Fables / Edition 2

by Harriet Spiegel

Overview

Marie de France, one of the best-known medieval women, is justly famous for her Lais, but her longer work, the Fables, has been newly discovered by modern audiences. This collection of 103 tales is the earliest extant vernacular collection of fables from western Europe.

Marie de France's sources are not clear; she appears to claim a unique source, but that is obviously not true; the first forty tales are part of the Latin tradition, specifically the Romulus Nilantii, but the other sixty-three seem to come from all over: other Greek and Latin works, fabliaux, monks' tales, the Panchatantra, and the folk traditions of Italy, Germany, Greece, France, and the Middle East. Whatever her source, she contributed her own perspective - a wry fatalism, timely social commentary, and a feminine perspective.

Harriet Spiegel's translation follows the original closely; the rhyming couplets not only render the tone and form of Marie de France's text with sympathy and fidelity, but also are particularly apt for the genre and sit squarely in the tradition of the English verse fable.

Originally published by University of Toronto Press, 1987.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780802076366
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	10/26/1994
Series:	MART: The Medieval Academy Reprints for Teaching , #32
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	282
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Harriet Spiegel is a member of the English Department at California State University, Chico.

Editorial Reviews

'This edition/translation is an important contribution to medieval studies... Spiegel provides here a translation which captures admirably the liveliness of Marie's imagination. As a "tribute to [Marie's] spirit" one could not ask for better.'—Nancy Vine Durling, Speculum
'The stories amaze and delight... All in all, a handsomely presented volume...'—R.J. Cormier, Choice

From the Publisher

'This edition/translation is an important contribution to medieval studies ... Spiegel provides here a translation which captures admirably the liveliness of Marie's imagination. As a "tribute to [Marie's] spirit" one could not ask for better.'

Speculum - Nancy Vine Durling

'The stories amaze and delight ... All in all, a handsomely presented volume ...'

Choice - R.J. Cormier