Chrétien (de Troyes)

Chretien de Troyes

A twelfth-century poem by the creator of the Arthurian romance describes the courageous exploits and triumphs of a brave lord who tries to win back his deserted wife's love

Yvain

Filled with romantic tales of Lancelot and early Grail legends, this exacting translation of de Troyes' verse narratives written in the 12th century features four romances that expound on the ideals of French chivalry.

Arthurian Romances

Chrétien de Troyes' Four Arthurian Romances continued and expanded on existing Arthurian legends, but began the Arthurian Romance genre, so popular in Medieval literature. His tales often diverge from Arthur himself, focussing instead on the characters of his court. Chretien introduced Sir Lancelot and also the Holy Grail to the Arthurian legends. He is considered the first major French novelist.

Four Arthurian Romances

A compendium of four most remarkable romances about the legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, and associated figures of the Arthurian mythos. This compendium consists of the tales of EREC ET ENIDE, CLIGES, YVAIN, and LANCELOT.

W. W. Comfort

Originally written in rhyming eight-syllable couplets, these epic poems date from the twelfth century and served as the original inspiration of what became the Arthurian Cycles-the legends of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table, Courtly Love and popular Medieval imagery and life. Erec and Enide tells the story of Erec, who serves as part of Queen Guinevere's retinue, his quest for the hand of princess Enide, and his struggle for honor on the battlefield, and finally their crowning as King and Queen of Nantes. Cligès tells the story of the knight Cligès, the prince regent of Constantinople and also second cousin to King Arthur. While Cligès is growing up in Britain, Constantinople is ruled by his uncle Alis. Upon his return to that city, Cligès falls in love with Alis's wife, Fenice-who, by means of a magic potion, has never consummated her marriage. The drama which ensues is a whirlwind of deception, but ultimate victory for courtly love. Yvain, the Knight with the Lion, tells the famous story of the knight whose loyal servant is a lion he rescues from a servant-and whose strength in battle saves his life more than once in battle with natural and supernatural foes. Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart, tells of the love affair between Queen Guinevere and Lancelot, after he rescues her from abduction by Meleagant, the son of Bademagu. It tells of Lancelot's struggles to rescue the queen and of the battle to balance his duties of loyalty to Arthur and his personal love for Guinevere. Chrétien de Troyes's works played a major role in helping to shape Arthurian romance-but also, due to his detailed descriptions of everyday court life, provided a fascinating window into early Medieval ruling class lifestyles.

Erec Et Enide, Cliges, Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart

The Arthurian Romances "Erec et Enide," "Cliges," "Yvain," and "Lancelot" Chretien de Troyes Translated by W.W. Comfort COMPLETE Table of Contents Introduction Erec et Enide Cliges Yvain Lancelot Chretien De Troyes has had the peculiar fortune of becoming the best known of the old French poets to students of mediaeval literature, and of remaining practically unknown to any one else. The acquaintance of students with the work of Chretien has been made possible in academic circles by the admirable critical editions of his romances undertaken and carried to completion during the past thirty years by Professor Wendelin Foerster of Bonn. At the same time the want of public familiarity with Chretien's work is due to the almost complete lack of translations of his romances into the modern tongues. The man who, so far as we know, first recounted the romantic adventures of Arthur's knights, Gawain. Yvain, Erec, Lancelot, and Perceval, has been forgotten; whereas posterity has been kinder to his debtors, Wolfram yon Eschenbach, Malory, Lord Tennyson, and Richard Wagner. The present volume has grown out of the desire to place these romances of adventure before the reader of English in a prose version based directly upon the oldest form in which they exist.

Erec Et Enide - Cliges - Yvain - Lancelot

The Arthurian Romances

The twelfth-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes is a major figure in European literature. His courtly romances fathered the Arthurian tradition and influenced countless other poets in England as well as on the continent. Yet because of the difficulty of capturing his swift-moving style in translation, English-speaking audiences are largely unfamiliar with the pleasures of reading his poems. Now, for the first time, an experienced translator of medieval verse who is himself a poet provides a translation of Chrétien’s major poem, Yvain, in verse that fully and satisfyingly captures the movement, the sense, and the spirit of the Old French original. Yvain is a courtly romance with a moral tenor; it is ironic and sometimes bawdy; the poetry is crisp and vivid. In addition, the psychological and the socio-historical perceptions of the poem are of profound literary and historical importance, for it evokes the emotions and the values of a flourishing, vibrant medieval past.

Chretien de Troyes

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