Gilles (stock character)

Lore & Background

Gilles' origins are obscure. Some historians link him to a Zanni Giglio from 1531, but no line of succession has been traced. The French expression 'faire gilles' (to go bankrupt or run away) dates from the 16th century, and some dictionaries find a source for both name and character in the phrase, since 'the Gilles of the fair' is he who runs away when called. The most likely origin is the 17th-century Gilles le Niais (Gilles the Simpleton), possibly created by the Sieur de la Force around 1646, though Victor Fournel admits the name could have been 'a sobriquet of a type, applied to several personages'. The copiously documented appearances of Gilles at 18th-century Parisian fairs owed their origins to the actor-tumbler Marc, who first performed as Gilles in 1697 at the Foire Saint-Germain.

At the fairgrounds, Gilles was commonly found in parades—outdoor performances designed to lure spectators inside a theater. These parades typically included a send-up of conventional Italian plots, disguises and beatings (with Gilles as the fool who feels the brunt), dialogue full of sexual innuendo and scatological reference, spoofing of popular Parisian speech, and literary parody. In the 1756 collection Théâtre des Boulevards, Gilles acquires sharpness: 'A character of more simplicity than sense and of less decency than either, Gilles inherits the ignoble side of the commedia's comic masks.' His appetites are 'prodigiously insatiable', and his guardian spirits provocatively profane. Unlike his Italian predecessor Pedrolino, who 'often shares the ether with Ariel', Gilles 'tumbles, with Puck's witless companions, among the cornflowers'.

Gilles also appeared in private theaters and salons, becoming a 'cult entertainment' among the leisured classes. Thomas-Simon Gueullette formed a theater society after seeing a parade around 1707, and writers such as Charles Collé, Barthélemy-Christophe Fagan, and Beaumarchais wrote parades featuring Gilles. Toward the end of the 18th century, Gilles acquired respectability in boulevard theaters catering to the middle class, appearing at the Théâtre de la Cité and the Variétés Amusantes.

Reader's Guide

Gilles' significance lies in his role as a quintessential comic servant of French farce, embodying the bungling, credulous, and lewd aspects of the Zanni tradition. His greatest vogue in 18th-century France reflects the popularity of fairground entertainments and parades, where he served as the fool who absorbs beatings and drives scatological and sexual humor. The character's persistence into the 20th and 21st centuries as the Belgian Gilles of Binche Carnival demonstrates his enduring cultural footprint beyond the stage. The confusion between Gilles and Pierrot, abetted by actor Nicolas Maillot and the erosion of Pierrot's original character, highlights how Gilles' name came to designate a role that caused the French Pierrot to be almost completely forgotten. The article notes that the famous Watteau portrait long bore Gilles' name alone, though the character shares little with that sensitive figure. Gilles' legacy is also preserved in the expression 'faire gilles' and in the literary and theatrical works of figures like Lesage, Dorneval, and Beaumarchais, who used the character in parades that became a fashionable genre in private theaters. The article emphasizes that Gilles' origins remain disputed, with no clear line of succession from earlier Italian types, and that his character was defined by his simplicity, indecency, and insatiable appetites, making him a ready victim for the cleverer Arlequin.

Did You Know?

• The French expression 'faire gilles', meaning 'to go bankrupt' or 'to run away', dates from the 16th century.
• The first documented performer of Gilles at the Parisian fairs was the actor-tumbler Marc in 1697 at the Foire Saint-Germain.
• In the parade 'Le Marchand de Merde', Gilles peddles his own excrement through the streets, saying 'Who'd like some of my shit? ... it's nice and fresh'.
• The 1756 collection 'Théâtre des Boulevards' gave Gilles a distinct sharpness, describing him as having 'more simplicity than sense and of less decency than either'.