Bisclavret

Marie de France (fl 1160 to 1215) was a poet born in France who lived in England during the late 12th century. She was well known at the Plantagenet royal court of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and she is believed to have been an abbess of a monastery. Her poems or 'Lais' are believed to have been written some time between 1160 and 1175 drawing upon Breton and Arthurian myths and legends. It is written in a form of Old French known as 'Anglo-Norman', which came from 'Old Norman', part of the 'Langues d'oïl' dialect continuum of Gallo-Romance languages. Old French is the result of a gradual separation from Vulgar Latin and Common Romance, coming into contact with influences from Gaulish (Continental Celtic), and Frankish (Germanic). The text is presented in the original Old French, with a literal word-for-word line-by-line translation, and a Modern English translation, all side-by-side. In this way, it is possible to see and feel how Old French worked and how it has evolved. Also included is a word list with 1,318 Old French words translated in to English, and 1,271 English words translated into Old French. This book is designed to be of use and interest to anyone with a passion for the Old French language, French history, or languages and history in general.