Gilmore-Hunt, Gloria Thomas

Dr. Gilmore-Hunt is the Director of French Studies at Utah Valley University in Orem. She received her Ph.D. in French Language and Literature from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

Tales the Textiles Tell in the lais of Marie De France

2012 0-7734-2597-7
This work is unique in showing that textiles constitute a cohesive secondary signifying system throughout the Lais of Marie de France. There they function as texts-within-a-text. Etymologically, both text and textile derive from weaving. We read these textiles as complete signs that transfer meaning, as symbols whose meaning may or may not be interpreted, or merely as signals highlighting import. The quantity of textile references in Marie’s minimalistic texts emphasizes their potential for meaning. In view of the fact that women were the primary producers of textiles until the late Middle Ages, textiles should be read as a form of feminine text, especially since we presume the Lais’ author to be a woman.