Like the other lais in the collection, "Les Deux Amants" is written in Old French, in rhyming octosyllabic couplets.
The story takes place in Normandy, in a great city called Pitre, built by a King.
Rumours around the court of his inappropriateness provoke him to devise a plan; to offer his daughter for marriage, and yet make the success of any suitor impossible.
The Princess refuses, not wanting to upset her father, but also notes that the boy is not strong enough to pass the King's test.
The King is dismayed at the weakness of the youth, but nonetheless sends out word for his subjects to witness the event.