SOURCE: "Chivalry and Prowess in the Lais of Marie de France," in French Studies, Vol. XXXVII, No. 2, April, 1983, pp. 129-42.

In the following essay, Burgess observes that most of the characters in Marie's Lais belong to the upper classes, and thus issues of loyalty, service, and expertise in battle and hunting predominate.

The world of Marie de France's Lais is fundamentally one of chevaliers and their ladies. There are 126 examples of the term cheval(i)er in the twelve poems and only seven of vassal, five of which occur in "Lanval." Almost all the male characters whose attitudes and activities Marie clearly supports are described as chevaliers: Guigemar and his father, the seneschal in "Equitan," Gurun in "Le Fresne," Bisclavret, Lanval, Muldumarec and his son Yonec, the lover in "Laüstic," Milun and his son, the four lovers in "Chaitivel," and Eliduc. A notable exception is the lover...