Contrast Love in Lais and Franks
The theme of love is prevalent throughout Marie de France’s stories in The Lais of Marie de France. De France’s portrayal of love spans many realms—romantic love, friendship, love between a parent and a child, love between lord and vassal, forbidden love. These different types of love also portray life and the overall social structure of medieval Europe. Most notable in The Lais of Marie de France is the theme that spiritual love transcends physicality and worldly material desires. In contrast to The Lais, Gregory of Tours’ History of the Franks presents an exhaustive and valuable look into society at the beginning of the Middle Ages. Coming out of the collapse of the Roman Empire, people of
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Europe were experiencing a fracture in society. Many different peoples broke away in smaller tribes, and the fight for sovereignty and land was fierce. Gregory of Tours’ complex history of the Franks presents love as being attached to worldly pursuits, and prioritizes the significance of worldly possessions that take precedence over love. Love in History of the Franks is depicted rarely; when it does appear, it is trivialized. Most of the time, love is material-dependent, which means love is often presented as an attachment to the fulfillment of the materialized desires. In other times, love is physicality-dependent, which means love is attached to the pursuit of physicality (ex, one`s physical attributes). For example, after King Chilperic marries Galswinth, the sister of the princess of Spain, what happens is that “He loved her very dearly, for she had brought a large dowry with her” (The History of The Franks, IV.28).
It is clear that King Chilperic`s love for Galswinth is due to the fortune that she brings with her, and this is obviously a material-dependent love. At the same time, King Chilperic also loves Fredegund, and this is a physical love because only "within in a few days" after Galswinth`s death Chilperic " had asked Fredegund to sleep with him again" (Franks, IV.28). Chilperic must be so physically driven to Fredegund that he desires to have intercourse with her just after the loss of Galswinth whom he "loved very dearly". Similar examples of these two types of love can be seen throughout the whole book, but they are still merely attachments to worldly pursuits. Therefore, when it comes the time for one to choose between love and material pursuits, love would always be abandoned because it is only an attachment. In the absence of physicality or material desires, love can not exist on its own in The History of the Franks. Take Deuteria for example, "she sent messengers to Theudebert to say: no one can resist you. We accept you as our ruler. Come to our town and do with it what you will" (The History of The Franks, III.22). Once Theudebert comes to rule the town, he meets Deuteria whom he found …show more content…
"attractive", and falls in love with her. In this case, to Theudebert, Deuteria is not only a source of physical love that is based on attraction, but also a material-dependent one because she gives him the control of land. Yet, even a combination of both physical love and material-dependent love becomes nothing when comes the challenge of pure material pursuit, which is the inheritance of Theudebert`s father`s kingdom—“(Theudebert) knew that unless he hurried home he would be cut off from his inheritance......as soon as he heard the news he abandoned everything and turned back. He left Deuteria and the daughter whom she had born him” (The History of The Franks, III.23). When asked to choose between love and material desire, Theudebert inevitably chooses the latter. Worldly pursuits always come before love, no matter it is attached to either material or physicality. This is the overarching theme presented by Gregory in the History of the Franks, and actually it is quite understandable. In order to see the reason behind one has to examine the common social background, which is war. In The History of the Franks, the plain of Merovingian France was torn by endless warfare, which led inevitably to the result that physical pursuits, like security, food, and land, took precedence over spiritual pursuits like love. Knights and soldiers fought on a battlefield where love played almost no roles at all. In a world where physical materials were the prerequisite for survival, worldly desires permeated every aspect of society. Love’s significance, on the other hand, was trivialized and marginalized—and in Merovingian France, love has to step aside when it conflicts with worldly pursuits. Yet, things turn out to be quite different in The Lais of Marie de France. Here, Marie builds a fantasized world where real-world-warfare is absent in most of her stories. In contrast to Gregory who shows a worldly and limited love, Marie shows a third form of love--- spiritual love which is transformed from worldly love under crisis events. As a result, it not only transcends but also renounces worldly pursuits, which stands in sharp contrast to the forms of love presented in The History of the Franks. In the story of Le Fresne, she falls in love with Gurun for he "promised her so much" (Lais, p64), which shows that her love to Gurun is a worldly one at very first. However, after she runs back with him, his knights force him to free himself from Le Fresne, and saying "they would be happier if he had an heir" (Lais, p65). Here, being separated from the one she loves is the crisis event, which leads to the onset of the transcendence of her love from a worldly one to a spiritual one. Acquiescing his marriage to another woman, she serves him properly. The story culminates in her decision to put down her brocade, which allows her mother to recognize her true identity. The moment she gives away her most significant worldly possession (the brocade) for her lover symbolizes the completion of her transcendence process. At this very moment, her love for Gurun is spiritual. The action of her putting down even her most valuable material possession for the purpose of love stands out directly against the actions of Theudebert abandoning his love for the purpose of inheritance in The History of the Franks. Another example of spiritual love can be seen in Yonec, Yonec`s mother is locked in the tower for seven years and “she wept and sighed so much that she lost her beauty.” (The Lais of Marie de France, 86).
It is at this very moment when Yonec`s father comes. Her love is initially physical for she constantly demands his presence. However, as the story develops, her love transcends as she tries to follow her wounded lover---"she escaped through a window, but it was a wonder she did not kill herself, for she had to jump a good twenty feet" (The Lais of Marie de France, p90). Instead of passively sitting and weep as what she has been doing for all the previous years, she takes action and jumps out of the window. By doing such she put aside her worldly desire and possessions, and even her own life. Her transcendence eventually is completed at the moment of her husband`s death, after she makes the promise that she will try her very best to fulfill her lover`s last will---revenge. In the absence of her lover`s physical being, her love is purely spiritual, and this spiritual love is so strong that it completely changes her personality. It changes her from an innocent lady who only knows to accept the wrong that her husband has done to her to an appalling assassin who shares for years the same bed with her target just to wait for the right moment to kill. Such tremendous transforming power of love is what spiritual love carries, and it is often through this spiritual love that one
can find his or her greatest power. This love is fundamentally what makes the description of love in The Lais of Marie De France different from Gregory`s The History of the Franks. Some may argue that both Le Fresne and Yonec`s mother have shown worldly love, and that makes the representation of love in The Lais and the History of Franks quite similar. More specifically, Le Fresne only falls in love with Gurun after he "promised her so much", and therefore her love is a worldly one. On the other hand, Yonec`s mother`s love is built on the fact that "never in her life has she seen such a handsome knight", and therefore is also a worldly one. I admit their love are worldly at first. However, as I described in the earlier paragraph, the two authers` fundamental interpretations of love differ so much that this broad generalization becomes erroneous. Love, as described by Gregory of Tours is a worldly one, and it always has to give way to worldly pursuits due to incessant wars. Hearing the death of Theuderic, what Lothar and Childebert did were not to express their sorrow for the death of their brother, but instead seized his land. They arrived even faster than Theuderic`s own son Theudebert. This cruel reality certainly leaves almost no place for love. However, love as described by Marie focuses more on the spiritual love and the transcendence from worldly love to spiritual love. Certainly both Le Fresne`s and Yonec`s mom` love are worldly initially, but it is the transcendence to spiritual love that really changes the ends of the stories and shows Marie`s interpretation of love. It is because of Fresne`s spiritual love for Gurun that she lays down her precious brocade which leads her to find her biological mother, and it is also of Yonec`s mother`s spiritual love to her lover that carries her to finish her lover`s last will. In conclusion, the elements of love that are portrayed in The Lais of Marie de France and The History of the Franks are based upon two different foundations of love—earthly and spiritual. The Lais of Marie de France tells stories that the fates of men and women are intertwined together with love. The most valued forms of love to exist, according to Marie de France is spiritual love that transcends worldly love, either physicality-dependent love or material-dependent love, whereas Gregory of Tours reveals aspects of Medieval European society that shows the love is most of the time attached to worldly pursuits, and thus subjected to worldly pursuits. Both of the two forms of love exist in today`s society, especially spiritual love which possible describes the love we human beings hold towards God.
As is custom with Marie De France, her lai “Lanval” presents the idea of a romance in which the power of fairies and/or magic is present and works to aid or hurt the romance in question. In the case of “Lanval” magic and fairies come to the aid of our protagonist Lanval, and ultimately lead to the formation of a romantic relationship in his life. However, Lanval faces a dilemma as he talks of his love to the fairy woman while rejecting the Queen’s love, and thus realizes he will never be able to see his beloved again, as she had told him never to speak of their romance or he would lose her. Luck turns in his favor though, as even after having spoken of their love, his beloved returns and they leave together. Many may speculate as to why Marie
In the book, Marie Antoinette: The Last Queen of France , the author, Evelyne Lever,
Throughout the Lais of Marie de France there are several themes presented as central to the various stories. Some of these themes are present in all of the lais. One such example is that of courtly love and it’s implications. Courtly love being one of the more prominent themes in all of medieval literature, it is fittingly manifested in all of the lais as well. Another theme present in two of the lais is isolation. The theme of isolation plays a large role in the stories of Guigemar and Lanval. In each of these lais we see isolation as a factor in determining the fates of the central figures. Within each lai isolation is represented on several different occasions, each time having a direct impact on the outcome. These instances of isolation may be seen at times to be similar in nature and consequence, and different at other times. By sifting through both works these instances may be extrapolated and analyzed.
Marie de France's use of animals in her lais is molded and adjusted to fit her needs. She creates metaphors relating to love and love relationships that were not mentioned in the Christian based Book of Beasts. However, the Gawain author appears to have kept true to the type of descriptions and natures of the animals in White's translation. Both authors were able to use animals to express specific features of human emotions and relationships, furthering our understanding of the nature of temptation, love and relationships in the medieval period.
They are perhaps not truly in love, but after Guigemar notes the invisible wound of love he says “it has its source in nature” (Marie de France 49). By nature, humans have been known to be driven by a constant pursuit of what the desire, for by succeeding in this pursuit they are happy. Love brings happiness to Guigemar and the queen, but their happiness comes by a greater cause than true love. The lovers were convenient for their own pursuits. Guigemar served the queen as a commodity by giving her a value of freedom, and the queen gave Guigemar freedom from pain. In the end, Guigemar runs off with the queen after defending her from Meriaduc concluding the end of his troubles. Desire is thus a selfish inclination toward love, for its foundation is whatever suits a person’s liking. The queen and Guigemar are suited for each other, yet they are not suited to be in love with each
Bloch, R. Howard. Medieval Misogyny and the Invention of Western Romantic Love. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1991.
...tion of both methods can be used to show France’s idea of what love is. Patrick John Ireland argued that France’s idea of love “is a human force controlled by man with great difficulty; it is a spontaneous, natural, and all-consuming power, the experience of which leads to an almost blind passion at times” (133). To be in love, one must be entirely devoted and passionate to one another to the point of blind passion. This is so for Yonec (the Princess jumps out of the tower) and Lanval (Lanval’s complete rejection of the human world until he is brought into the world of his lover). Not only does France portray love as natural and all-consuming, but also shows the private and unearthly nature of love that cannot be contained to the realm of the human world. Rather, love transcends the boundaries of the human world and enters into a world where love reigns supreme.
Medieval and Renaissance literature develops the concepts of love and marriage and records the evolution of the relation between them. In Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, Christian love clashes with courtly love, as men and women grapple with such issues as which partner should rule in marriage, the proper, acceptable role of sex in marriage, and the importance of love as a basis for a successful marriage. Works by earlier writers portray the medieval literary notion of courtly love, the sexual attraction between a chivalric knight and his lady, often the knight's lord's wife. The woman, who generally held mastery in these relationships based on physical desire and consummation, dictated the terms of the knight's duties and obligations, much like a feudal lord over a vassal. This microcosm of romance between man and woman was anchored by the macrocosm of the bonds among men and their fealty to their lord. The dominance of women and fealty to the leader in courtly love contrasts with the dominance ...
Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne de Habsbourg-Lorraine was born in the mid-eighteenth century as an archduchess and princess, to Maria Teresa, the Austrian Empress, at the very apex of the European hierarchal pyramid. She was an essential part to the oldest royal European house, as it became known that her sole duty in life was to unite the two great powers and long-term enemies of Austria-Hungary and France by marriage. She was brutally overthrown by her own starving people and portrayed to the world as a villain and abuser of power, whereas sympathy for the young queen should be shown.
The story Guigemar demonstrates selfless love and illustrates how this love can be justified even it is adulterous. Guigemar, a king from Brittany, travels on a boat to a new kingdom, meets a lovely woman when he arrives, and begins to fall in love with her: “Love struck him to the quick;/ great strife was in his heart” (379-380).
In a relationship, Love is a feeling that humans share with a special person. Some bonds could be mutual, while others are dissociated. During the Medieval period, love affairs were dominated by one gender, men, and the women had little or no control over decisions. Before a gentleman married a lady, the gentleman first boasted about her beauty, championed the cause of the lady, and did whatever the lady requested. The era was influenced by knights, and dictated by honor and chivalry that each knight had to display to their king and queen. As a gentleman, a knight had to be just at all times, especially toward ladies. At this time, there was a king named Arthur. King Arthur had a flourishing kingdom that abruptly ended. Later on, many authors recounted the story of the reign of King Arthur. Sir Thomas Malory published Le Morte d’Arthur, and Geoffrey Chaucer published The Wife of Bath’s Tale. Although both of these books recount the reign of King Arthur, the stories are very diverse and unique in their own way. Both stories demonstrate for a relationship to be successful, both partners must be submissive, must be brave, and must be willing to learn from mistakes.
The Art of Courtly Love was written by a monk at the end of the 11th century. The task was put on him to write a guide book so-to-speak for how the wealthy and powerful should go about falling in love, marriage, and things related to it. Obviously, a monk had no personal experience in these matters, so his writings must have been from observed experiences. These writings show how the members of the court truly were in these...
During the Middle Ages, Courtly love was a code which prescribed the conduct between a lady and her lover (Britannica). The relationship of courtly love was very much like the feudal relationship between a knight and his liege. The lover serves his beloved, in the manner a servant would. He owes his devotion and allegiance to her, and she inspires him to perform noble acts of valor (Schwartz). Capellanus writes, in The Art of Courtly Love, “A true lover considers nothing good except what he thinks will please his beloved”. The stories of Marie de France and Chrétien de Troyes illustrate the conventions of courtly love.
In the Middle Ages, when The Canterbury Tales was written, society became captivated by love and the thought of courtly and debonair love was the governing part of all relationships and commanded how love should be conducted. These principles changed literature completely and created a new genre dedicated to brave, valorous knights embarking on noble quests with the intention of some reward, whether that be their life, lover, or any other want. The Canterbury Tales, written in the 14th century by Geoffrey Chaucer, accurately portrays and depicts this type of genre. Containing a collection of stories within the main novel, only one of those stories, entitled “The Wife of Bath’s Tale”, truly outlines the 14th century community beliefs on courtly love.
The tales of King Arthur and many of their numerous characters are well known in literature. The Arthurian world is one of the great myths of modern times. Those great pieces of literature have many common themes, one of them being courtly love “L’amour Courtois”. This paper talks of courtly love as seen in King Arthur’s world especially examining “Yvain or the Knight with the Lion” and “Lancelot: or the Knight of the Cart”. Furthermore, one of the goals is to show how that courtly love could be seen in today in our world.