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
first 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, reflecting 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 specific 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 returned 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 confirmed in his knightly career, now purified and dedicated to saintly
pursuits. The Espurgatoire offers one of the earliest vernacular examples of the same
visionary tradition that inspires Dante’s Commedia.
Matilda T.Bruckner
[See also: ANGLO-NORMAN LITERATURE; FABLE (ISOPET); GAUTIER
D’ARRAS; LAI, NARRATIVE]
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.
Sienaert, Edgar. Les lais de Marie de France: du conte merveilleux a la nouvelle psychologique.
Paris: Champion, 1978.
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