Marie De France’s ‘Lanval’ – The Corruption within the Royal Court System of Medieval Europe The 1100’s in Europe, more commonly known as Medieval Europe saw a period of time where the ruler of a nation; usually being the King, had the ‘Divine Right’ to rule and command their kingdom. This divine right created a culture devised much like a pyramid consisting of two classes. The top of the pyramid was dominated by the King and Queen with the remainder of the Noble Class immediately below. The Noble Class consists of Kings, Queens, Knights and Noble Courtiers. The bottom of the pyramid then consists of the lower class, these would be subjects such as Maids, Servants and Peasants, those who serve those in the Noble Class. Marie De France’s ‘Lanval’ …show more content…
Within traditional tales of King Arthur and Guinevere, the character of Guinevere is depicted as someone we would consider as readers to be of a positive personality and good person. However, within this tale it would appear that Marie De France has taken the traditional character and changed the perspective. The position of Guinevere’s character remains the same being queen, but the key difference is the personality of the Guinevere that Marie De France has chosen to display. The personality displayed comes across as both assertive and flirtatious. The author shows this in the following quote to the main character Lanval. ‘Lanval, I have shown you much honour, I have cherished you, and loved you. You may have all my love; just tell me your desire. I promise you my affection. You should be very happy with me.’ (Pg. 1037, Lines 263 – 268). This character change highlights the corruption of the upper class by the assertiveness used within the speech. Guinevere is displaying behaviour that is not only opposite to traditional character, but behaviour that can be seen as displaying a certain level of arrogance, assuming that Lanval would simply comply to her wishes because of the simple fact that she is Queen. According to ‘Corruption at Court? Crisis and the theme of Luxuria in England and France c. 1340 – 1422’ in order for those of …show more content…
The tale of ‘Lanval’ has depicted the traditional expectations of a Royal Court system, especially towards the monarchs the King and Queen. While the tale has strayed away from the traditional expectations of the King and Queens character; traditional expectations being the King and Queens positons are of ‘divine beauty’. ‘Lanval’ has portrayed a more realistic view of what being in the Royal Courts involved. Marie De France has created a story that reflects the expectations of Medieval European subjects when in the presence of the top monarchs, it also depicts some of the strong injustices of this time found within not only in the 1100’s but also in today’s