Marie de Champagne

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Marie de Champagne

Marie de Champagne is the oldest daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen first of France and then of England. Known for her interest in poetry, music and the arts, Eleanor is "credited with the development of the rules of courtly love, and for their dissemination throughout the medieval society of France and England" (Patronage 1). Sharing a very strong mother-daughter relationship, "Marie is known to have shared many of her mother's views and ideas" (Patronage 1). Competing against each other in an "elaborate intellectual game," Eleanor and Marie "try to outdo each other in presenting situations which test the boundaries of courtly love" (Patronage 1).

The courtly love relationship is between a knight and his lady. The knight serves his lady with utmost obedience and loyalty while the lady is in complete control of the love relationship. In order to be worthy of the lady's love, the knight must perform great deeds that display his chivalric characteristics. The courtly love relationship typically is not between husband and wife, but usually a knight and a married lady. "Courtly love may therefore be regarded as the complex product of numerous factors--social, erotic, religious, and philosophical" (Courtly 1).

As a crusader of courtly love literature, Marie greatly influences Chretien de Troyes' works "which reflect her own world views" about the relationships between men and women (Patronage 2). Writing under the guidance of Marie, Chretien claims that Marie's "command has more importance in his work than any effort [he] might put into it" (Patronage 2). Enforcing the importance of courtly love to the development of the Arthurian legends, Chretien with Marie's influence introduces a complex tale of courtly love and deception between Lancelot, Queen Guienevere and King Arthur. A story of love, lust, and betrayal, the characters that Chertien creates "personify the ideals of chivalry and courtly love according to the social mores of the literary patron, Marie de Champagne" (Patronage 3).

In order win Queen Guinevere's heart, Lancelot endures great humiliation and heroic feasts, which portray his virtuous and chivalric character. Chretien's portrayal of Lancelot "is in complete harmony with [Marie's] vision of [courtly] love" (Patronage 3).

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