Lais of Marie de France
The most powerful and lasting contributions to the literature of a given era are invariably penned by bold thinkers struggling to comprehend the ever changing world in which they live. Written during the latter part of the 1 Continue Reading...
Lais of Marie de France and the Song of Roland -- Epic Expressions of Romantic Cultural Imagination and a Romantic Epic of National Identity
Both The Lais of Marie de France and The Song of Roland are early works of medieval verse. The Lais hail fr Continue Reading...
The wife's lie is revealed in "Bisclavet" because the inner humanity of the werewolf does shine through, albeit to another man. "This beast understands, feels like a man," says the king. (p.5) Ultimately, the king's friendship, a relationship forge Continue Reading...
courtship good for women?
The Lais of Marie de France: Was courtly love good for women?
The Lais of Marie de France chronicle the trials and tribulations of various women in love, as seen from a female perspective. Little is known about the life o Continue Reading...
The French tradition of the Arthurian legends, however, are far less overtly political in their approach to the tales and to Guinevere in particular, and though politics and loyalties are still important elements of these stories the aspects of roma Continue Reading...
Middle Ages Romances
Le Chevalier au Lion
Chretien de Troyes' Le Chevalier au Lion (The Knight of the Lion) tells the story of the lovelorn Arthurian knight Yvain, rather than Arthur and Guievere themselves. Thus, the tale of Yvain acts a powerful Continue Reading...
Courtly love is usually defined solely in terms of the image of a noble knight pining for a woman he cannot have, because she is married or betrothed to another. Later writers such as Dante, Cervantes, and Milton often viewed this construct of courtl Continue Reading...
Bisclavret by Marie De France
The short work Bisclavret (The Werewolf) within Marie De France's Lais is a telling picture of the definitions of civility and even a glimpse into the chivalric ideal. Within the piece are many mentions of the definitio Continue Reading...
"Arthurian female heroes, contrariwise, exist (at least for a time) as active helpers to male heroes, but always in the service of the patriarchal culture the hero upholds" (Fries, 3). One could argue that since this universe is thus so narrow for w Continue Reading...