"Guigemar" is a

Breton lai A Breton lai, also known as a narrative lay or simply a lay, is a form of medieval French and English romance literature. Lais are short (typically 600–1000 lines), rhymed tales of love and chivalry, often involving supernatural and fairy-worl ...

, a type of narrative poem, written by

Marie de France Marie de France (fl. 1160 to 1215) was a poet, possibly born in what is now France, who lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at an unknown court, but she and her work were almost certainly known at the royal court o ...

during the 12th century. The poem belongs to the collection known as ''

The Lais of Marie de France The ''lais'' of Marie de France are a series of twelve short narrative Breton lais by the poet Marie de France. They are written in Anglo-Norman and were probably composed in the late 12th century, most likely between 1155-1170. The short, nar ...

''. Like the other lais in the collection, ''Guigemar'' is written in the

Anglo-Norman language Anglo-Norman, also known as Anglo-Norman French ( nrf, Anglo-Normaund) (Standard French, French: ), was a dialect of Old Norman French that was used in Kingdom of England, England and, to a lesser extent, elsewhere in Great Britain and Ireland du ...

, a dialect of

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligi ...

, in rhyming octosyllabic couplets. "Guigemar" is one of the works in which the author explicitly gives her name as "Marie." In the prologue of this lai, she proclaims two goals for her work: to give rightful praise to people who have earned it, despite what envious rivals may have said; and to present the stories behind certain songs that were well-known at the time. It has been suggested that the prologue to "Guigemar" predates the overall prologue to the ''Lais'' in the Harley 978 manuscript, the only manuscript that records all twelve of Marie's known lais.

Plot

Guigemar, son of a loyal vassal to the King of

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period o ...

, is a courageous and wise knight, who despite his many qualities, has been unable to feel

romantic love Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a strong attraction towards another person, and the courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant emotions. The ''Wiley Blackwell Encycl ...

. One day, on a hunting expedition, he mortally wounds a white hind, but he is injured as well. Before dying, the hind speaks to him, leaving a curse that his wound can only be healed by a woman who will suffer for love of him, and he will suffer as much for her. Guigemar wanders through the forest until he finds a river and a lavishly decorated boat with no crew. He boards it and lies down in pain. When he gets back up, he realises that the boat has left port and that he is unable to control where it takes him. The boat takes him to a land where the lord has imprisoned his lady out of jealousy. The lady is permitted to see only two other people: a maiden who has become her confidante, and an elderly priest. The only part of her prison that is not walled off is a garden, surrounded by the sea. The magical boat carrying Guigemar docks near the garden. The lady and her maiden tend to the knight's wound and shelter him within their gilded cage. Guigemar and the lady fall in love almost immediately, but they are each uncertain if their feelings are mutual. The knight confides his feelings to the maiden, who arranges a secret meeting with her lady. Once the lady is convinced of the sincerity of Guigemar's motives, they consummate their love. Their year and a half of bliss is ended when the lord's chamberlain discovers them together. The lord forces Guigemar to return to his own country. As signs of their fidelity to one another, the lady ties a knot in his shirt that only she can untie without tearing or cutting, and he gives her a belt tied with a knot that only he can untie. Guigemar is hailed as a hero in his own country, but he can only think of his distant love. Meanwhile, the lord imprisons his lady within a marble tower. After two years of captivity, she has become very depressed out of her longing for Guigemar. She manages to escape the tower and considers drowning herself in the nearby sea. She then spots the same mysterious ship that had carried Guigemar long ago, and she decides to board it. The ship brings her to Brittany, where she is taken captive by the Lord Mériaduc. He falls madly in love with her and tries to rape her, but the knot in the belt prevents his attempt. Later on, Lord Mériaduc holds a jousting tournament, which Guigemar attends. Knowing that Guigemar wears a shirt with a knot that only his true love can untie, and that the lady wears a belt that only her true love can untie, Lord Mériaduc summons her to meet Guigemar, suspecting the two are connected. Guigemar does not recognize the lady; therefore, to test her identity, he allows her to try to untie the knotted shirt that she had given him years ago. Although she succeeds, Guigemar still refuses to accept her identity until she reveals the knotted belt. She then tells him of her sorrowful journey. Mériaduc attempts to keep the lady under his control, but Guigemar lays siege to his lands. Many people die on both sides of the conflict, but finally Guigemar prevails.

Allusions and influence

The mural that decorates the queen's room shows

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never f ...

, the goddess of love, throwing

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the ...

's ''

Remedia Amoris ''Remedia Amoris'' (''Love's Remedy'' or ''The Cure for Love'') . 2 ADis an 814-line poem in Latin by Roman poet Ovid. In this companion poem to '' The Art of Love'', Ovid offers advice and strategies to avoid being hurt by love feelings, or to ...

'' into a fire. This work by the Roman poet

counsels readers how to avoid being swept away by love. According to French historians Patrick Kernévez and André-Yves Bourgès, the character Guigemar may be based upon Guihomar II, Viscount of Léon. The

chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalr ...

'' Generides'' shows influence of this work, and indeed the scenes between the lovers appear to show deliberate imitiation.Laura A. Hibbard, ''Medieval Romance in England'' p234 New York Burt Franklin,1963

References

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Plot

Allusions and influence

See also

References

Further reading