DU SEL GUERISSEUR ? À PROPOS DU DISCOURS FACETIEUX DES HOMMES QUI FONT SALLER LEURS FEMMES A CAUSE QU'ELLES SONT TROP DOUCES.

Why did two publishers, one from Rouen and the other from Paris, decide to update an old medieval farce in 1600? Why was this farce renamed « facétie » when it went to print? The questions raised by this amusing play lead to three short investigations: about editorial strategies at the dawn of the 17th century; about the emergence of a female readership resisting rudeness and impoliteness; and, last but not least, about the therapeutic and metaphorical functions of salt - a comical remedy for mismatched spouses and an essential element of facetious discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]