Marie de France

Marie de France was a significant poet from the late 12th century.

Scholars believe she lived between approximately 1160 and 1215. While her true identity remains a mystery, she is widely considered the first known woman to write francophone verse. This means she wrote in a French-based language. Her name comes from a line in her own work: "Marie ai num, si sui de France." This translates to "My name is Marie, and I am from France." Because of this, she is known by this pen name. Her work was highly valued by the aristocracy during the Middle Ages.

Marie was a highly educated and multilingual writer. She was proficient in Latin, which was the standard language for scholars of that era. She also worked with Middle English and likely understood Breton. Her specific dialect is a subject of much linguistic debate. Most researchers describe her writing as Old French with Anglo-Norman elements. Some scholars see influences of the Francien dialect or even Picard characteristics. This mixture of languages suggests she may have lived in a border region between Normandy and England.

Her most famous contribution to literature is the collection known as the Lais. These are twelve narrative poems written in eight-syllable verse. Marie claimed she gathered these stories from Breton minstrels, who were traveling singers. These minstrels shared oral legends from the Celtic world. This world included areas like England, Wales, Ireland, Brittany, and Normandy. The Lais were a new genre of narrative form. They were heavily influenced by classical rhetoric and used intense detail to create art.

The stories in the Lais often focus on courtly love and adventure. Unlike traditional heroes who seek out quests, Marie's characters often have adventures happen to them. The poems frequently include elements of the merveilleux, or the marvelous. This refers to the inclusion of the supernatural or fairy worlds. For example, the poem Bisclavret features a sympathetic werewolf. The poem Lanval tells of a character pursued by a fairy woman who eventually takes him to Avalon. These poems vary in length, from 118 lines in "Chevrefoil" to 1,184 lines in "Eliduc."

Beyond the Lais, Marie produced several other important works. She wrote a large collection of fables, many of which were translations of Aesop's Fables from Middle English. She also wrote the Espurgatoire seint Partiz, which is the Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick. This was based on a Latin text. Recently, some scholars have tentatively identified her as the author of a saint's life titled The Life of Saint Audrey. These diverse works show her ability to write about both secular legends and religious subjects.

Marie's social standing was likely quite high. Her level of education was not available to common or poor people during her time. She was likely of aristocratic birth or belonged to a religious house. This is supported by the fact that her works were popular in aristocratic circles. A contemporary poet named Denis Piramus mentioned her popular lais around the year 1180. She likely had connections to the royal court of King Henry II of England. Some of her poems were dedicated to him or his son, the Henry the Young King.

Writing in the 12th century was a difficult and expensive task. The production of books, or codices, was a very slow process. For instance, copying the Bible could take fifteen months of manual labor. Despite these challenges, Marie's influence was massive. Her Lais helped shape the development of the romance and heroic literature genres. Her Fables also showed a strong concern for social hierarchy and justice. She often expressed outrage against the mistreatment of the poor. Today, her legacy survives in precious manuscripts, such as British Library MS Harley 978, which contains her full collection of Lais.