Marie de France
Marie de France
1101 — 1300
royaume de France
An Anglo-Norman poet of the 12th century, Marie de France is the first known woman writer in the French language. She is celebrated for her Lais, her Fables, and her Saint Patrick's Purgatory.
Key Facts
- Active around 1160–1215 at the English court, probably under Henry II Plantagenet
- Author of the Lais, a collection of 12 narrative poems inspired by Celtic Breton traditions
- Translator of Aesop's Fables into the vernacular (around 1180)
- The first known woman to have written in the French language (langue d'oïl)
- Her exact identity remains debated by historians; several theories of identification have been proposed
Works & Achievements
A collection of twelve short narrative poems in octosyllabic verse, inspired by oral Breton traditions. Masterpieces of courtly literature, they explore impossible loves, transformations, and enchanted worlds.
A collection of 102 fables adapted from Aesopic sources via an English version, dedicated to a 'Count William.' It is the first collection of fables in the French language, and would directly influence Jean de La Fontaine.
A verse translation into French of the Tractatus de Purgatorio Sancti Patricii by the monk Henry of Saltrey. This journey into the afterlife reveals Marie's religious and scholarly interests beyond courtly poetry.
One of the most celebrated of the Lais, following a knight of Arthur's court who is loved by a fairy. The text is widely studied for its veiled critique of the Arthurian court and its portrayal of supernatural femininity.
The story of a knight transformed into a werewolf and betrayed by his wife. This lai explores themes of marital betrayal and the duality of human nature, blending a sense of wonder with genuine tragedy.
Anecdotes
Marie de France is the first identified woman of letters to write in the French language. She signs her works with a celebrated phrase: "Marie ai nun, si sui de France" ("My name is Marie, and I am from France"), reflecting a remarkable sense of authorial identity for a woman of the 12th century.
Her Lais are dedicated to a "noble king," whom historians generally identify as Henry II Plantagenet, King of England. This dedication suggests that Marie moved in the learned circles of the Angevin court, one of the most brilliant cultural centers in medieval Europe.
Marie de France translated and adapted Aesop's fables, which she claimed to have drawn from an English version attributed to King Alfred the Great. In doing so, she built a bridge between ancient tradition, Anglo-Saxon culture, and vernacular literature, embodying the rich cultural exchanges of her era.
The true identity of Marie de France remains a historical mystery. Several theories have been proposed: abbess of Shaftesbury, lady of the court, or even half-sister of Henry II. This uncertainty reflects the difficulty medieval women faced in leaving a trace in official records, even when they were famous during their own lifetimes.
In the Lai de Laustic, Marie tells the story of a lady who has a nightingale — killed by her jealous husband — placed in a golden casket. This poetic image of the imprisoned nightingale is often interpreted as a metaphor for forbidden love and female literary creation under constraint.
Primary Sources
"My name is Marie, and I am from France. It may be that many clerks will take my work upon themselves. I do not wish that anyone should claim it as their own."
"Whoever has received from God the gift of knowledge and the power of eloquent speech must not keep silent or conceal it, but should willingly make it known."
"At the end of this writing, which I have composed and set down in the vernacular, I will name myself for remembrance: my name is Marie, and I am from France."
"Marie had the book of the Purgatory translated into the vernacular, so that it might be accessible to laypeople who do not know Latin."
Key Places
Marie de France dedicates her Lais to a 'noble king' identified as Henry II. His court, which traveled between England and Anjou, was a major cultural hub where scholars, poets, and clerics mingled.
Marie describes herself as coming 'from France,' which may refer to Normandy or the Île-de-France. The Anglo-Norman culture she came from grew out of this geographic and linguistic in-between world.
One scholarly theory identifies Marie de France with Marie, abbess of Shaftesbury and half-sister of Henry II. This Benedictine monastery was a center of culture and learning for noblewomen in the 12th century.
Brittany is the legendary birthplace of the Breton lais that Marie rendered into French. She sets the action of most of her stories in this mysterious region associated with King Arthur and the fairies.
A major religious and intellectual center of medieval England, Canterbury was a crossroads of cultural exchange through which the Latin texts that Marie de France translated and adapted would circulate.
Gallery
Louise-Marie de France, previously wrongly called Madame Sophie de France
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — François-Hubert Drouais
Fredou after Drouais - Louise-Marie of France - Versailles MV 2183
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Jean-Martial Frédou / After François-Hubert Drouais
Drouais - Portrait of lady, oval
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — François-Hubert Drouais
"Presumed portrait of Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans"label QS:Len,""Presumed portrait of Marie Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans""
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Pierre Gobert
"A head study of Queen Henriette-Maria of France (1609-1669)"
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Circle of Frans Pourbus the Younger
Marie de France - Poésies, éd. Roquefort, I, 1820
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Marie de France
Marie de France 1
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Richard of Verdun
Marie de France detail from BNF Arsenal MS 3142 f 256
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Richard of Verdun
Notice des peintures et sculptures : placees dans les appartements et dans les jardins du Palais de Saint-Cloud
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Saint-Cloud (France). Palais
Explication des ouvrages de peinture et dessins, sculpture, architecture et gravure, des artistes vivans
Wikimedia Commons, Public domain — Société des artistes français. Salon Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture (France) Salon (Exhibition : Paris