Essay on Lanval and Yonec

Marie de France presents within “The Breton Lays” is mezura. Through the narratives of “Lanval” and “Yonec”, Marie reinforces the importance mezura plays in maintaining a courtly affair; she shows that being open about a relationship can lead to disaster. In the story of “Lanval”, Lanval breaks the principle of mezura by rashly exposing his affair with the amie to Queen Guinevere. When Guinevere propositions Lanval, he foolishly reveals his fairy lover’s existence instead of keeping his love discrete:…

Romantic Love in Marie de France’s Poem, Lanval In her poem "Lanval," Marie de France shares a fantasy with her readers, telling the tale of a mysterious woman who journeys from a distant land to be with Lanval, a dishonored knight of King Arthur's Round Table. Marie's portrayal sets Lanval's mistress apart from the maidens and ladies in waiting at King Arthur's court, as she eclipses even Queen Guenever. Much like an editor of a modern woman's fashion magazine, Marie targets her audience of…

on-line dictionary defines chivalry as "the system, spirit, or customs of medieval knighthood." As Leon Gautier, author of Chivalry, defines this "system" and "spirit" of knighthood by identifying rules of chivalry, two of which are well illustrated in Lanval, "TheWife of Bath's Tale," and "The Wedding of Sir Gawain and Dame Ragnel:" "Thou shalt never lie, and shall remain faithful to thy pledged word," and "Thou shalt be generous, and give largess to everyone"(qtd. in Chivalry). All three stories seem…

Property of the King: Life of Medieval Women in Beowulf and Lanval History has been recorded throughout time in stories, books, poems and other literary works. These writings give historians and readers of the present day valuable insights into the lifestyles, beliefs, society, economics, politics and pagan religion of the time period they originate. Authors are greatly influenced by the beliefs and attitudes of their own society and time. The works they write provide a window to the past that…

power. Literate in Latin, French, and English, Marie de France created a template for future women writers as well as, a detailed description of court life and love of this time. Lanval, one of Marie's twelve lays that survived, establishes the two different types of women mentioned in the introduction. Lanval, a lonely knight of King Arthur's court, falls in love with a beautiful, rich, and charming fairy in the woods. This character represents the virtuous and perfect things in which society…

The Breton lai “Lanval”, written by Marie de France in the twelfth century, is a short romantic poem focused on a foreign knight, Lanval, and his life after meeting a faerie lover. The poem is set in the time of King Arthur, at a place named Carduel—a city in the along the borders of Arthur’s kingdom, Logres. In “Lanval” failure is a negative situation brought upon oneself by their inability to maintain their virtue, thus success in the Middle Ages was heavily influenced by loyalty and integrity…

Love and Marriage in Canterbury Tales, Lanval, Faerie Queene, and Monsieur's Departure Medieval and Renaissance literature develops the concepts of love and marriage and records the evolution of the relation between them. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Christian love clashes with courtly love, as men and women grapple with such issues as which partner should rule in marriage, the proper, acceptable role of sex in marriage, and the importance of love as a basis for a successful marriage. Works…

empathy and compassion for the couple such as in “Yonec” and “Lanval.” The second category however seems to combine the ideas of sympathy and disdain. In this category belong only the lais of “Bisclaveret” and “Equitan.” Although the lais focus entirely on sex outside of marriage, the affairs that take place in these poems were often rewarded with various prizes that included children, wealth, healing, and loving marriages. In the first lai, “Yonec” tells the seeming tragic tale of a beautiful young…

Marie De France’s Lanval is a remarkable short narrative that engages the reader into a world filled with unrealistic elements, but enhances on the true meaning of romance, chivalry and nature during the years that King Arthur reigned. “Sir Gawain and The Green Knight” unfortunately does not have an author that can be recognized but this epic poem demonstrates the ghastly adventure of a knight who decides to defend the honor of young King Arthur against a supernatural being in this malicious game…

The admiration of courtly love is no more prevalent theme in Marie's lais than on “Yonec” and “Lanval”. These two lais are showing very aristocratic views on socially states; love of nobility. A love that cannot be explained by a commoner or peasant that cannot show status has nothing to offer, for courtly love because a peasant has no chivalry. This courtly love is often secret in that a knight and a lady are not married to one another but to a different partner making the story adulterous. That…