Reoccurring Themes In Marie De France Into The Lais

In this essay I will prove how the various themes greatly effects the overall heroes in Marie de France. For this essay I will look at pages 44-81 of the story Marie de France into the Lais. Throughout the Lais of Marie de France there are several themes presented as central to the various stories. Some of these themes are concurrent in all of the lais. With an example of courtly love and its consequences. We can see that courtly love is easily one of the more reoccurring themes in all of medieval literature, which happens to be present through all of the lais. One other obvious theme within 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 how isolation

Within the stoopening Lanval is isolated from the court and also the king in which he serves. "He apportioned wives and lands to all, save to one who had served him: this was Lanval, whom he did not remember, and for whom no one put in a good word." (p.73) the alienation that Lanval feels becomes his isolation. Lanval is not forced to move from his current environment, but instead is removed from the hearts of the members of the court which of most importance is the king’s. It appears that the other knights ignore him out of pure jealousy. "Because of his valour, generosity, beauty and prowess, many were envious of him." (p.73) Lanval in turn, felt tormented by the isolated environment in which he belonged to. Irony comes into play when he tries to “take his ease” so he left town alone. "He left the town and came alone to a meadow, dismounting by a stream; but there his horse trembled violently, so he loosened its saddlegirth and left it, allowing it to enter the meadow to roll over on its back." (p.73) Surrounded by the isolation events start to happen to him where he remembers how his earlier isolation experience is what brought him to where he is now. Here is when Lanval meets a couple of gorgeous women who lead him even farther in order to meet his

"Inside the tent was the maiden who surpassed in beauty the lilly and the new rose when it appears in summer." (p.74) The maiden was lying within a very complex tent adhering to her isolation letting Lanval know he must never tell anyone the secret of their love. Due to this kind of secrecy, the two were sworn to never see each other again. "Beloved', she said, I admonish, order, and beg you not to reveal this secret to anyone! I shall tell you the long and the short of it: you would lose me forever if this love were to become known. You would never be able to see me or possess me." (p.75) Lanval struggles because he benefits from keeping his love a secret but in doing so, it hurts him internally. While Lanval keeps his love a secret fro, everyone, he will continuously be commended with wealth and clothing. Lanval is forced to create other relationships out of the isolation with the one he truly cares about with the maiden. Lanval is able to shelter and offer people the help they need while performing gracious deeds. "That night he offered lavish hospitality but no one knew how this came to be. There was no knight in the town in sore need of shelter whom he did not summon and serve richly and well. Lanval gave costly gifts, Lanval freed prisoners, Lanval clothed the jongleurs, Lanval performed many honerable acts. There was no one, stranger or friend, to whom he would not have given gifts."