The Lais of Marie De France: With Two Further Lais in the Original Old French (Penguin Classics) - Softcover

France, Marie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0140447598 ISBN 13: 9780140447590

Publisher: Penguin Classics, 1999

Synopsis

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.

About this title

Synopsis:

This is a prose translation of the lais or poems attributed to Marie de France. Little is known of her but she was probably the Abbess of the abbey at Shaftesbury in the late 12th century, illegitimate daughter of Geoffrey Plantagenet and hence the half-sister of Henry II of England. It was to a king, and probably Henry II, that she dedicated these poems of adventure and love which were retellings of stories which she had heard from Breton minstrels. She is regarded as the most talented French poet of the medieval period.

About the Author:

Glyn S. Burgess is currently Professor of French and Head of Department at the University of Liverpool. He has translated 'The Song of Roland' for Penguin Classics and he has published widely on 12th-century courtly literature.
Keith Busby is George Lynn Cross Research Professor of French and Director of the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the University of Oklahoma.

About this edition

• Publisher: Penguin Classics
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0140447598
• ISBN 13: 9780140447590
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 164