Hannah Haynes

Hannah Haynes

ENGL 2111/ MW 11:00

3/23/2015

“Finding Love in TheLais”

What is Love?

Love is a mysterious thing. I’m sure it’s been around since the beginning of time itself, but we as humans have given love so many definitions that it can be hard to discern what love truly is. We have even divided love into different categories, because it is believed to be such a broad subject. The Greeks founded six different types of love: Agape, Storge, Philia, Eros, Ludus, Pragma, and Philautia.Also as shown in the academic journal, “What is the Point of Love?” the subject of love is being constantly debated. Carolyn Price, the author, expresses her opinion that “love is based on emotional attitude,” instead of personal relationships. Obviously, love has proved to be a complicated subject to grasp.

Taking a look through history, we also see a huge difference in the way that love has been expressed. Even in recent decades our expression of love has dramatically changed. We would rather shoot a quick “I love you” text than actually spend time with the ones we love. It seems to me that love was better expressed back before everyone became too busy with work, meetings, and appointments. Back during the Middle Ages, before the distractions of technology were made available, there were knights who expressed their love through chivalry, something otherwise known as courtly love.

Courtly love was expressed during the Middle Ages, usually by a knight or some other nobleman, who was“in love with a married woman of equally high birth or often, higher rank.” The knight “had to prove his devotion by heroic deeds and by amorous writings presented anonymously to his beloved” (“Courtly Love”). The fact that knights would stop everything they were doing just to prove their love to someone that was already married shows how much love and happiness meant to them.

Courtly love, chivalry, and knighthood all go hand in hand. Chivalry is basically a code of conduct that most knights in the Middle Ages lived by. Besides showing their romantic side, knights were expected to show courage, honor, and respect to others, especially the weak. This was just another way for knights to express love, and this expression of love can be seen best in “The Lais of Marie de France”.

What is Love’s Effect on Humans?

The Lay of Guigemar

The Lay of Guigemar tells the story of Guigemar, the knight “who loves no lady.” That is, until he is cursed by a magical fallen doe with no hope for relief from his pain, unless “he finds a woman who will suffer as never woman has before and for whom he will suffer as well” (Barban). Then he falls asleep on a magical boat and is carried away to another kingdom, where there isa young queen locked in a tower by her overprotective husband. They eventually fall in love, and Guigemar is exiled to another island. Before they are separated they pledge their love to each other by tying a knot in each other’s clothing, one that only their beloved can unfasten. Eventually, they find their way back to each other, and Guigemar fights to win back his beloved in the end.

This lay exemplifies true love because Guigemar risked everything to prove his love for the young queen. He could have been easily killed by the overprotective husband, and he could have just as easily given up on the queen and reverted back to his old ways. His love for the queen was so strong that he was willing to make a pledge to stay faithful to her, and she did the same for him. Their love for each other affected them both pretty powerfully. I have a feeling that someone observing their relationship from the outside would use the expression “love is blind” to justify the couple’s actions. It’s obvious that most strangers wouldn’t risk their lives or wait so long to be with someone they just met, but love usually has that “risk it all” effect on us humans.

The Lay of Sir Launfal

Sir Launfal is a knight of King Arthur’s infamous Round Table, but on the day of Pentecost Arthur rewards all other knights except for Launfal. After the banquet, Launfal wanders down to a stream to sleep where two maidens summon him to visit their mistress. Launfal finds the mistress to be the most beautiful thing he has ever seen. She promises him her love and all the riches he could ever dream of provided he keep her a secret.

Later, the queen appeals to Sir Launfal for his love, but he refuses her saying, “his love is richer than any other and that the meanest of his love’s maidens excels the queen in goodness and beauty” (Barban). This obviously upsets the queen, and she tells King Arthur about Launfal’s degrading comment. After losing contact with his fair maiden, Launfalia forced to court by Arthur to prove his radical statement toward the queen. In an unexpected turn of events, the fair maiden arrives at the court just in time to save Launfal and ride away with him to a place unknown.

Sir Launfal’s story is very similar to the lay of Guigemar. Both knights fall in love and risk a lot for their loved ones. Launfal was on the brink of execution when his fair maiden showed up and saved the day. Even with the threat of execution looming over his head Launfalnever faltered on his statement about his beloved. He was willing to die for her sake. This selfless act is yet another example of the profound effect that love can have on humans.

The Lay of Bisclavret

Bisclavret, yet another knight, is hiding a secret from his wife. He leaves home three times a week, and she is growing suspicious. After much insistence, Bisclavret finally reveals that he is a werewolf. He also tells his wife that “he hides his clothing in a hollow stone near a chapel and that if he were to lose his clothing he would not be able to return to a man’s shape” (Barban). She later uses this secret against him when she asks another love-struck knight to steal Bisclavret’s clothing.

After Bisclavret “disappears,” his wife marries the love-struck knight. A year later, Bisclavret (the werewolf) bonds with the king of the land while hunting in the woods. The king claims Bisclavret as a pet and carries him back to his kingdom. Bisclavret proves to be a tame and well-behaved pet until his former wife and her new husband visit the king’s court. He reacts viciously by attacking his rival’s throat and biting off his ex-wife’s nose. His punishment ensues, but someone points out that Bisclavret has only attacked this particular man and woman. The king’s curiosity piques, and he decides to question the knight and his wife. The wife eventually confesses, and Bisclavret finally receives his clothing again, turning him back into a man.

The lay of Bisclavret does not exemplify romantic love like the lais of Guigemar and Sir Launfal. Instead, it expresses true brotherly love. The king and Bisclavretshared a strong, unbreakable bond. While in his werewolf form, Bisclavret became the king’s companion, accompanying him on hunting trips and following him around. The king also showed his love towards Bisclavret by discovering his secret and ultimately helping him change back into human form. In the end, Bisclavret did not have a beautiful maiden to ride away with on horseback, but he did achieve a loyal companion who loved him like a brother.

So exactly what is love? And how does it affect humans? As illustrated from “The Lais of Marie de France,” love is selfless yet caring, strong and enduring. After studying the love shown in these lais, I believe that Price’s opinion on love is somewhat flawed. Instead, I found myself leaning towards the opinion of NikoKolodny. He “emphasizes the connection between love and personal relationships” (Price). Each of the knights in these stories obtain personal relationships with the ones they love. The connection between love and personal relationships is seen most clearly in the story of Bisclavret where the king and Bisclavret share a strong brotherly love. The effect of love is also clearly seen because each relationship grows stronger as a result of what was endured.

Love is often referred to as an emotion feeling, but it is so much more than that. It’s a hard thing to describe, but it can be seen in the way that Guigemar fights to find his beloved and the way that Sir Launfal refuses to disclaim his fair maiden’s beauty. It can even be seen by the way the king embraces Bisclavret like a long-lost friend after changing back into the form of a human. Each couple had to grow together in order to achieve such a selfless love, and love that is selfless can endure anything.