Marie de France and Courtly Love

Paper Summary:

This paper looks at courtly love and how it was used in the love stories of the Middle Ages. It examines how the lais of Marie de France were unusual in that they didn't always follow the standard courtly love conventions exactly and looks at the reasons why.

From the Paper:

"In Eliduc Guilliadun is of more noble birth than Eliduc, but to break from convention she takes on the role of the admirer. It is she who initiates the relationship by inviting him to come and talk with her(lines 277-278), who upon being struck by love turned pale (line 306), who hesitates in telling him how she feels (lines 307-308) and who later on will suffer sleepless nights because of it (line 331). Although she adheres to all the courtly love conventions as the admirer, she is definitely not representative of the authoritative courtly lady; this stereotype is less important to Marie de France than the dynamic of the lai, as it is fundamental to our understanding of the characters that it is Guilliadun who initiates the relationship and not Eliduc."

More papers on Marie de France and Courtly Love:

• Analytical Essay # 83509 : "The Lais of Marie de France"
• Book Review # 106789 : "Marie de France's "Eliduc"

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