Tag Archives: Eliduc

A Different Sort of “Happily Ever After”

Posted on by
1

In this class we have learned much about mideval society, honorable knighthood, King-knight relationships and agreements, and courtly love. In almost every lai that we have read in this class the story concludes with the knight overcoming his barrier, and riding off into the sunset with his damsel. However, in Eliduc, the lai’s happy ending is one we have never seen before, devotion to God. From the time we meet Eliduc’s wife, she is a role model character, never demanding his devotion, being concerned about her husband’s sadness, assuming the best of him but not being ignorant, wishing the best for her husband and his new love, knowing to imitate the weasel to revive the girl, and finally: honorably bowing out and leaving the system of the knight/King/courtly world and joining the church.

Then, surprisingly I thought, shortly after their happy marriage Eliduc founds a church, sends his wife away to the convent his wife joined to become a nun, and finally finds “true love”. Could it be that this is the best possible ending to Marie? That the rest of the victorious knights we have read were too nearsighted to see this spiritual possibility? The wife is one of the most noble, respectable characters we have met in Marie and in this way I think that she shows us that devoting oneself to God and finding a holy love was the most honorable thing a person could do in that time.

 

Reputation

Posted on by
1

Reputation, Reputation, Reputation. Reputation is a huge theme in all the medieval Breton Lais it seems. Lanval’s reputation is slighted when he doesn’t receive a gift from his lord King Arthur. Again his reputation is sullied when Guinevere lies and says he tried to sleep with her. We see the importance of reputation in Eliduc, when he has given his word to his wife that he will be faithful. Reputation is huge in Milun because the girl has gotten pregnant without being married. Almost the entire first part of Milun, a love story, focuses on her reputation and the worry she has if anyone finds out about the baby. The love part of the story takes a backseat. In fact love takes a backseat to reputation more often then I would have guessed. Milun and Eliduc are two lais in which this happens so I wanted to explore the agency of reputation in some of the lais we’ve read.

First off reputation in the romantic court is quite possibly the most important aspect of a knight. Every deed, action, adventure a knight does is done for his reputation. The same can be said of the woman in the court; they can’t have their reputations sullied. The society of the time of these lais stress reputation beyond anything. Reputation travels throughout the land. In Eliduc and Milun the love interests hear of Eliduc and Milun before they have ever laid eyes on them. The reputation of the two knights is what draws the knights and woman to each other. I think I can say that the woman fall in love with the knights’ reputation.

Reputation drives the society. The livelihood of the knights is dependent on reputation. When Eliduc’s reputation is slighted by the lies told to the King, he is kicked out of the King’s service and goes over seas to find a lord. The power of reputation to me is above even the power of love. Reputation has a higher relevance than religion or God in these lais. Reputation, Reputation, Reputation.

The Transcendent Power of Love in “Eliduc”

Posted on by
1

What is the significance of the weasel scene in Marie de France’s Eliduc? Eliduc’s complicated love life comes to a head when his wife finds out about his affair with another woman. Surprisingly, her reaction is one of acceptance rather than anger. In fact, she goes so far as to bring his love back to life in an imitation of how the weasel brought his companion to life with the red flower.

It is significant that the weasels exemplify love’s power in this scene—its power to heal or destroy. In resituating its mate, the weasel also embodies the importance of loyalty or fidelity in the relationships between Eliduc and the two women. It is interesting that weasels would be used as the medium to express the ways in which love can overcome potential pettiness or jealousy and even death itself. The weasels’ love is not inferior; the love between the two weasels is analogous to the love between the two humans.

The wife’s reaction (i.e. to imitate their actions rather than dismiss them) shows how love transcends the divide between human and nonhuman. The exhibition of loving traits, even in the bodies of animals, does not alter the meaning of love itself but reaffirms the power of love to transcend body, space, and time. There are certainly different forms of love (and a ‘divine’ love may indeed be more important than an earthly one), but the fact remains: the weasels show how, in at least one respect, animal behavior mirrors its human counterparts.

The weasels may be important in and of themselves but, in renewing life through an act of love, they almost rise above the animal body itself—that kind of power is no respecter of artificial bodily boundaries. In portraying the scene as charming rather than ridiculous, the story illustrates the agency of love and the implied agency of the nonhuman actants as well.

Love over lies

Posted on by
1

Eliduc, Emaré and Milun all depict the idea that those who respect love tell the truth, and that this act can only result in a positive outcome for those involved. With this in mind, the logical step would be to represent lies as something which can only bring about pain and suffering. Instead, the authors of these texts demonstrate that though dishonesty possesses destructive capabilities, it cannot overcome the superior agency of love, and only temporarily hinder its inevitable ascent.

In Emaré, the king’s mother shows a selfish disregard for the principles of love, simply because she gives in to her own internal speculations. She uses her power over the messenger to change the agency of the letters entirely, thus separating the two lovers. The fact that the king, on receiving the deceitfully-written letter, instructs his staff to treat his wife well should show his mother the strength of his love. By replacing the second letter, she shows that she has completely failed to understand love, and though her treachery only delays the happy climax, she is brutally punished for this.

The female protagonist in Milun also mistreats love, albeit in a less vicious way. Her need to actively keep anyone from knowing about her lover and their son, which stems from her initial decision to keep her relationship with Milun secret, results in heartache. Though again, lies only slow down love’s progress, the family must suffer through over twenty years apart from each other, and ultimately risk death, in order to be reunited. This text demonstrates that love, though a powerful actant, must be respected with the truth in order to benefit other actants. Guildeluec portrays this principle perfectly in Eliduc, by using the truth to selflessly calm the fears of her husband’s lover, thus carving out a happy, loving future for them all.

In the assemblages of these tales, love is an incredibly potent force, which at times even explicitly imposes itself on other actants: “Love sent her a message, / commanding her to love him”. So-called ‘blocking characters’ can briefly block love’s path with lies, but the end result is always one of happiness for those who have learned to treasure love.

Love’s Agency in Marie de France’s “Eliduc”

Posted on by
3

For this week’s blog I would like to focus on the agency of love in Eliduc.  The characters of Eliduc and Guilliadun seem kind of helpless to its powers don’t they?  At one point, “love [even] sen[ds] [Guilliadun] a message, / commanding her to love [Eliduc] / that ma[kes] her go pale and sigh” (304-6).  Love has a lot of agency in these lines.  It commands Guilliadun to love Eliduc.  Instead of recognizing herself that she has feelings for Eliduc that respond to his character, she instead attributes it all to love as if she has no part in it whatsoever.  At first, the effects of this love sound pretty terrible:  Guilliadun can’t sleep at night (331-2), her heart is “assaulted” (387), and she is “in grief” (391).  The reader really gets the idea that if love does not get its way here Guilliadun is pretty much doomed and “never in [her] life shall [she] have any joy” (400).

The agency of love is pretty far-reaching because Eliduc feels it too.  He begins to feel distress from the time he sees her (459), and has “no joy or pleasure / except when he th[inks] of her” (460-1).  Though he wants to stay faithful to his wife he literally cannot “keep himself / from loving [Guilliadun]” (467-8).  I would like to take the opportunity here to point out the vibrant materiality of love in this lai.  Not all love is the same here.  The love Eliduc feels for his wife is not the same love that he feels for Guilliadun.  It is almost like it is two different forces just like no two hammers are exactly the same nor do they possess the same agency.

The chapel scene

Then, there is the scene in the chapel with the weasels when an act of love brings the female weasel back to life (1038-53).  Not only is love capable of destruction when it doesn’t get its way, it is also a lifesaver.  It takes many different forms in this lai, but I don’t think that it is one love “thing” that is morphing to suit every character’s needs.  I really imagine a few different “loves” each with their own agency and agenda just like there are different characters in the lai.