Here is the poem (the lays) of Marie de France concerning the myth Arthurian. Here is the storytelling version in modern French. The eighth lane is: Laüstic.
I will bring you another adventure whose Bretons made a Lai; they call it in their language Laustic; the French for this reason call it Rossignol, and the Auglois Nihtegale.
In Saint Malo(4), a city renowned in the Brittany , resided two very rich and highly esteemed knights. The goodness of their character was so well known that the name of the town where they lived became famous. One of them had married a wise, kind and spiritual young woman. She only loved adornment; and by the taste she brought to her adjustments, she set the tone for all the ladies of her rank. The other was a bachelor highly esteemed by his colleagues; he was particularly distinguished by his prowess, his courtesy and his great valour; he lived very honourably, received well and gave many presents. The bachelor fell madly in love with the knight's wife; by dint of prayers and supplications and above all because of the praises she heard of them, perhaps also because of the proximity of their home, the lady soon shared the fires which burned her lover.
By the restraint they brought to their affair, no one noticed their intelligence. This was all the easier for the two characters as their dwellings touched each other, and they were only separated by a high wall blackened with decay. From her bedroom window the lady could converse with her friend. They even had the ability to throw at each other what they wanted; the only thing they lacked was not being able to be together, for the lady was closely guarded. When the bachelor was in town, he easily found a way to maintain his love, either by day or by night. Moreover, they could not prevent each other from coming to the crossroads simply to enjoy the pleasure of seeing each other.
They had loved each other for a long time, when during the charming season when the woods and the meadows are covered with greenery, when the trees of the orchards are in bloom, the birds sing the most pleasant songs and celebrate their loves, the two lovers become even more in love than they were. At night, as soon as the moon made its rays visible, and her husband gave himself up to sleep, the lady rose noiselessly, wrapped herself in her cloak, and came and established herself at the window to speak to her friend, whom she knew how to meet there. They spent the night talking together; it was the only pleasure they could procure. The lady got up so often, her absences were so long, that in the end the husband became angry with his wife, and asked her several times angrily what reason she had for doing so and where she was going.
Lord, she said, there is no greater pleasure for me than to hear the nightingale sing; that's why I wake up quietly most nights. I cannot express to you what I feel the moment he comes to make himself heard. Therefore it is impossible for me to be able to close my eyes and sleep. Listening to this speech, the husband laughs with anger and pity. It occurs to him to seize the songbird. He therefore orders his valets to make gear, nets, and then place them in the orchard. There was no tree that was not coated with glue or that did not hide some trap. So the nightingale was soon taken. The valets brought it alive to their master, who was delighted to have it in his possession; he immediately goes to his wife.
Where are you, madam, he said to her, I have to talk to you? Well ! this bird that disturbs your sleep will not interrupt it any more, you can now sleep in peace, because I took it with glue. I leave it to be imagined what was the wrath of the lady on hearing this news; she begs her husband to give her the nightingale. The knight, outraged with jealousy, kills the poor bird, and a very bad thing, he tears off its head and throws its bleeding body on the knees of his wife, whose dress was stained on the breast. He immediately left the apartment. The lady picks up the body of the nightingale, she sheds tears and curses with all her heart the wretches who had made the engines and the lakes. Ah! wretch, what is my misfortune, I will no longer be able to get up at night or go and sit at the window, where I used to see my friend.
I had no doubt, he will no doubt think that I no longer love him; I don't know whom to confide in, and whom to ask for advice. Well! I am going to send the nightingale to him, and inform him of what has just happened. The lady wraps the body of the unfortunate bird in a large piece of taffeta embroidered in gold, on which she had represented and described the adventure. She calls one of her people and sends him to her friend. The valet fulfills his mission, he goes to the knight, greets him on behalf of his mistress, then, giving him the nightingale, he tells him the story of his death. The bachelor, who was very sensitive, was deeply affected to hear this news; he had a small vase made, not of iron or steel, but of fine gold and enriched with precious stones and closed by a lid. He locked up the bird's body, then he sealed the vase he always carried with him.
This adventure, which could not remain ignored for long, was soon spread throughout the country. The Bretons made of it a Lai to which they gave the name of Laustic.
