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Breton Lais
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-world Celtic motifs. The word "lay" or "lai" is thought to be derived from the Old High German and/or Old Middle German ''leich'', which means play, melody, or song, or as suggested by Jack Zipes in ''The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales'', the Irish word ''laid'' (song).Zipes, 62 Zipes writes that Arthurian legends may have been brought from Wales, Cornwall and Ireland to Brittany; on the continent the songs were performed in various places by harpists, minstrels, storytellers.Zipes, Jack, ''The Oxford Companion to Fairytales''. Oxford UP. 2009 62-63 Zipes reports the earliest recorded lay is Robert Biker's Lai du Cor, dating to the mid- to late-12th century. The earliest of the Breton lais to survive is probably ''The Lais of Marie de Fra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
:Category:Anonymous Lais
{{Cat main, Breton lai This category contains Old French lais that are not attributed. For lais attributed to Marie de France, see the category 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, narra .... Lais Lais (poetic form) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Erl Of Toulouse
The ''Erl of Toulouse'' (also known as ''The Romance of Dyoclicyane'') is a Middle English chivalric romance centered on an innocent persecuted wife. It claims to be a translation of a French lai, but the original lai is lost. It is thought to date from the late 14th century, and survives in four manuscripts of the 15th and 16th centuries. The ''Erl of Toulouse'' is written in a north-east Midlands dialect of Middle English. Synopsis The Queen of Almayne is left in the care of two knights, who woo her. When she rejects them, they introduce a youth into her room, kill him in the presence of witnesses, and accuse her of adultery. A champion saves her from death; then her husband learns that he is his old enemy, the earl of Toulouse. Sources Historically, Bernard I, Count of Toulouse, son of the Guillaume d'Orange of the Carolingian romances, and the empress Judith, second wife of Louis the Pious, were indeed charged with adultery and purged themselves by an oath and an off ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Emaré
''Emaré'' is a Middle English Breton lai, a form of mediaeval romance poem, told in 1035 lines. The author of ''Emaré'' is unknown and it exists in only one manuscript, Cotton Caligula A. ii, which contains ten metrical narratives. ''Emaré'' seems to date from the late fourteenth century, possibly written in the North East Midlands. The iambic pattern is rather rough.Emaré: Introduction', Edited by Anne Laskaya and Eve Salisbury, Originally Published in The Middle English Breton Lays, Kalamazoo, Michigan: Medieval Institute Publications, 1995 It tells a version of the popular "Constance-saga". Plot summary The text begins with a standard invocation to Christ, but one of uncommon length; it may be the longest one in English romance. We are then told of Sir Artyus, an Emperor. His wife gives birth to a beautiful baby girl but dies shortly afterwards. The daughter, Emaré, is sent to live with a lady named Abro who raises her and teaches her manners and sewing. Some years late ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Gowther
''Sir Gowther'' is a relatively short Middle English tail-rhyme romance in twelve-line stanzas, found in two manuscripts, each dating to the mid- or late-fifteenth century. The poem tells a story that has been variously defined as a secular hagiography, a Breton lai and a romance, and perhaps "complies to a variety of possibilities." An adaptation of the story of Robert the Devil, the story follows the fortunes of Sir Gowther from birth to death, from his childhood as the son of a fiend, his wicked early life, through contrition and a penance imposed by the Pope involving him in a lowly and humiliating position in society, and to his eventual rise, via divine miracles, as a martial hero and ultimately to virtual canonization. But despite this saintly end, "like many other lays and romances, ''Sir Gowther'' derives much of its inspiration from a rich and vastly underappreciated folk tradition." Manuscripts The story of Sir Gowther is found in two manuscripts: British Library Royal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Degaré
''Sir Degaré'' is a Middle English romance of around 1,100 verse lines, probably composed early in the fourteenth century. The poem is often categorised as a Breton lai because it is partly set in Brittany, involves an imagined Breton royal family, and contains supernatural elements similar to those found in some other examples, such as ''Sir Orfeo''. ''Sir Degaré'' itself does not explicitly claim to be a Breton lai. The poem is anonymous, and no extant source has ever firmly been identified. Witnesses ''Sir Degaré'' survives in four medieval manuscript copies ranging in date from around 1330 (in the Auchinleck Manuscript) to the later fifteenth century (Bodleian Library, MS Rawlinson F.34). A fifth manuscript was copied in 1564 from an early printed version, and a sixth manuscript copy survives in the Percy Folio, from around the middle of the seventeenth century. The romance found some sustained popularity in early print, being printed in 1512–13 by Wynkyn de Worde, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Orfeo
''Sir Orfeo'' is an anonymous Middle English Breton lai dating from the late 13th or early 14th century. It retells the story of Orpheus as a king who rescues his wife from the fairy king. The folk song ''Orfeo'' (Roud 136, Child 19) is based on this poem. History and manuscripts ''Sir Orfeo'' was probably written in the late 13th or early 14th century in the Westminster-Middlesex area. It is preserved in three manuscripts: the oldest, Advocates 19.2.1, known as the Auchinleck MS. is dated about 1330; Harley 3810 is from about the beginning of the fifteenth century; and Ashmole 61 was compiled over the course of several years, the portion of the MS. containing ''Sir Orfeo'' dating around 1488. The beginning of the poem describes itself as a Breton lai and says it is derived from a no longer extant text, the ''Lai d'Orphey''. The story contains a mixture of the Greek myth of Orpheus with Celtic mythology and folklore concerning fairies, introduced into English via the Old ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barfleur
Barfleur () is a commune and fishing village in Manche, Normandy, northwestern France. History During the Middle Ages, Barfleur was one of the chief ports of embarkation for England. * 1066: A large medallion fixed to a rock in the harbour marks the Normans' departure from Barfleur before the battle of Hastings. * 1120: The , carrying the sole legitimate heir to Henry I of England, William Adelin, went down outside the harbour, setting the stage for the period of civil war in England known as the Anarchy. * 1194: Richard I of England departed from Barfleur on return to England following his captivity by Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor. * 1692: Action at Barfleur, part of the battles of Barfleur and La Hogue * 1944: Barfleur was occupied by the Germans during WWII. As allied forces approached following the D-Day invasion, the German commander evacuated the city prior to any confrontation to ensure that it would not be damaged, as he liked the city so much. Demographics Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William I Of England
William I; ang, WillelmI (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), usually known as William the Conqueror and sometimes William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England, reigning from 1066 until his death in 1087. A descendant of Rollo, he was Duke of Normandy from 1035 onward. By 1060, following a long struggle to establish his throne, his hold on Normandy was secure. In 1066, following the death of Edward the Confessor, William invaded England, leading an army of Normans to victory over the Anglo-Saxon forces of Harold Godwinson at the Battle of Hastings, and suppressed subsequent English revolts in what has become known as the Norman Conquest. The rest of his life was marked by struggles to consolidate his hold over England and his continental lands, and by difficulties with his eldest son, Robert Curthose. William was the son of the unmarried Duke Robert I of Normandy and his mistress Herleva. His illegitimate status and his youth caused s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
