"Equitan" 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-w ...

, 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 ...

sometime in the 12th century. The poem belongs to what is collectively 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, narra ...

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

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

, a

dialect The term dialect (from Latin , , from the Ancient Greek word , 'discourse', from , 'through' and , 'I speak') can refer to either of two distinctly different types of Linguistics, linguistic phenomena: One usage refers to a variety (linguisti ...

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 intelligib ...

, in rhyming octosyllabic couplets. In this 320 line poem, the author cautions that those who plot to harm another person may find only their own misfortune.

Plot summary

Equitan, the king of Nantes, falls in love with the beautiful wife of his

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

. The king agonises between his feelings for her and his loyalty towards the seneschal. When Equitan declares his sentiments for her, she is incredulous because of the difference in rank between them. He convinces her that his feelings are genuine and he would be willing to be her servant. The couple begins their affair. As the affair progresses, Equitan's advisors pressure him to marry. One day, the seneschal's wife tearily asks the king if she will one day be set aside in favour of another, more highly-born woman who can become his wife. The king tells her that she is his only love, and that he would marry her if not for her husband. The wife suggests the idea of killing the seneschal by preparing a bath of boiling water. Her idea is that the king and her husband will take a bath, and then the king will claim that the seneschal mysteriously died while bathing. Later on, the king and the seneschal go on a hunting trip. They stay in a lodge where there are two bathtubs side by side in the bedroom. When the seneschal goes out to fetch something, the king and the woman prepare their trap, then they have intercourse. The seneschal returns to the lodge and finds the bedroom door locked. He bangs on the door so persistently that the door bursts open, showing the couple in each other's arms. The king, ashamed by his nakedness, tries to hide himself and runs straight into the tub of boiling water. The seneschal, angered by his wife's infidelity, tosses her into the tub as well, and the unfaithful couple are scalded to death.

Themes

The purpose of Equitan seems to be didactic. Marie summarizes the lesson of the lay, "Whoever wants to hear some sound advice/ can profit from this example:/ he who plans evil for another/ may have that evil rebound back on him" (lines 307-310). The tub of boiling water becomes a symbol, according to scholars Hanning and Ferrante, "of the trickster tricked, and of the immoderate lover fatally burned by his ungoverned passion" (Marie de France 69). The love described is irresponsible because the lovers give in to passion while knowing the negative consequences, it is unbalanced, and it prevents the king from having a legitimate heir, a cause of social insecurity. It is inappropriate because it causes the king to break the bond of loyalty to his seneschal and the wife to break marriage vows with her husband without good reason.

External links

Equitan text in Old French

English verse translation by Judith P. Shoaf, in PDF format
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060902094018/http://www.english.ufl.edu/exemplaria/marie/equitan.pdf , date=2006-09-02 French poems Lais of Marie de France

Plot summary

Themes

See also

External links