| Original title | French: La Mule sans frein or French: La Demoiselle à la mule |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Païen de Maisières |
| Language | Old French |
| Date | late 12th or early 13th century |
| Genre | Chivalric romance |
| Verse form | Octosyllable couplets |
| Length | 1,136 lines |
| Subject | Arthurian legend |
La Mule sans frein (English: The Mule Without a Bridle) or La Demoiselle à la mule (English: The Damsel with the Mule) is a short romance dating from the late 12th century or early 13th century. It comprises 1,136 lines in octosyllabic couplets,[1][2] written in Old French. Its author names himself as Païen de Maisières, but critics disagree as to whether this was his real name or a pseudonym. La Mule is an Arthurian romance relating the adventures, first of Sir Kay, then of Sir Gawain, in attempting to restore to its rightful owner a stolen bridle. It is notable for its early use of the "beheading game" theme, which later reappeared in the Middle English romance Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. It is sometimes seen as a skit or burlesque on earlier romances, especially those of Chrétien de Troyes,[3][4] but it has also been suggested that it might have been written by Chrétien himself.