The Lais of Marie de France

Late 1100s (probably 1170s or 1180s), this translation from 1986
Marie de France
The Lais of Marie de France
$9.95
Decent condition 
C+

Sort of an odd book to start with, since not much is known about the author or the text.  A lai is a short story-poem, but this translation puts the twelve lais into prose.  Compared to some medieval works, this is pretty accessible, since it's simple courtly romances.  Marie has a conversational style, which can be cute, like when she swears a story really happened, but can get a bit annoying when she recaps the plot in a seven-page story.  Also, some of the details are a bit ridiculous-- the woman who carries around her lover's sword for twenty years until the day she can pass it on to their lovechild, or the weasel who knows of a plant that brings weasels and people back to life-- and I don't know how I'm supposed to take this.  As parody?  As folktale?  Still, should I keep and someday reread this book?  Sure.