Fal Publications - Book list

Knights of Love - after the Lais of Marie de France by Jane Tozer

... Those old bards of long ago
Who made these rhymes and set them free
Were singing to posterity
For people they would never see.

In the late 12th century, a lady called Marie remembered the tales she had heard in her youth, as they were performed by Breton strolling players, the jongleurs. Wishing to preserve these beguiling romances, she retold them in elegant verse. Marie is the earliest known woman poet in the French language, and one of the great writers of her age. Her ironic insights into human nature are still fresh today.

These tales are set in Brittany, Wales, Cornwall and Normandy. Their tone varies from high tragedy to low comedy, from youthful longing to mellow age. As they travel through life's adventures, Marie's knights, villains, buffoons, shape-shifters and resourceful heroines are animated with real character. The jewel of the collection is a brief encounter between Tristan and Iseult.

Knights of Love, the first poet's version of the Lais to appear in English, is written in a vivacious modern style, using supple rhyming couplets. Jane Tozer's prize-winning translation recreates the spirit that would have captivated the original audiences and readers. This is a book for pleasure, returning Marie's verse tales to the general reader, the listener and the storyteller.

Jane Tozer has breathed new life into the lean bodies of these wonderful medieval poems. Each of her translations is a revelation and a delectable treat...
Kevin Crossley-Holland, poet & author of the celebrated Arthur Trilogy.

Jane Tozer achieves a playful balance between her own distinctly modern voice and the mediaeval courtly tradition of Marie.
Hugh Lupton, master storyteller.

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