Le Lai de Lanval

Le Lai de Lanval by Marie de France was originally published in a 13th-century French manuscript. In Old French, a lai (or lay) is a narrative poem following a metrical and rhymed structure. Some English translations of this poem attempt to replicate these formal features; however, English prose translations of Marie de France are the most popular and arguably the most faithful. This guide cites the prose translation by Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby originally published in 1986, which includes the original French line numbers in brackets.

Lanval is one of Arthur’s knights, and his lai is part of the Arthurian Romance—or medieval chivalric romance—literary genre. As such, its main theme is courtly, or chivalric, love. The poem also explores how King Arthur uses a democratic legal process and investigates the differences between green (undeveloped) spaces and urban spaces.

Poet Biography

Very little is known about the poet called Marie de France. Her 12th-century lais—verse narratives in a style very particular to her—were extremely popular. However, the title “de France” was not assigned to her until the 16th century, long after her death, and her poems are signed only “Marie.