Lais · Chapter
The Lay of the Nightingale explained
Two knights live as neighbors in Saint Malo; one is married to a beautiful lady, the other is a bachelor.
What happens
Two knights live as neighbors in Saint Malo; one is married to a beautiful lady, the other is a bachelor. The bachelor falls in love with the lady, and she returns his affection. They communicate from their windows and at night, the lady rises to see him, claiming she listens to the nightingale. The jealous husband traps and kills the nightingale, throwing its bloody body at her. The lady sends the dead bird to her lover, who enshrines it in a precious coffer. The story becomes a Breton lay.
Themes in this chapter
Jealousy and Possessiveness
The husband's jealousy drives him to trap and kill the nightingale, symbolizing his attempt to control his wife's affections.
Courtly Love and Suffering
The lovers' secret communication and the lady's grief over the nightingale's death exemplify the suffering inherent in courtly love.
Characters to notice
- Marie de France
Narrator of the lay, introducing the tale as a Breton harper's song.
Key passages
“There is no dearer joy in this world, than to hear the nightingale sing. It is to hearken to the song that rises so sweetly on the night, that I lean forth from the casement.”
The lady claims she cannot sleep because she loves listening to the nightingale's song at night.
The lady uses the nightingale as an excuse to meet her lover at the window.
“Here is the nightingale, all limed and taken, who made vigil of your sleeping hours. Take now your rest in peace, for he will never disturb you more.”
The husband presents the captured nightingale to his wife, mocking her excuse.
The husband's cruel triumph reveals his suspicion and malice.
“She prayed her lord to grant her the nightingale for a gift. But for all answer he wrung his neck with both hands so fiercely that the head was torn from the body.”
The lady asks for the bird, but the husband kills it violently.
The husband's brutal act symbolizes his possessiveness and rage.