The French poet Marie de France (active late 12th century) was an accomplished writer of lais and was probably the originator of that form.Marie de France is one of those authors whose work is well kn...
Read more
A poet, storyteller, and translator who clearly establishes her ambitions and credentials on the side of the moderns, Marie de France is one of the finest writers of the twelfth-century Renaissance an...
Read more
In the following essay, Woods examines the structure of the lai "Laüstic," demonstrating how Marie de France used concision, understatement, and powerful symbols to tell this brie...
Read more
In the following essay, Burgess observes that most of the characters in Marie's Lais belong to the upper classes, and thus issues of loyalty, service, and expertise in battle and hunting predom...
Read more
In the following essay, Brumlik shows how "Guigemar" is different from conventional love lais.
The opening lines of Marie's "Guigemar" expand upon the hero'...
Read more
In the following essay, Coolidge argues that through its use of such symbols as a weasel and a bed before an altar, "Eliduc" becomes Marie de France's ultimate assessment of sexua...
Read more
In the following essay, Gertz uses reader response theory to explain the changes in our reactions that occur as we read "Bisclavret. "
Marie de France's twelfth-century lai &#x...
Read more
In the following essay, Leonard argues that through her Espurgatoire Saint Patriz, Marie offered up the story of Saint Patrick to a wider audience, translating it as she did into French from Latin and...
Read more
In the following essay, Bowers defines the medieval method of judgment by ordeal and asserts that Marie's Lais critiques the era's shift from trial by ordeal to "more efficient&#x...
Read more
In the following essay, Kinoshita argues that in the lai "Lanval," the title character's ultimate rejection of chivalric society is an expression of Marie de France's femin...
Read more
In the following excerpt, Pickens compares "Equitan" to the lai "Guigemar" and defends "Equitan" against those critics who call it an inferior lai.
No othe...
Read more
In the following essay, Hodgson discusses Marie's use of the supernatural in her lais to highlight the conflict between society and love that her characters face.
Much of the critical attent...
Read more
In the following essay, Mickel offers a line-by-line analysis and reinterpretation of the difficult "Prologue" to Marie de France's Lais.
The importance of Marie's �...
Read more
In the following essay, Cowling refutes critical opinion that the lady in the lai "Chaitivel" is selfish and cruel.
That the lais of Marie de France concentrate upon delicate feelings...
Read more
In the following essay, Ireland divides the story line of "Lanval" into four "stages" while demonstrating the lai's connections with later Arthurian romances.
In ...
Read more
In the following essay, Fitz uses deconstructionist theory to reveal the "truth" in the lai "Chievrefoil."
The Lais of Marie de France are rimed narratives that tell how...
Read more
In the following essay, Harrison suggests that in her lais and fables, Marie is not interested in plant and animal lore except insofar as it can be used to symbolize or reflect upon human behavior.
...
Read more
In the following essay, Sturges contends that readers of Marie's Lais are obliged by the structure of the Lais themselves to interpret the words and to become immersed in the stories as attempt...
Read more
In the middle ages knights in every kingdom were expected to follow basic rules set forth by the code of chivalry. According to this code a knight was supposed to show all of the following characteri...
Read more
Marie de France
Marie de France
Critical Essay by William S. Woods
Feminism, Anti-feminism and Adultery in the Lais of Marie De France
