Clothing And Fairies In Lanval By Marie De France

People's lives are sculpted by their everyday surroundings, their family and friends, where they live, and even the food that they eat. Every time period has different beliefs, clothing, and governing bodies that give hints as to what the culture would have been like during that time. In the poem "Lanval," Marie De France writes about these differences. Culture is not just the surroundings people live in; it is truly what makes them who they are and what they do in life.
The clothing people wore in medieval times was an example of the culture that they lived in. The clothing style and color defined a person's social and economical statues. Clothing made of dark colors such as red or dark purple, showed that he or she was wealthy and of a …show more content…
One of those is the belief in fairies. The fairies that they believed in were very different than ones people think of today. When watching movies, reading books and even reciting folk stories around campfires, fairies are depicted as small winged sprites that throw pixie dust around to make everything cheerful and happy. Then there is the small big-hearted elves that make toys for Santa to deliver to every good boy and girl on Christmas. The fairies that people believed in during medieval times were a far cry from the fairies of today. They were not small happy sprites or helpful little elves. No, they were "of human or more than human size" described by author K.M. Briggs in "The English Fairies". In the poem "Lanval" two beautiful girls approached Lanval declaring that their queen, Semiramis, sent for him. This shows that the fairies looked like everyone else so it was hard to distinguish between real humans and fairies. Because fairies looked like everyone else, Lanval was tricked into believing the fairy queen was a real women. He fell into her trap and therefore, did everything she told him to