The Inctricacies of the Court and Lanval's Desire to Escape Grace Myers

The Intricacies of the Court and Lanval's Desire to Escape

In the Anglo- Norman lay Lanval, an eloquent and intricate account of the Arthurian courts, Marie de France develops an array of issues that include the hypocrisies and virtues of the court, the desire for escape, as well sex and gender. In this essay, I will investigate these topics by comparing the Queen, the fairy Princess and Gawain as they are examples of both the contemptible and noble qualities of the court system. I will also investigate the theme of escapism and how Lanval's status as an 'outsider' from the courts causes him to desire to escape his situation of courtly abjection. These investigations will further my understanding of Marie's views of the court system. Finally, by pursuing the issues of sex and gender, this essay will explore the lay's fascinating portrayal of the role of women as active agents in the Arthurian courts. This series of investigations will lead to the conclusion that the events and occurrences are completely the imaginings of Lanval himself. His psychological exile results from his estrangement from reality. Marie's own escapist fantasy; however, has been effectively manipulated to make for presentable...