Medieval Beginnings: The Lais of Marie de France
<p>If a Middle Ages full of castles, jousts, hawking, illicit love affairs and playful singing in the meadows is what you’re looking for, then look no further than the Lais of Marie de France. These 12th century love stories, written in Anglo-Norman by a writer who was unusually keen to make her name known, describe noble stories of passion, devotion, betrayal, self-sacrifice and magical transformations played out in enchanted woodlands and richly-draped chambers.</p><p>Irina and Mary discuss Marie’s various portrayals of love,&nbsp;her luscious powers of description, and the frequent deployment of animals in her stories to expose and resolve human problems.</p><p>This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full and to our other <em>Close Readings</em> series, sign up here:</p><p>Directly in Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://apple.co/3pJoFPq" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://apple.co/3pJoFPq</a></p><p>In other podcast apps: <a href="https://lrb.me/mbsignuppod" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">lrb.me/closereadings</a></p><p>Irina Dumitrescu is Professor of English Medieval Studies at the University of Bonn and Mary Wellesley as a historian and author of <em>Hidden Hands: The Lives of Manuscripts and their Makers.</em></p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>
Audio is streamed directly from the publisher (podtrac.com) as published in their RSS feed. Play Podcasts does not host this file. Rights-holders can request removal through the copyright & takedown page.
Show Notes
If a Middle Ages full of castles, jousts, hawking, illicit love affairs and playful singing in the meadows is what you’re looking for, then look no further than the Lais of Marie de France. These 12th century love stories, written in Anglo-Norman by a writer who was unusually keen to make her name known, describe noble stories of passion, devotion, betrayal, self-sacrifice and magical transformations played out in enchanted woodlands and richly-draped chambers.
Irina and Mary discuss Marie’s various portrayals of love, her luscious powers of description, and the frequent deployment of animals in her stories to expose and resolve human problems.
This is an extract from the episode. To listen in full and to our other Close Readings series, sign up here:
Directly in Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/3pJoFPq
In other podcast apps: lrb.me/closereadings
Irina Dumitrescu is Professor of English Medieval Studies at the University of Bonn and Mary Wellesley as a historian and author of Hidden Hands: The Lives of Manuscripts and their Makers.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.