The Lais of Marie de France

This is the twelve lays from Marie de France. The illustrations are magnificent and tweaked the curiosity of my young daughters. I often read them these stories from a tattered copy that I own as bedtime stories. They remember them and I was searching for a current copy. Any young child who is interested in princesses or knights of shining armour would enjoy these actual tales written from medieval times.

Before the famous Italian Renaissance, you could speak of a French Renaissance in the 12th century as far as literature is concerned. In Southern France there were the Troubadours, singers and poets, often part of the nobility or their entourage. In the North of France you had Chretien de Troyes and his Arthurian romances and the Lais of Marie de France, to name only two of the most important. The 'Roman de la Rose' was written in the 13th cent. but is probably the most important masterwork of the French Renaissance. About the person of Marie de France almost nothing is known for certain.Her 'Lais' - stories about romance or adventure - are based upon the popular and folkloristic tales that already existed for centuries in Bretagne - a region close to where the Atlantic meets the North-Sea. These stories were handed down from generation to generation by story tellers. The Lais of Marie de France excel by diversity. There are love stories - of course - but also vivid descriptions of tournaments and even a story about a werewolf. Marie de France proofs that medieval literature can be entertaining.

This is a wonderful collection of old old Breton tales written into poems by Marie de France in the 12th century. Who exactly Marie was is a bit of an enigma, as the introduction to the book explains. But she was unquestionably a gifted writer: her lais, written to entertain courtly audiences, vary colourfully one from another, and positively sparkle with romance, passion, and wit. Mostly they tell of grand loves between courtly young men and comely noble maidens, and there is some great obstacle to overcome. Some endings are happy, others tragic; there is always a great test of the spirit, with notions of loyalty, honesty, honour, and true love playing into the mix. The scenes when lovers get together can be downright ... (in a subtle medieval sort of way). The translation puts the poems into prose, though the language remains poetic. Altogether, you can see why these gems of stories have lasted 800+ years.

The Lais of Marie de France is a wonderful collection of some of the best lais known to man! We were asked to read this book for my World Masterpieces class, and I must say that I'm glad that I did. Although many of the lais are short in length, you gain a valuable understanding of the way of life in ancient France as well as helpful knowledge for problems you may have in the love department.

Marie was a gifted writer, navigating the "lais" genre with skill, surprising wit, and compassion for her characters. It's amazing how much she can say in 800 odd lines. One can read these stories as beautifully written bedside table stories, but they are also profound, candid observations on the nature of love, men, women, jealousy and the process of redemption. Marie spends most of her words on plot description, but they are so well chosen that one finds after reading a few that anything she says is deeply connected to the core message of the lais. The stories are not about distant, courtly love; their characters are men and women who requite their love, sometimes suffering consequences, always changing. Marie is unparralleled among Midieval female writers. She reads like Jane Austen.