Lanval (3 of 8)
Publication Date: May 5, 2010
Chapter: English Literature During The Middle Ages
If one takes a purely logical, dispassionate view of "Lanval," only one conclusion can be reached: the fairy mistress is ridiculously horny. She's mind-numbingly beautiful, incredibly wise, ludicrously rich, and impossibly magical. Yet, for all these things, she really, really just wants to get laid.
Which is how we arrive at the beginning Lanval's "adventure." The two sexy maidens stop by and convince Lanval (not that he needed much convincing) to join them at the tent of their mistress. There, the fairy instantly makes her indecent proposal: Lanval can have everything he ever wanted, in addition to boning her on a regular basis, as long as he doesn't tell anyone about her. It's at this point I'm pretty Lanval punched his fist into the air in triumph.
It should be noted at this point that the mistress is a bit creepy by today's standards. She just tells Lanval right off the bat that she loves him deeply. Why, exactly? Well, she doesn't say. I can only assume she's watched him from afar, and possibly ran Google Image searches on the off-chance a picture of Lanval might turn up (like any good stalker would).
This segment of the poem also contains one of the greatest translations I've ever seen. It's almost as good as yesterday's line about the basins:
"She bestowed on him her heart / And her body, every part. / Now Lanval is on easy street! / Whatever his needs are she will meet."
Author: Marie de France • Year: c. 1170 • Info: Wikipedia
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Lit Brick is a comic started by Jodie Troutman in an effort to read the entire Norton Anthology of English Literature. Having eventually succeeded in that goal, it now features comics about all manner of random literature. For more of Jodie's work, visit longtalljodie.com!
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