the links between the lais and invites readers to analyze
their interactions. The arrangement of twelve lais in
a collection considerably increases the potential for
meaning, however elusive that meaning remains in the
beautiful obscurities of Marie’s text, and begins to give
her lais the weight and proportion we normally associ-
ate with romance.
The brevity of most lais limits their plot development
to a single anecdote or episode, although in the mid-
length and longer lais, especially Guigemar and Eliduc,
there may be a fuller elaboration as the characters’
love develops through a series of episodes. The type
of adventure that appears in the lais differs somewhat
from that of romance: it does not involve a quest, even
in the longer récits; the hero is more passive and his
experience leads to private fulfi llment and happiness;
no special relationship exists between the hero’s destiny
and that of his society.
While some lais have marvelous and folktale ele-
ments that recall their Celtic sources (e.g., Guigemar,
Yonec, Lanval), others remain realistically placed in
the courtly world of the 12th century (Equitan, Fresne,
Milun, Chaitivel). All explore the intersection of two
planes of existence, where otherness may be magically
encountered or simply introduced by the new experience
of love. Although efforts to thus categorize the lais often
remain problematic, leading to overlap, omissions, and
the like, they do respond to the sense of intertextual play
that links the lais across echoes and contrasts.
Marie’s art is as carefully crafted as the precious
reliquary she describes in Laüstic. The economy and
brevity of her style are enriched by the subtlety of her
narrating voice. Her use of free indirect discourse, in
particular, allows her to merge her voice with that of her
characters, while maintaining the distinctness of both.
Marie’s literary art, sustained throughout the collection
of twelve lais, joins her work to that of the philosopher-
poets, described in the general prologue as worthy of
glossing and interpretation.
The twenty-three extant manuscripts of Marie’s
Fables, two of which are complete with prologue,
epilogue, and 102 fables, attest their popularity. Marie
claims to translate from the English of King Alfred’s
adaptation from Latin. No such translation is known, and
Marie may have invented a fi ctitious source. Her fables
derive from the Latin Romulus in combination with other
traditions: some details bring her collection closer to the
Greek fables than to the Latin; evidence of oral tradition
is also apparent. Hers is the fi rst known example of Old
French Isopets. Each short narrative (eight–124 lines)
leads to an explicit moral lesson. This framework of
moral and social values provides an underlying unity
for the diversity of the fables. The political stance is
basically conservative, refl ecting an aristocratic point of
view, but also shows concern for justice available to all
classes: social hierarchy should be maintained for the
sake of harmony; people should accept their place, as
well as their responsibilities. Marie’s concern for justice
in terms of feudal loyalty between lord and vassal is
demonstrated in a number of fables; elsewhere appears
a more specifi c regard for mistreatment of the poor, as
in Fable 2, De lupo et agno, in which the wolf invents
a series of false accusations to justify killing the lamb.
Marie’s moral targets the abuse of rich robber barons,
viscounts, and judges who exploit those in their power
with trumped-up charges.
Extant in a single manuscript, the Espurgatoire
combines in its over 2,000 lines a variety of materials,
romanesque, hagiographic, and homiletic. In addition
to various anecdotes, the principle narrative concerns
the proselytizing efforts of St. Patrick, thanks to whom
an entrance to Purgatory for the still-living has been
established in a churchyard, in order to strengthen belief
in the afterlife. After suitable prayers and instructions,
many have descended to witness the tortures of the
damned and the delights of the saved. Not all have re-
turned from the perilous journey. The greater part of the
story follows in detail the preparation and descent of the
knight Owein. Through a series of diabolical torments,
Owein is saved each time when he invokes the name of
Jesus. Upon his return, he is confi rmed in his knightly
career, now purifi ed and dedicated to saintly pursuits.
The Espurgatoire offers one of the earliest vernacular
examples of the same visionary tradition that inspires
Dante’s Commedia.
See also Dante Alighieri; Gautier d’Arras;
Henry II; WaceFurther Reading
Marie de France. Les lais de Marie de France, ed. Jean Rychner.
Paris: Champion, 1969.
——. Les fables, ed. and trans. Charles Brucker. Louvain:
Peeters, 1990.
——. The Lais of Marie de France, trans. Glyn S. Burgess and
Keith Busby. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986.
——. Marie de France: Fables, ed. and trans. Harriet Spiegel.
Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987.
——. The Espurgatoire Saint Patriz of Marie de France, with
a Text of the Latin Original, ed. Thomas Atkinson Jenkins.
Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1903.
——. Das Buch vom Espurgatoire s. Patrice der Marie de France
und seine Quelle, ed. Karl Warnke. Halle: Niemeyer, 1938.
——. The Lais of Marie de France, trans. Robert W. Hanning
and Joan Ferrante. New York: Dutton, 1978.
——. The “Fables” of Marie de France: An English Translation,
trans. Mary Lou Martin. Birmingham: Summa, 1984.
Burgess, Glyn S. Marie de France: An Analytic Bibliography.
London: Grant and Cutler, 1977; First Supplement, 1985.
Ménard, Philippe. Les lais de Marie de France: contes d’amour
et d’aventure au moyen âge. Paris: Presses Universitaires de
France, 1979.
Mickel, Emanuel J., Jr. Marie de France. New York: Twayne,
1974.MARIE DE FRANCE