Chivalry in Marie de France

A detailed Summary of Chivalry in Marie de France

The chivalric code places an extremely rigorous standard of conduct on anyone who lives by it. To achieve it completely takes almost super-human qualities. One is expected to fiercely protect the honor of his liege, his love, and himself while remaining totally without pride. This is almost impossible; this lifestyle would unquestionably create pride. It is shown in Marie de France's "Lanval" how this code can often create a conflict. Lanval is shown to be the strongest of King Arthur's knights, but he still becomes a victim of this system. He is placed in position where doing one thing which he believes to be demanded by the code actually causes him to go directly against the code. This is a direct result of an unreasonable code which does not consider the basic humanity of its subjects.

The Knight's of the Round Table are supposed to be exemplars of the chivalric code. Part of the code, and the symbolic meaning of the round table, is unity and equality amongst the knights. In "Lanval" all the other knights are portrayed as jealous of Lanval. "His men disliked him too; the lot/Were envious of his handsomeness/His strength, his courage, his largesse(20-23)" It is only natural for these knights to arrive at this jealous

When Lanval is approached by the Queen at the garden party he is forced into a situation where his humanity gets the best of his chivalry. When the Queen first offers herself to him Lanval reacts in the proper knightly fashion. "`Lady` he said `hold me excused/Because your love must be refused/I've served the king for many a day/My faith to him I won't betray(263-266)" His duty to his lord is a valid and noble excuse, but Lanval is unable to resist a shot to his manhood. When the Queen accuses him of homosexuality, his vanity gets the better of him and he defends himself by revealing his love. The pride which was naturally instilled in him by a lifetime of living by the code has caused him to break that very same code.

When Lanval is brought to trial for treason by the Queen's spiteful lies, the only thing that will save him is the appearance of his love. "If the Knight can guarantee/The coming here of his amie/Should it prove true what he has claimed/By which the queen felt so defamed/Of that he'll be judged innocent(449-453)" Lanval is quite sure that his love will not come. Several beautiful women come, and he is sure she is not among them. When his amie does arrive, he is quite surprised. She appears almost as the voice of reason. Her beauty is so luminescent that it is obvious to the court that she surpasses the Queen. Her mere presence immediately frees and cures Lanval, and he jumps on her horse behind her in the saddle. She represents a supernatural figure who is able to forgive Lanval for being unable to fulfill an unreasonable code.

When Lanval is in the midst of this affair he is shown to become even more emblematic of the code. Now that he

Some common words found in the essay are:
Round Table, , King Arthur's, France's Lanval, chivalric code, code code, courtly love, voice reason, lanval unable, lanval love, lanval exemplifies, code actually, revealing love, love knight,

Approximate Word count = 1133
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

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