21 h 25 minAudiobook11 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if love costs a knight the honor he rides out to defend?
At Arthur’s court, love and duty rarely pull in the same direction. Erec neglects the deeds that earn his name. Cligès loves Fenice, his uncle’s bride. Yvain faces the cost of a broken promise, while Lancelot follows Queen Guenevere into danger, willing to bear shame for her.
Four Arthurian Romances gathers Chrétien de Troyes’s long poems: Erec and Enide; Cligès; Yvain, or the Knight of the Lion; and Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart. Their world holds hidden forests, sudden duels, and a spring that unleashes a storm. Beneath each adventure lies a question: how can a knight love well and live honorably?
What you’ll discover
- Love against duty Follow Erec and Enide as married love puts a knight’s hard-earned reputation at risk.
- A princess with resolve Meet Fenice, whose refusal to accept her predicament leads her to seek her nurse’s help.
- The enchanted spring Enter Yvain’s forest, where water poured on a stone brings a storm and a defender.
- Loyalty at a cost Discover Lancelot’s devotion to Guenevere, strong enough to carry him through shame and danger.
- The roots of romance Explore chivalry and courtly love through a poet’s playful voice and searching questions.
Who will love it
For readers who love King Arthur, medieval stories, or the roots of the fantasy quest. It suits anyone curious how chivalry and courtly love were first imagined.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Erec wins a bride and a name
- Love makes Erec forget his duty
- Cligès joins Greece and Britain
- Fenice finds a way to be free
- Yvain loses his lady by breaking his word
- Yvain wanders and wins the lion
- Lancelot rides in the cart for the queen
- What the romances are really about
- How Chrétien tells his tales
Who’s who
- ErecA young knight at Arthur's court who wins Enide and then must learn to balance married love with his duty as a fighter.
- EnideThe daughter of a poor nobleman, chosen by Erec for her beauty, who must keep faith with a husband who tests her.
- CligèsA prince of Greek and British descent who loves Fenice, the bride of his own uncle, and seeks a way to win her.
- FeniceA German princess wedded to Alis, who refuses to be an unfaithful wife and plans a clever escape with her nurse.
- YvainA knight of Arthur's court who defends a magic spring, marries its lady, and must repair his honor after failing her.
- LaudineThe lady of the spring, who marries Yvain and sets a firm limit on how long he may be away.
- LancelotA knight devoted to Queen Guenevere, who will bear shame and danger to follow her when she is carried away.
- GuenevereArthur's queen, whose abduction sends the knights of the court in search of her and who holds Lancelot's deepest loyalty.
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- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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Four Arthurian Romances
At Arthur's court, knights ride into tests of love and honor, where a promise can put marriage and duty at stake.
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From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Erec wins a bride and a name
The first romance opens at Arthur's court at Easter, where a hunt for a white stag is planned. Queen Guenevere is left behind with a lady and a young knight, Erec, who is slighted by a rude dwarf. Erec follows the dwarf and his master to a distant town, determined to answer the insult. There he is lent arms by a poor nobleman who lives in a modest house with his daughter, Enide.
A sparrowhawk contest is being held in the town, and the prize is a beauty contest in which the knight's lady must be judged the loveliest. Erec fights for Enide, though she has no fine clothes and no wealth. He defeats the proud knight who had insulted the queen's lady, and sends him to Arthur's court to submit.
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What are the four Arthurian romances by Chrétien de Troyes?
They are Erec and Enide, Cligès, Yvain, or the Knight of the Lion, and Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart. Each is a poem in rhymed couplets, written in French in the later twelfth century.
Is Four Arthurian Romances hard to read?
It reads easily. The tales are built from short adventures, so you can read them one episode at a time.
Who is Lancelot in Chrétien de Troyes?
Lancelot is a knight who loves Queen Guenevere and will accept any shame to serve her. Chrétien is the first writer known to give him this role, and his tale shaped later Arthurian stories.
The author
Chrétien de Troyes
1135–1181 · Medieval French poet
12th century French poet and trouvère.
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