Laustic - Marie de France
Laustic, which means nightingale, was a short lai unlike the other lais we have been reading by Marie de France. There lived two knights in castles right next door from each other. One of them was married, while the other was in love with his neighbors wife. In order to communicate with his lover, they would talk through their windows late at night.
"At the window of her bedroom suite the lady would stand, and, oh! how sweet! talking thence with her loving friend on the other side."
How unfortunate is it that they loved each other and could only communicate through a window through their castles that was separated by a stone wall? Well, it got even worse when her husband asked her why she would always stand by the window during the night. She explained to him that she would listen to the nightingale sing so beautifully at night that she couldn't sleep. Her husband was angered and sent his servants out to catch the nightingale at night, hoping it would make it easier for his lover to sleep.
"'Lady, where are you? Speak some word to us! Look! I caught this bird--Come here, now! See how my lime glue got him! This nightingale kept you awake so often, night-long, when you should sleep in peace. Well,, never again!' The lady listened to her master hurt and angrey at this disaster. Could she have the bird? If her lord willed it? In a fit of temper her lord killed it. With both hands the neck he broke (a vile deed, worthy of churlish folk!) And at the lady he threw the body, getting her chemise all bloody a little, in front, on the breast."
His wife was so upset. She set out to her servants to bring this laustic to his lover next door. She wrapped the nightingale nicely in gold and sent it off with her servants. The servants delivered it to her lover. The knight did not getting angry, as I was expecting. Instead, he had someone make a lid for the bird, out of gold, and he carried it with him wherever he went.
Laustic was a very absurd and strange lai that I truly did not understand too much. It was short and sweet and to the point - which I thought was much different from the rest of Marie de France's lais that we have read so far.