In this dissertation, I explore how the twelfth-century poet Marie de France combines animals and clothing to define and teach noble conduct in her Lais collection. I suggest that the nexus she creates between animals, dress, and virtue is chimeric but consistent, appearing differently in each narrative situation but recurring as a means of demonstrating moral conduct. My chapters explore three of her lais that combine beasts and attire to address the unique way Marie features the animal-clothing combination in each to teach distinctive lessons in virtuous behavior. My chapter on Guigemar argues that Marie uses the magical hind and the exchange of a knotted shirt and a belt to rework Ovidian anti-love themes to teach the value of being tightly bound in loyal love. Chapter 3 analyzes the eponymous knight's removal of his clothing as the mechanism that triggers his appearance as a werewolf in Marie's lai Bisclavret. I show that Bisclavret's werewolf form is like a sartorial skin under which his selfhood remains unaltered rather than a true transformation, and I argue that Marie uses the knight's appearance as a wolf so that the loyalty he demonstrates to his king and his homosocial community becomes voluntary and therefore serves as a model of noble conduct to the reader. Chapter 4 discusses Marie's use of the characters' relationships to animals and dress in her lai Lanval to assert the importance of a feminine contribution to leadership in society.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:unt.edu/info:ark/67531/metadc1833468 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Clark, C. Natalie Massie |
| Contributors | Smith, Nicole Danielle, Upchurch, Robert, 1967-, Vanhoutte, Jacqueline, 1968- |
| Publisher | University of North Texas |
| Source Sets | University of North Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | iv, 182 pages, Text |
| Coverage | 12th century |
| Rights | Public, Clark, C. Natalie Massie, Copyright, Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights Reserved. |
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