Marie de France

E56226

12th-century writer Anglo-Norman poet French-language poet female writer medieval poet

Marie de France was a 12th-century poet, considered one of the earliest known female writers in French, renowned for her lais and other narrative works in the Anglo-Norman literary tradition.

Aliases (1)

Lais of Marie de France ×1

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	12th-century writer → Anglo-Norman poet → French-language poet → female writer → medieval poet →
activePeriod	12th century →
associatedWith	Henry II of England (court milieu) → Plantagenet court →
countryOfActivity	Kingdom of England →
culturalContext	Anglo-Norman literature →
genre	courtly literature → fable → hagiography → lai → narrative poetry →
hasWorkCount	12 lais (traditionally attributed) → over 100 fables (traditionally attributed) →
influenced	Arthurian romance tradition → later medieval French narrative poetry →
isKnownFor	adapting Aesopic fables into Anglo-Norman French → being one of the earliest known female writers in French → composing narrative lais →
languageOfWorkOrName	Anglo-Norman French → Old French →
legacy	central figure in the study of medieval French literature → important early voice in women’s literary history →
literaryForm	short narrative verse tales →
movement	courtly literature movement →
name	Marie de France →
notableWork	Espurgatoire Seint Patriz → Fables → La Vie seinte Audree → Lais of Marie de France →
regionOfOrigin	France (probable) →
scholarlyDebate	identity possibly linked to various historical Maries but unconfirmed →
selfIdentification	describes herself as "Marie" and "from France" in her prologues →
sourceOfInspiration	Aesop’s fables → Breton oral tales → classical and Christian moral traditions →
theme	chivalry → courtly love → loyalty and betrayal → moral instruction → supernatural and fairy elements →
uncertainDetail	exact dates of birth and death unknown → exact identity unknown →
writingForm	octosyllabic rhyming couplets →

Referenced by (3)

Subject (surface form when different)	Predicate
Anglo-Norman →	hasNotableAuthor
Marie de France →	name
Marie de France ("Lais of Marie de France") →	notableWork