The Lais of Marie de France

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The Lais of Marie de France are a series of twelve short narrative poems in Anglo-Norman, generally focused on glorifying the concepts of courtly love through the adventures of their main characters. Little is known of their author, Marie, but she is said to be born in France, which is how she is known, and lived in England when the lais were written in the late 12th century.

Marie de France's lais, told in octosyllabic verse, are notable for their celebration of love, individuality of character, and vividness of description – hallmarks of the emerging literature of the times.

Five different manuscripts contain one or more of the lais, but only one – Harley 978, a thirteenth century manuscript housed in the British Library – preserves all twelve. That collection also includes a 56-line prologue in which Marie describes the impetus for her composition of the lais.

Two of Marie's lais – Lanval, a very popular work that was adapted several times over the years (including the Middle English Sir Launfal), and Chevrefoil (The Honeysuckle), a short composition about Tristan and Iseult – mention King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Marie's lais were precursors to later works on the subject, and Marie was probably a contemporary of Chrétien de Troyes, another writer of Arthurian tales.