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Marie de France was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court of King Henry II of England. Virtually nothing is known of her life; both her given name and its geographical specification come from her manuscripts. However, one written description of her work and popularity from her own era still exists. She is considered by scholars to be the first woman known to write francophone verse.
The lais of Marie de France are a series of twelve short narrative Breton lais by the poet Marie de France. They are written in Anglo-Norman and were probably composed in the late 12th century. The short, narrative poems generally focus on glorifying the concept of courtly love by the adventures of their main characters. Marie's lais are thought to form the basis for what would eventually become the genre known as the Breton lais. Despite her stature in Anglo-Norman literature and medieval French literature generally, little is known of Marie herself, but it is thought that she was born in France and wrote in England.
Sir Launfal is a 1045-line Middle English romance or Breton lay written by Thomas Chestre dating from the late 14th century. It is based primarily on the 538-line Middle English poem Sir Landevale, which in turn was based on Marie de France's lai Lanval, written in a form of French understood in the courts of both England and France in the 12th century. Sir Launfal retains the basic story told by Marie and retold in Sir Landevale, augmented with material from an Old French lai Graelent and a lost romance that possibly featured a giant named Sir Valentyne. This is in line with Thomas Chestre's eclectic way of creating his poetry.
Lanval is one of The Lais of Marie de France. Written in Anglo-Norman, it tells the story of Lanval, a knight at King Arthur's court, who is overlooked by the king, wooed by a fairy lady, given all manner of gifts by her, and subsequently refuses the advances of Queen Guinevere. The plot is complicated by Lanval's promise not to reveal the identity of his mistress, which he breaks when Guinevere accuses him of having "no desire for women". Before Arthur, Guinevere accuses Lanval of shaming her, and Arthur, in an extended judicial scene, demands that he reveal his mistress. Despite the broken promise, the fairy lover eventually appears to justify Lanval, and to take him with her to Avalon. The tale was popular, and was adapted into English as Sir Landevale, Sir Launfal, and Sir Lambewell.
"Hind Horn" is a traditional English and Scottish folk ballad.
"Le Fresne" is one of the Lais of Marie de France. It was likely written in the late 12th century. Marie claims it to be a Breton lai, an example of Anglo-Norman literature.
"Les Deux Amants" is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France sometime in the 12th century. The poem belongs to what is collectively known as The Lais of Marie de France. Like the other lais in the collection, "Les Deux Amants" is written in Old French, in rhyming octosyllabic couplets. This lai tells the tragic story of two lovers.
"Yonec" is one of the Lais of Marie de France, written in the twelfth century by the French poet known only as Marie de France. Yonec is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem. The poem is written in the Anglo-Norman dialect of Old French in rhyming couplets of eight syllables each. This lai tells the story of a woman who seeks to escape a loveless marriage, and of the child born from the love that she found elsewhere.
"Laüstic", also known as "Le Rossignol", "Le Laustic", "Laostic", and "Aüstic", is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. The title comes from the Breton word for "nightingale" (eostig), a symbolic figure in the poem. It is the eighth poem in the collection known as the Lais of Marie de France, and the poem is only found in the manuscript known as Harley 978. Like the other poems in the collection, Laüstic is written in the Anglo-Norman dialect of Old French, in couplets eight syllables long.
"Milun" is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. Milun is the ninth lai in the collection known as the Lais of Marie de France. Like the other lais (lays) in this collection, Milun is written in the Anglo-Norman dialect of Old French, in couplets of eight syllables in length. The lais can be traced back to the 12th century.
Mary, Untier of Knots or Mary, Undoer of Knots is the name of both a Marian devotion and a Baroque painting which represents that devotion. The painting by Johann Georg Melchior Schmidtner, of around 1700, is in the Catholic pilgrimage church of St. Peter am Perlach, otherwise known as the Perlach church, in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. Pope Francis saw the image while in Germany as a student and promoted her veneration in Latin America.
"Chaitivel", also known as "Les Quatre Deuils" or "Le Malheureux" in modern French or "The Four Sorrows" in English, is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. Chaitivel is the tenth poem in the collection known as the Lais of Marie de France and is one of very few lais to contain alternate titles. Like the other poems in this collection, Chaitivel is written in the Anglo-Norman dialect of Old French, in couplets of eight syllables in length.
"Eliduc" is a Breton lai by the medieval poet Marie de France. The twelfth and last poem in the collection known as The Lais of Marie de France, it appears in the manuscript Harley 978 at the British Library. Like the other poems in this collection, "Eliduc" is written in the Anglo-Norman dialect of Old French, in couplets of eight syllables in length. At 1184 lines, it is the longest of the lais attributed to Marie de France. The text of the lai notes that its correct title should be Guildeluec and Guilliadon, but the name Eliduc has stuck.
Trot is an anonymous Breton lai. It tells the story of a knight who happens upon maidens riding through the forest, and from them, he learns the importance of love.
"Doon" is an anonymous Breton lai that tells the story of a knight, Doon, who must pass certain tests to win the hand of a maiden. They marry; but he returns to France alone. He is later reunited with the lady thanks to their grown son, whom he recognizes after dueling him at a tournament. This lai is very similar to "Milun" by Marie de France.
Tyolet is an anonymous Breton lai that takes place in the realm of King Arthur. It tells the tale of a naïve young knight who wins the hand of a maiden after a magical adventure.
Sir Eglamour of Artois is a Middle English verse romance that was written sometime around 1350. It is a narrative poem of about 1300 lines, a tail-rhyme romance that was quite popular in its day, judging from the number of copies that have survived – four manuscripts from the 15th century or earlier and a manuscript and five printed editions from the 16th century. The poem tells a story that is constructed from a large number of elements found in other medieval romances. Modern scholarly opinion has been critical of it because of this, describing it as unimaginative and of poor quality. Medieval romance as a genre, however, concerns the reworking of "the archetypal images of romance" and if this poem is viewed from a 15th-century perspective as well as from a modern standpoint – and it was obviously once very popular, even being adapted into a play in 1444 – one might find a "romance [that] is carefully structured, the action highly unified, the narration lively."
Sir Perceval of Galles is a Middle English Arthurian verse romance whose protagonist, Sir Perceval (Percival), first appeared in medieval literature in Chrétien de Troyes' final poem, the 12th-century Old French Conte del Graal, well over one hundred years before the composition of this work. Sir Perceval of Galles was probably written in the northeast Midlands of England in the early 14th century, and tells a markedly different story to either Chretien's tale or to Robert de Boron's early 13th-century Perceval. Told with a comic liveliness, it omits any mention of a graal or a Grail.
Graelent is an Old French Breton lai, named after its protagonist. It is one of the so-called anonymous lais.
Guihomar II de Léon was a Viscount of Léon. He is said to have succeeded his grandfather Guihomar I.
References
- ↑ Laurence Harf-Lancner, notes to "Les Lais de Marie de France", p. 27, Livre de Poche 1990. ISBN 2-253-05271-X
- ↑ Laurence Harf-Lancner, notes to "Les Lais de Marie de France", p. 39, Livre de Poche 1990. ISBN 2-253-05271-X
- ↑ Patrick Kernévez, André-Yves Bourgès Généalogie des vicomtes de Léon (XIe, XIIe et XIIIe siècles). Bulletin de la Société archéologique du Finistère, volume CXXXVI, 2007, p. 157-188.
- ↑ Laura A. Hibbard, Medieval Romance in England p234 New York Burt Franklin,1963