glance:
- Author: François Rabelais
- First Published: 1567
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Mock-heroic
- Setting: France
- Characters: Grangosier, Gargamelle, Gargantua, Pantagruel, Panurge, Friar John of the Funnels
- Genres: Long fiction, Novel
- Subjects: Voyages, Folkloric or magical people, France or French people, Islands, Fantasy, Renaissance, Giants
- Locales: France, Europe, Paris, France, Loire River Valley, France
The Story:
Grangosier and Gargamelle are expecting a child. During the eleventh month of her pregnancy, Gargamelle eats too many tripes and then plays tag on the green. That afternoon, in a green meadow, Gargantua is born from his mother’s left ear. Gargantua is a prodigy and, with his first breath, he begins to clamor for drink. To supply him with milk, 17,913 cows are needed. Tailors use nine hundred ells of linen to make his shirt and 1,105 ells of white broadcloth to make his breeches. Eleven hundred cowhides are used for the soles of his shoes.
At first,...
(The entire page is 2706 words.)
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