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4.0 out of 5 stars
Eight Breton Lays in Middle English,
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This review is from: Breton Lays in Middle English (Paperback)
Lays are popular tales designed to be heard rather than read by an often uneducated audience - thus they contain ample excitement and action and move quickly from scene to scene. Contained in this volume are Eight Middle English Lays from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries supposedly from Breton extraction. The Breton lays were form in Twelfth-Century France and Norman England and grew out of the oral tradition. The contents are as follows: Sir Launfal (Thomas Chestre), Sir Degaré, Lay le Freine, Emaré, The Erle of Tolous, Sir Gowther, Kyng Orfew, and The Franklin's Tale (Geoffrey Chaucer).The brief plot outlines of the eight are as follows: Sir Launfal deals with the adventures of King Arthur's steward including his participation in tournaments and his relationship with Queen Guenevere. Sir Degaré concerns the sexual advances of the King of Brittany to his daughter - the king fights for his daughter's honor against her suitors. The Lay le Freine focuses on a girl abandoned by birth and raised in a convent who becomes the lover of a wealthy noble. Emaré concerns an girl accosted by her own father - she runs away and marries a prince of a far off land. While her husband is away she is accused of a crime. The Erle of Tolous concerns another woman who is accused of a adulterous liaisons in order to discredit her so that the accusers raise in status in court. Sir Gowther concerns the dilemma of the paternity of the hero. Kyng Orfew retells the story of Orpheus. The final story, The Franklin's Tale is the tale of the knight Arveragus and a young lady named Dorigen who fall in love. Thomas C. Rumble's edition is affordable and well annotated with notes on difficult Middle English passages. Rumble's introduction traces the lineage of the 'lai' and the origin of these lays of 'Breton' extraction. He also describes the influences of these courtly romances and their amazing growth in the environment of Queen Eleanor's court. This sketch of the origin and development of medieval romances lays the background. Sadly Thomas C. Rumble provides no discussion of the individual lays - either their individual textual traditions, literary devices, etc. This is a major downside to the volume. However, for its price this is a solid buy containing some fascinating courtly tales from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
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