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Chrétien de Troyes (flourished 1165–80) was a French poet who is known as the author of five Arthurian romances: Erec; Cligès; Lancelot, ou Le Chevalier à la charrette; Yvain, ou Le Chevalier au lion; and Perceval, ou Le Conte du Graal.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Chrétien de Troyes (Modern French: [kʁetjɛ̃ də tʁwa]; Old French: Crestien de Troies [kresˈtjẽn də ˈtrojəs]; fl. c. 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects such as Gawain, Lancelot, Perceval and the Holy Grail.
Early eleventh-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes composed four tales about the knights of King Arthur’s court: Érec and Énide (written c. 1170), Cligès (c.1176), Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, and Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart (both written from 1177–1181).
Jun 29, 2023 · For it was there that Chrétien was led to write four romances which together form the most complete expression we possess from a single author of the ideals of French chivalry. These romances, written in eight-syllable rhyming couplets, treat respectively of Erec and Enide, Cligés, Yvain, and Lancelot.
Written in the latter half of the twelfth century, the works that compose Chrétien de Troye’s Arthurian Romances—Erec and Enide, Cligés, The Knight of the Cart, The Knight with the Lion, and The Story of the Grail—are invaluable today for functioning as the basis of the Arthurian legends with which contemporary readers are now familiar.
- The Romances & Courtly Love
- Erecand Enide
- Cliges
- Lancelot Or The Knight of The Cart
- Yvain Or The Knight with The Lion
- Perceval Or The Story of The Grail
- Conclusion
Chretien is also credited for developing the medieval tradition known as courtly love, but what precisely courtly love was is still debated. According to some scholars, it was only a literary convention while others claim it was a social game of the medieval French courts and still others that the works were allegories of the heretical religious se...
Chretien's first romance is his Erec and Enide(c. 1170 CE) focusing on Erec, one of Arthur's knights. As the poem begins, Erec is among those guarding Guinevere as she observes a hunt. A strange knight and a dwarf come past and insult the queen who orders Erec to follow him and find out his identity. Erec follows him to a far-off walled town and fi...
Chretien's second work, Cliges (c. 1170's CE) continues this theme as the heroine, Fenice, contrives the means of saving herself and her lover. Cliges is an intricate reworking of the Tristan and Isolde romance in which a young knight falls in love with his uncle's fiancé. The first part of Cliges focuses on Cliges' father, Alexander, a young Greci...
Chretien's Lancelot (c. 1177 CE) is his best-known work and the first Arthurian piece to introduce the now-famous love affair between Lancelot and Arthur's wife Guinevere. Chretien left the manuscript to work on something else (possibly Yvain) and it was completed by his clerk Godefroi de Leigni (12th century CE) who presumably worked with Chretien...
In Yvain(c. 1180 CE), Chretien at first seems to invert the central theme of courtly love poetry – the knight abjectly serving his lady – but that turns out to be the subject all along. Yvain is a young knight of Arthur's court intent on avenging the honor of his cousin Calogreant who was defeated in single combat by Esclados, Knight of the Fountai...
Chretien's Perceval (c. 1190 CE) was left unfinished, most likely due to the author's death. The poem is dedicated to Philip I, Duke of Flanders (r. 1168-1191 CE) who was then Chretien's patron and died in 1191 CE. Four unknown poets continued the Percevalin the sections known as the Four Continuations which are not as high quality as Chretien's wo...
Chretien also wrote a version of Tristan and Isolde, now lost, which he claims was not well received but his extant works were bestsellers in their time. Norris J. Lacy writes: Chretien's poetry only grew in popularity after his death, influencing the works of later Arthurian writers. The German poet Wolfram von Eschenbach (c. 1170 - c. 1220 CE) dr...
- Joshua J. Mark
An Arthurian romance by Chrétien de Troyes written c. 1180 simultaneously with Yvain (Or The Knight of the Lion). Perceval (Or The Story of the Grail) The unfinished fifth Arthurian romance of Chrétien de Troyes. About These Works.
