mourns the loss of his lord, but the narrator in “The
RUIN” mourns unknown people and their culture. The
16th century witnessed the development of the PASTO-
RAL elegy, a lament for something or someone that was
good. EDMUND SPENSER’s poem about SIR PHILIP SIDNEY,
Astrophel (1586), is sometimes considered the fi rst
one.
See also EXETER BOOK; SEAFARER, THE; “WIFE’S LAMENT,
THE.”
FURTHER READING
Guy-Bray, Stephen. Homoerotic Space: The Poetics of Loss in
Renaissance Literature. Toronto: University of Toronto
Press, 2002.
Leech, Mark. The Anglo-Saxon Elegies. Chippenham, U.K.:
Pipers’ Ash, 2004.
“ELIDUC” (“GUILDELUEC AND GUIL-
LIADUN”) MARIE DE FRANCE (ca. 1170) “Eliduc”
is the longest and the last of MARIE DE FRANCE’s Les Lais.
It is composed in octosyllabic COUPLETs.
Eliduc, the title character, is a Breton knight married
to a noble and wise lady named Guildeluec. Unfairly
dismissed from court, Eliduc sails to Britain to make
his fortune. He becomes the champion of a local king
and, in doing so, wins the affection of the princess
Guilliadun. Though he remains faithful, Eliduc cannot
resist loving her back.
Recalled to Brittany, Eliduc is disconsolate, worry-
ing everyone. He returns to Britain and helps Guillia-
dun sneak away to his ship. A huge storm blows up,
causing a sailor to accuse Eliduc of earning God’s wrath
through his adultery. Guilliadun, who does not know
about Eliduc’s wife, falls into a coma.
Once in Brittany, Eliduc lays Guilliadun on the altar
of a forest chapel. He visits her every morning, which
arouses his wife’s suspicions. She follows him one day
and discovers the girl lying unspoiled in the chapel.
Realizing Eliduc loves the girl and not her, Guildeluec
mourns. However, observing a weasel resurrecting its
mate with a special herb, she generously procures it
and revives Guilliadun. She then calls Eliduc and
retires to a convent. Eliduc and Guilliadun are married
and live happily for many years until they, too, enter
the religious life.
Numerous critics have pointed out that Guildeluec’s
selfl ess devotion to her husband’s happiness stands in
stark contrast to Eliduc’s selfi sh pursuit of advance-
ment and COURTLY LOVE. Eliduc further faces confl ict-
ing obligations in both love and feudal service—to two
lords and two ladies. Some have explored the potential
to “upgrade”: Guildeluec is merely “noble and wise,”
whereas Guilliadun is the daughter of a king, so Eli-
duc’s choice is socially justifi able. Similarly, Guildeluec
is so virtuous that only God is truly worthy of her love.
Recently, critics have explored the possibility that this
lai (LAI) refl ects the teachings of Bernard of Clairvaux
(1090–1153)—that courtly passion can provide the
fi rst step toward loving God.
FURTHER READING
Kinoshita, Sharon. “Two for the Price of One: Courtly Love
and Serial Polygamy in the Lais of Marie de France.”
Arthuriana 8, no. 2 (1998): 33–55.
Potkay, Monica Brzezinski. “The Limits of Romantic Alle-
gory in Marie de France’s Eliduc.” Medieval Perspectives 9
(1994): 135–145.
Matthieu BoydELIZABETH I (1533–1603) queen of England
Ruler of England for 45 years, Elizabeth had a pro-
found effect on literature produced while she was
queen. A writer herself, her personal literary produc-
tion is primarily letters and speeches written for vari-
ous political purposes such as addressing Parliament
or negotiating with foreign powers. She also wrote at
least 15 poems. The stability of her long reign and her
emphasis on courtly behavior that included the abil-
ity to write creatively contributed to the immense lit-
erary production of this period, some of which
focused on her.
Elizabeth was born to HENRY VIII and Anne Boleyn,
his second wife. At birth, Elizabeth disappointed her
parents because she was not male, so she was not con-
sidered able to succeed Henry as sovereign and lived
in the shadow of her older half sister, Mary Tudor,
later MARY I, daughter of Henry and his fi rst wife,
Catherine of Aragon. Henry demanded an act of suc-
cession from Parliament that allowed his older and
then his younger daughter to inherit the throne if heELIZABETH I 159