Who is Marie from The Lais of Marie de France and what is their importance?

Mariea ppears in all the chapters. Marie is the attributed author of the thirteen lays included in the collection. Her role is to present each lay to its courtly audience and provide context for the events described. She acts primarily as the narrator in each lai, but also appears as herself at the beginning and end of each story to introduce the characters and afterwards to provide a moral or historical note.

Marie also appears within the stories at times, making an aside to the audience about an event of special significance, or to emphasize the truth of a plot point, especially if it is one that might seem unbelievable. Originally, these passages addressing the audience directly were written in the same meter and rhyme scheme as the rest of the story and sung along, meshing seamlessly with the rest of the story.

Marie is courtly and formal when she speaks directly, a style suitable to the original audience, which would have been gentlemen and ladies at court. She is not shy, however, about addressing the less seemly aspects of love and romance.