Marie (de France)

The Lais of Marie de France

Marie

Marie de France (fl. late twelfth century) is the earliest known French woman poet and her lais - stories in verse based on Breton tales of chivalry and romance - are among the finest of the genre. Recounting the trials and tribulations of lovers, the lais inhabit a powerfully realized world where very real human protagonists act out their lives against fairy-tale elements of magical beings, potions and beasts. De France takes a subtle and complex view of courtly love, whether telling the story of the knight who betrays his fairy mistress or describing the noblewoman who embroiders her sad tale on the shroud for a nightingale killed by a jealous and suspicious husband.

lauren carla

read this for a medieval romance class :) I actually enjoyed this a lot more than I thought i would! all of the stories were entertaining, and it was cool to see where some tropes may have originated from before becoming overused lmao. there were some similarities to european folktales that I saw because of a different class I took which was interesting. it’s also become a running joke in class that the female love interests in the stories are always described as “the most beautiful woman in all the lands” or stuff along those lines lmao 😭