Introduction The “Querelle des Bouffons” ("Quarrel of the Comic Actors") was a cultural war over the comparative merits of French and Italian opera styles. It was divided into two camps; the supporters of Italian music known as the coin de la reine, and the partisans of French music known as the coin du roi. However the querrelle had political and social implications with supporters of the royal establishment championing French opera, they saw as being forged on the principles of French classicism