Marie de France ("Mary of France") is a medieval poet who was probably born in France and lived in England during the late 12th century.
She lives and writes at an undisclosed court, but is almost certainly at least known about at the royal court of King Henry II of England.
Virtually nothing is known of her life; both her given name and its geographical specification come from her manuscripts, though one contemporary reference to her work and popularity remains.
Marie de France writes a form of Anglo-Norman French, and is evidently proficient in Latin and English as well.
She is the author of the Lais of Marie de France.
She translates Aesop's Fables from Middle English into Anglo-Norman French and writes Espurgatoire seint Partiz, Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick, based upon a Latin text.
Recently she has been (tentatively) identified as the author of a saint's life, The Life of Saint Audrey.
Her Lais in particular were and still are widely read, and influenced the subsequent development of the romance genre.