Les Enfants Sans Souci

Enfants Sans Souci, Les. One of the names taken by the many societies of laymen in late medieval France devoted to the composition and performance of comic plays; the Gallants Sans Souci was another such name. They are linked in particular with the soties; the Enfants Sans Souci were often the sots in these plays. Their relationship with the societies of law clerks called the Basoches is complex. The Enfants Sans Souci were compagnies joyeuses of young men from good families; they called their leader the prince des sots. They flourished especially in the north-east of France, and initially had no specific connection with the legal profession. But many Basochiens were also members of the Enfants Sans Souci, and the co-operation between the two types of association encouraged the rapid growth of comic drama in the late 15th and and early 16th c.; in particular, the Enfants were able to avoid the censorship which began to be imposed on the Basochiens inside the lawcourts [see Medieval Theatre].

[Graham Runnalls]