Romantic Love In Dante’s Inferno and The Lais of Marie De France

…

…Infidelity, or the perception of such, drives men to violent means in the works of both authors. Francesca and Paolo are slain in a jealous rage, while in Guigemar, the Lord lets emotion from the fear of his wife being unfaithful, rule his actions as well. While the enraged man is treated as victim by Dante and villain by Marie, disdain for adultery remains as one commonality of two widely different perspectives of romantic love.