There is magic in love. Love gives the power and the will to people who did not realize they were missing a piece of their heart. Love is what Marie de France writes about in all of her lias. She claims that most of her stories actually happened, but how much of them are true is unknown. Marie de Francs work is truly unique because it is first of its kind, stories written in a woman’s perspective. Among the love she writes about, there are other magical qualities that make the stories are to believe.
The first story in Marie de Frances collection is called Guigmar. The man with a wife and children, and great respect but he was not satisfied. He went out hunting on day and ran across and enchanted fawn. He was wounded when he attempted to kill the fawn, but she transformed into a woman who set a curse upon him. He was cursed until a woman fell in love with him, and he love would then heal his wound. He was ashamed of being injured so he fled to a ship which was enchanted and took him to new land with a lady miserable in her life. Once they met, they fell in love, but he had to leave her. He was miserable when he came back to his life, but before he did so he tied a belt around her waist no man but he could untie, and she tied his coat into a knot no women would be able to untie. She was so miserable when he left, her love for him so deep, that she found a way off her island, and sailed the sea in a similar enchanted boat to find her love. Once they were reunited nothing could stand in their way. A love like that is truly magical, but a magical boat doesn’t hurt when it comes to reuniting with eachother.
Equitan is a similar lais in regard to the all-consuming love two people feel. The story differs, however, in the ending. Guigmar had a happy ending, as all good love stories should have one, this story does not end happy. A lesson is be learned, though. A king fell in love with a woman who belonged to someone else. They had a love affair that blossomed. They wanted to live happily ever after so they concocted a plan to kill her husband, make it look like an accident, and they would be free to love each other afterwards. The plan did not go according to plan because the husband found them setting up the scene for his untimely death, which was a tub of boiling water that would boil the husband. The king fell in the water, the women following him, killing them both. The lesson is infidelity and betrayal have its consequences.
Bisclaveret is another tale of betrayal. This is a story of a man who was cursed to turn into a wolf three days a week. His wife becomes concerned he is being unfaithful and approaches him about his absence. When he told her of what happens, she becomes scared. She betrays him by revealing his secrete and betraying him by stealing his clothing which makes his remain a wolf. The wife elicits the help of man who has proclaimed his love to her to help her plan of betrayal. When Bisclaverat is betrayed he remains a wolf. A local lord is riding by hunting when he comes across the wolf. The wolf does not attack, however, and the lord keeps him. The wolf remains faithful to the lord and harms no on in his court. One day when the man who betrayed him shows up to court the wolf attacks. The lord finds this odd and takes the measure to figure out what is going on. After he finds out the truth, the wolf attacks his wife. He trusted his wife but when she betrays him, he cannot forgive her. Being a wolf creates a burden that is difficult to bear but love should be able to withstand any hardship. Love is pure magic and it can overwhelm anyone. Love can lead to betrayal, but it has the power to give strength to those who need it most.
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