Four Arthurian Romances

About the book

Erec and Enide, Cligés, Yvain, and Lancelot occupy the four romances gathered here in English prose. Arthur's court provides a point of departure for journeys in which combats, promises, unfamiliar customs, and demanding attachments repeatedly test what a knight believes he owes to others. Achievement in public does not necessarily produce security in love, and devotion can place a hero at odds with ordinary expectations of reputation or conduct. Chrétien gives these tensions different narrative forms, ranging from the strain within a marriage to the consequences of a broken promise and the humiliation accepted for love. Marvels and adventures belong to an exacting social world. The collection lets readers compare several ways that romance makes an inward uncertainty visible through action, delay, and encounter.

• Chivalry
• Love and obligation
• Reputation

Why read it

For four distinct adventures that expose the conflicting demands hidden inside apparently simple ideals of knightly conduct.

Four romances · English prose translation