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The Crown of Love
"The story originates from the 12th-century Anglo-Norman lai by Marie de France, titled *Les Deux Amants* ("The Two Lovers"), which later inspired George Meredith’s 1859 poem and John Everett Millais's painting. In Normandy, a powerful king rules over the region of Pitres. Following the death of his beloved wife, the king focuses all his affection on his daughter, a young woman admired across the land for her grace and beauty. Unwilling to part with her, the king resists every noble suitor who seeks her hand. When his subjects begin to criticize his reluctance, the king announces a challenge: any man may marry the princess, provided he can carry her in his arms up the long, extraordinarily steep mountain overlooking the Seine Valley—without stopping, resting, or setting her down for a single moment. A young, gentle squire serving in the king’s court—the son of a local count—falls deeply in love with the princess, and she returns his love in secret. Knowing he is not strong enough to carry her to the summit, he initially despairs. The princess, eager to ensure his success, advises him to travel to Salerno, Italy, to visit her aunt, a skilled practitioner of medicine and alchemy. The youth journeys south, and the aunt prepares a powerful potion for him—a magical potion that instantly restores vital energy and strength upon drinking. As they reach the upper, steeper half of the peak, his breath grows labored and his legs begin to tremble. Distressed, the princess pleads with him to pause and drink the potion: "My love, drink! It will restore your strength!" But, driven by intense passion, pride, and the fear that stopping even for a second to drink would forfeit his effort or taint his triumph, the youth refuses. He pushes onward, shouting that he can reach the top on his own strength. With a final, agonizing surge of energy, the youth steps onto the flat plateau at the very summit of the mountain. He places the princess down gently upon the grass, declaring his victory. The moment his burden is lifted, his heart gives out from total physical exhaustion. He collapses onto the earth at her feet, dead. Overcome with grief, the princess throws herself beside him, weeping and kissing his hands. Realizing he is gone, she dies of a broken heart upon his chest, shattering the vial of potion against the rocks. When the king and his court reach the peak, they find the two lovers lying dead together. Filled with sorrow and remorse, the king orders them buried side-by-side in a marble tomb on the exact spot where they fell. The mountain where the tragedy took place was renamed La Côte des Deux Amants ("The Hill of the Two Lovers"), a name it retains in Normandy to this day."
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"Mountain Stream, Glen Derry, Aberdeenshire, 'Like time the restless waters rush along' "1873, by John Wright Oakes.
