Love and Marriage in Medieval Courtly Romance
How Social Convention Creates Female Passive Roles in Lai le Freine
A major theme for the courtly romances of the twelfth century was a person’s acknowledgement of, and the battle for the freedom to achieve, their own fulfilment. It is evident, however, that women here struggle against all the odds for this independence, frequently finding themselves forced into a passive role within society because they have to comply with man-made rules. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the treatment of love and marriage in the courtly romances.
Medieval Codes for Love and Marriage in Romance Fiction
Marriage appears as the most important factor of the romance genre, regardless of who is married to whom, and even Marie de France’s active heroine in Lai le Freine does not escape this. Arranged marriages were usually settled very early on in a woman’s life and court records indicate that marriages did occur when the female was just a baby or a young girl. Freine herself is only twelve when Gurun decides her loves her and shortly afterwards takes her as his mistress.
Female passivity often involves financial practicalities and the patriarchal governing of women’s finances. Medieval romances tended to be rather misogynistic due to this male concern, illustrated well in Lai le Freine. Freine is victimised by society. She has already been rejected by her mother and is also abandoned by the man she loves, albeit under the duress of his barons. Gurun, however, would never consider marrying Freine in her present state anyway, as marriage was designed to give the male political, military and financial advantages.
Freine can help Gurun with none of these. Therefore, it is convenient for Gurun to marry Le Codre, daughter of a wealthy nobleman, in order to secure a large dowry and for noble issue to be conceived. Neither the abandoned woman nor the prospective wife are considered in this arrangement and are both equally passive members of the situation.
It is only the recognition of the brocaded cloth which Freine’s mother had given her before she was exposed, and which Freine lays over Gurun’s and Le Codre’s marriage bed, that proves Freine the daughter of a wealthy nobleman also. Without this discovery, Freine would have been powerless otherwise to keep Gudrun for herself.
Marriage and a Neat Ending to Medieval Romance Literature
Freine is compelled to marry Gudrun instead of remaining his concubine: her love is not enough for him. In order to secure legal heirs he must be married to her. This in turn means that all her wealth passes over to his control as he is the patriarchal figure. Any chance Freine has of independence through financial gain in lost upon entering into marriage. It is also evident that Freine herself falls for the advantages of obtaining economic stability. Gurun tells her to come away with him, not because he loves her, but because he is rich and has power which she may not find anywhere else.
The importance of marriage to tie up loose ends is evident in Le Codre’s marriage to an unnamed wealthy man in recompense for the annulled marriage to Gurun. Although there is no evidence to show she is unhappy in this situation, neither is there evidence to prove that she has been considered in the arrangement. She is just whipped away and married. This speedy devise reinforces the possibility that she is used by both the author and the characters just to create a neat ending.
It is evident, therefore, that the medieval female protagonist cannot escape the confines of society, even with a female author at the helm. The medieval code is too male-dominated for a female character to break free and become active in her own right. How lucky we are that characters in modern-day romance literature, while striving for the same kinds of love and contentment in life, are more empowered than the heroines of centuries ago. Long may it continue!
Marriage - integral to passive medieval females
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