May 16, 1703

Charles Perrault (January 12, 1628 to May 16, 1703) wrote down old stories, and his contes de fee are still famous. The explanation of their original success is not often highlighted, and I can only speculate, but it may have been some cultural breeze which harkened to the loss of a historical past, and with medieval verities  neutered,  left a debris that we now call "fairy tales."

Here is the frontispiece which appeared in Perrault's original Histoires ou Contes du temps passé (1697).  The picture is dated to 1695 it appears.

Surely that is Perrault listening to the old stories, told by an old lady. And the cat above reminds us of a major story Perrault tells, which we know now as Puss 'n Boots.

Below is Perrault also, in a later edition.  And one of the small pictures is of Le Chat Botte.

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You can read the original Histoires ou Contes du temps passé  at the
Internet Archive.

January 12, 1628

Charles Perrault (12 January 12, 1628 – 16 May 16, 1703) is cited as the originator of the story of Puss in Boots. The story dates to 1697, a tale of a masterful cat, a cat who wears boots. It is durable.

Perhaps more durable than most realize. A very recent study reports that the stories told this way are "much older than previously thought." Like thousands of years. Which makes one wonder how people got confused. One thing---there were no artists til the early Renaissance. So no claims could be made for an individual and thus little history (actually "history" hadn't even been invented, but that's another tale". Another is that it was in Perrault's time, that the genre of contes de fee was first even named. So the example of a genre became the origin of a particular example of the genre. 

Another thing that needs explaining is this--- there was a regular flood of cats helping men-- well at least two-- Dick Whittington's cat shares a lot with Puss in Boots. Both do the heavy lifting with life. But why, this similarity?

May 16, 1703

The story, for reasons which have have never been clear to me, is adored by the French. Their Charles Perrault (January 12,1628 to May 16, 1703) did not invent the story, but his is the form most familiar to children and adults. Perrault’s book, Le Maître Chat/[or] Le Chat Botté (Master Cat/The Booted Cat), in the title, points out the theme: the cat is the boss. 

Here is an assortment of portrayals of the eponymous feline.


























Was the story popular as a "world turned upside down" thing? Were the French showing the first symptoms of toxoplasmosis? Or--  were felines, as the stories of Richelieu's cats suggest, the real, power under the table.