Eliduc

Brittain 1 Ellis Brittain Ms. Hancock ENGL 2310 December 7, 2011 Eliduc

In the last part of the twelfth century a lai was written about a man who had two wives. Marie De France named this retold poem “Eliduc.” The poem tells the story of a knight who constantly battles with his views of right and wrong. Eliduc lived the life of a proud knight and a nobleman and he proved how inherently weak the will of even the strongest man was. Eliduc was tested and proved his prowess in battle and chivalry. De France showed us the weaker side of Eliduc’s personality too. Eliduc’s morals, and values; the side that ran away form his problems in Brittany, the side that fell for a young princess, Guilliandun, and the side that returned to his wife, Guildeluec, only to return to his other love in Exeter were all failures to adhere to the values and morals he espoused. As with most love stories, this one is no different and the characters end up getting hurt emotionally. One of the repeating themes in this story is the chivalrous knight who ends up hurting the very same people he says he loves. The story begins when Eliduc fell victim to other people’s envy in the court of the King of Brittany. Subsequently, Eliduc lost the favor the King of Brittany and put himself into a self-imposed exile. On returning to his home he told his friends that he had decided to leave Brittany and travel to England to amuse himself. Instead of acting like a strong knight, Eliduc decided to give up seeking a hearing with the King to clear his

Brittain 2 name. The knight didn’t fight for his honor, he simply gave up. Ending the fight when he knew he was right Once in Exeter, Eliduc proves his worth as a tactician and a soldier. He also proves how weak he is by falling for the young daughter of the King of Exeter. The victorious knight fell for the princess’s beauty and was soon in love with her. In 1978 Deborah Nelson wrote that, even though their love was not physical, “The absence of physical...