The Lais of Marie de France consists of twelve short poems written in the late 12th century between 1160
and 1215. This era is referred to as the “Renaissance of the Twelfth Century”. During this time, educated people wanted to read stories about people and events they
could easily relate to. In response, Marie wrote personal narrative poems about
“human misfortune, unhappy and restricting marriages, and heroes and heroines trapped by life’s circumstances”
(Albert 715).
Marie’s
Lais, or poems, were brief compared to the long narratives typical of the medieval
times. The author writes about the contrasting results of love: hardship and
happiness. The Lais are set in a chivalric
era and deal with the ideas of a knightly society, courtly love, and honor. In
her Lais, Marie de France explores the personal lives of the knights and ladies,
while the traditional literature of the time was influenced by mostly masculine themes such as war and a knight’s responsibilities
to society (Albert 715).
Marie de
France is often considered one of the greatest writers of the Middle Ages, even though not much is known about her personal
life. By analyzing her works, historians do know that Marie de France was inspired
by ancient Celtic stories, but she put her own twist on familiar tales.
The eleventh
poem in the series is a Breton lai called “Chevrefeuille”, or “Chevrefoil”. When translated, the word “chevrefeuille” literally means “goat leaf” or more commonly,
“honeysuckle” (Shoaf). In the poem, honeysuckle is a symbol for love.
Chevrefoil
is a version of Tristan and Isolde, a romantic story dating from the Celtic times (Albert 716). The poem concerns adultery and the passion of true lovers. The
desires of true love are depicted against the stark reality of courtly love in the medieval times. Courtly love arose from the arranged marriages of this period. In
upper-class society, “a young lover idealized a married woman of aristocratic background, suffering lovesickness when
they were apart and longing to be united with her” (Albert 716).
Chevrefoil
relates the romantic tragedy of Tristan and Isolde. Tristan, a Cornish knight,
is sent to bring Isolde, an Irish princess, back to Cornwall. She is destined
to marry Tristan’s uncle, King Mark. However, as Tristan and Isolde make
the journey back, they fall in love. Isolde still marries King Mark, but she
truly loves Tristan. When King Mark realizes an adulterous affair has taken place,
Tristan is forced into exile. The two lovers share a series of adventures. Eventually, Tristan and Isolde die on the same day (Albert 716).
Although
the basic plot is similar, the story of Tristan and Isolde has many variations. Though
it is a primarily Welsh and Irish tale, it has been influenced by Persian, Classical, French, English, Scandinavian, Dutch,
Spanish, Czech, Italian, and Belarusian societies. The tale has been told numerous
times in many different countries. The versions give the familiar story diversity
and uniqueness each time it is retold. It allows the teller some freedom to make
the story more magical, emotional, heartfelt, and romantic.
The story
of Tristan and Isolde has been an inspiration for many stories, songs, compositions, films, poems, literature, and artwork. Romeo and Juliet and the legends of King
Arthur are very similar to Tristan and Isolde in their theme of courtly love versus true love.
Musical bands have created quite a few songs musically illustrating the entangling story of the lovers. Richard Wagner composed an opera about the admirers. Modern
films have been created based on the underlying theme of Tristan and Isolde. Though
many have written about the affair, Marie de France’s “Chevrefoil” is one of the most well-known.
