"Guigemar" is a Breton lai, a type of narrative poem, written by Marie de France during the 12th century.
Like the other lais in the collection, Guigemar is written in the Anglo-Norman language, a dialect of Old French, in rhyming octosyllabic couplets.
In the prologue of this lai, she proclaims two goals for her work: to give rightful praise to people who have earned it, despite what envious rivals may have said; and to present the stories behind certain songs that were well known at the time.
[1] Guigemar, son of a loyal vassal to the King of Brittany, is a courageous and wise knight, who despite his many qualities, has been unable to feel romantic love.
Knowing that Guigemar wears a shirt with a knot that only his true love can untie, and that the lady wears a belt that only her true love can untie, Lord Mériaduc summons her to meet Guigemar, suspecting the two are connected.
Guigemar does not recognize the lady; therefore, to test her identity, he allows her to try to untie the knotted shirt that she had given him years ago.
The mural that decorates the queen's room shows Venus, the goddess of love, throwing Ovid's Remedia Amoris into a fire.
According to French historians Patrick Kernévez and André-Yves Bourgès, the character Guigemar may be based upon Guihomar II, Viscount of Léon.