Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Acknowledgments ix
4. Note on Texts xi
5. Introduction 1
6. Chapter One. The Word Aventure and the Adventure of Words 25
7. Chapter Two. If Words Could Kill: The Lais and Fatal Speech 51
8. Chapter Three. The Voice in the Tomb of the Lais 83
9. Chapter Four. Beastly Talk: The Fables 111
10. Chapter Five. Changing Places: The Fables and Social Mobility at the Court of Henry II 139
11. Chapter Six. Marie’s Fables and the Rise of the Monarchic State 175
12. Chapter Seven. A Medieval “Best Seller” 206
13. Chapter Eight. Between Fable and Romance 241
14. Chapter Nine. The Anglo-Norman Conquest of Ireland and the Colonization of the Afterlife 267
15. Conclusion 311
16. Notes 321
17. Index 357