The Lais of Marie de France

Fiction | Novel/Book in Verse | Adult | Published in 1100

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Introduction-Lai 1

Lai 2

Lai 3

Lai 4

Lai 5

Lai 6

Lai 7

Lai 8

Lai 9

Lai 10

Lai 11

Lai 12

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

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Lai 5Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Lais 5 Summary: “Lanval”

Lanval, a knight at the court of King Arthur, is so noble and handsome that he is the envy of the other knights. He is lost and forlorn because he is far from home. One day, he meets two beautiful women by a stream who tell him they will take him to their lady, who sent for him. They lead Lanval to a luxurious tent where a beautiful fairy, who tells him that she loves him more than anything, resides (74). He falls in love and pledges his devotion to her. The lady agrees to be his lover, adding that whenever he wishes to see her, she will be summoned at his bidding; however, if he reveals their secret, he will lose her for life.

When Lanval leaves the fairy, she ensures that he is lavishly dressed and able to entertain his knights luxuriously. He is joyful because he knows that he can summon his beloved whenever he wants.

One day, the queen catches sight of Lanval and asks him to be her lover. Lanval begins by saying that he would never betray the king. The queen retorts that Lanval has no use for any woman, accusing him of being a “wicked recreant” who prefers the company of men (76). Upset at this implicit charge of homosexuality, Lanval tells the queen that even the poorest girl is worth more than her and that he is in love with a lady “who should be prized above all others I know” (76). He realizes with despair that he has revealed the secret of his love, and that as a result, his beloved will never return to him.

Meanwhile, the queen lies to the king, telling him that Lanval shamed her by requesting her love. She adds that when she refused, Lanval boasted about his peerless beloved and said that the queen was not worth even as much as one of her servants. The enraged king orders Lanval to be put on trial. The king asks for help from his advisers, and the Count of Cornwall decrees that if Lanval’s exceptional beloved comes forth, then he will be spared banishment from the kingdom. Just in time, the fairy’s assistants, followed by the fairy herself, enter the trial on horseback. The fairy reveals herself to the court as “the most beautiful of all women in the world” (81). As a result, Lanval’s name is cleared, he is reunited with his beloved, and they escape to Avalon.

Lai 5 Analysis

The theme of gender role-reversal reaches its height in this lay, as Lanval comes to rely on a female fairy for the change in his fortune. Although Lanval is endowed with “valor, generosity, beauty and prowess,” these qualities initially cause him trouble, as the other knights envy and slander him, leading him to be “downcast” in the foreign land of King Arthur (73). When two women approach Lanval and escort him to their fairy mistress, a magical matriarch comes to his rescue. In addition to giving him love whenever he desires it, the fairy does what King Arthur cannot, granting Lanval enough riches to dress himself and entertain his peers splendidly. In order to retain his love and remain in the fairy’s favor, Lanval must comply with her terms, which are to keep their love secret or lose her forever.

Lanval finds that it is impossible to keep the fairy’s terms when the queen states that he is indifferent to women, implying that he is gay. An acknowledged part of chivalry in the 12th century was to be explicitly heterosexual and thus able to fall under the spell of women and serve them. The accusation that Lanval is deficient in this regard makes him unwittingly confess his fairy love. While he instantly regrets this and thinks that he will never see the fairy again, she is merciful and comes to his rescue. This lay, recited by a female narrator, attests to the power of women in a patriarchal world, both in terms of Lanval’s fairy rescuer who provides for him and forgives him, and the queen who pressures him to reveal his secret.