Difference between revisions of "Breton Lay"

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 The term '''Breton Lay''' (or ''Lai'') are most famously related to the works of [[Marie de France]], but appear to be of much older origin. The word ''lai'' probably comes from the [[Gaelic]] word ''laid''. It is speculated that the word ''Breton'' here means [[Celtic]] in general, rather than specifically of [[Brittany]].
+In a [[12th Century]] context, a lai is a short frech poem, in the general format of a love story, often with some element of trajedy.  The lai is a typical venue for early stories of [[courtly love]], but retain elements of the suprenatural and faery from the celtic stories many are drawn from.
+From the [[13th century]] the word lai seems to have shifted meaning, and instead applied to a long narrative poem.
 ==Performance==
@@ Line 17: / Line 21: @@
 Further evidence comes from the ''[[fabliau]] de Richeut'', the ''[[Roman de la rose]]'', the ''[[Roman de Brut]]'' and even from the prologue to the [[Franklin's Tale]] from Chaucer's [[Canterbury Tales]].
-From the [[13th century]] the word lai seems to have shifted meaning, and instead applied to a long narrative poem.
 [[Category:poetry]]

Latest revision as of 02:32, 10 August 2005