Comparing Equitan And Guigemar

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Both the stories of Equitan and Guigemar invoke the debate between selfish love and selfless love. The character Equitan embodies the principles of chivalry, where he is “much admired and much beloved in his own land” (Marie de France 13-14). Although he embodies the ideal man for courtly love, Equitan is selfish when he enters relationships. Equitan pursues the seneschal’s wife and they enter an affair with each other. This affair is comprised of physical attraction and has no moderation at all. Equitan and the seneschal’s wife are so enveloped in their affair that they want to eliminate and kill the seneschal even though he poses no threat to the affair. This lack of moderation is Equitan and the seneschal’s wife’s downfall, and they are