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Romances Arthuriennes
Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion (Petits Classiques Larousse Texte Integral t. 28)
D'aventure en aventure, le chevalier Yvain combat les créatures du mal et délivre les demoiselles en détresse. Pour reconquérir Laudine, sa dame, il est prêt à toutes les prouesses. Chrétien de Troyes signe là l'un des plus grands romans de chevalerie du XIIe siècle.
142 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1176
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About the author
Chrétien de Troyes
259 books182 followersChrétien de Troyes, commonly regarded as the father of Arthurian romance and a key figure in Western literature, composed in French in the latter part of the twelfth century. Virtually nothing is known of his life. Possibly a native of Troyes, he enjoyed patronage there from the Countess Marie of Champagne before dedicating his last romance to Count Philip of Flanders, perhaps about 1182. His poetry is marked by a learning and a taste for dialectic acquired in Latin schools; but at the same time it reveals a warm human sympathy which breathes life into characters and situations. Whilst much of his matter is inherited from the world of Celtic myth and the events notionally unfold in the timeless reign of King Arthur, the society and customs are those of Chrétien's own day. In his last, unfinished work, Perceval, the mysterious Grail makes its first appearance in literature.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 309 reviews
January 20, 2018
In the 12th century, Chrétien de Troyes wrote this story happening during the reign of King Arthur in the 6th century. A simple, but great adventure which I liked from the beginning:
"In the past, King Arthur’s disciples were numerous and knew how to behave with honor, courtesy and generosity. This is no longer the case today. There are many who, wrongly, pretend to love while they don’t feel the slightest feeling. It’s very unfortunate to overwork Love and to make fun of it. "
Each century has its writers who regret the past centuries ... and I am part of them, just as Theophile Gautier (French poet and author from the 19th century) regretted the charming little marquises of the 18th century! And Chrétien de Troyes writes: "The courtesy of a dead person is worthier of interest than the vulgarity of a living one. "
Have we ever read more biting replies?
"When the knight Keu denigrates another knight of the court, the queen says to him:
You are odious and disrespectful.
And Keu answers:
Madam, if your presence among us is not a blessing, at least make sure it’s not a nuisance!
Then Colegrant speaks:
We cannot prevent the manure from stinking and Keu from being odious! "
Personally, I love this frankness! 😊
And can we refrain from thinking of Rabelais when de Troyes describes this character more than picturesque:
"A big head, tousled hair, ears big and hairy like those of an elephant, thick eyebrows, flattened face, owl’s eyes, a cat's nose, mouth slit like that of a wolf, sharp and yellow boar's teeth, a red beard, the chin directly welded to the bust, a long, curved and hunched spine. "
Who can’t feel that the author has feasted to write this description!
Besides, Chrétien de Troyes is full of humour. Listen to what the knight answers to the previous character who asks him who he is:
"I am an errant knight in search of what I cannot find. I searched a lot, but in vain. "
There is parody here, or my name is not Gabrielle Dubois!
But de Troyes also writes some truths:
"It is not the one who gives the first shot that triggers the fight, but the one who replies. "
And he also knows how to talk about love:
"Injury of love is more durable than a spear blow. " (I’m not sure at all about my English, here…!
And then, from time to time, there are small morals, precursor of Jean de Lafontaine: "Like all the preachers who are only liars and preach a moral they don’t practice, I offer you advices that I would be unable to follow."
It reminds us that if costumes change, men remain the same.
Finally, isn’t there in Yvain, the Knight with the Lion all the ingredients of a good story, if not a tale? Proud knights, beautiful ladies, cracked skulls from which the blood drips in waves, horses sliced in half by iron gates like guillotines, battles between knight and giant where the comparisons between the flesh of men and the meat of the butcher is at the same time bloody and comical: blood-red humor! There are also humans looking like animals, rings giving the power of invisibility, and spells. But can someone tell me what did Tolkien invent? 😉
And if men are knights, brave or coward, women, who don’t have the leisure to go to war, have more time to make their minds work. The way Lady Laudine and her maid Lunette (who leads the game) lead the whole court to their idea is worthy of the greatest minds.
What more can I tell you? Even death is picturesque in this story: "A lord, having had a dispute with death, was compelled to succumb. "
So, open your heart and your ears at once, for the wind is quick to carry away the words you only hear. And what will you hear in this book? That a great question is asked: who is the most devastating among men : love or war? Then, tell around you about these knights, for, as Chrétien de Troyes writes so maliciously, "what’s the point to perform feats if we don’t make them know? " "what’s the point to perform feats if they are not known? "
"In the past, King Arthur’s disciples were numerous and knew how to behave with honor, courtesy and generosity. This is no longer the case today. There are many who, wrongly, pretend to love while they don’t feel the slightest feeling. It’s very unfortunate to overwork Love and to make fun of it. "
Each century has its writers who regret the past centuries ... and I am part of them, just as Theophile Gautier (French poet and author from the 19th century) regretted the charming little marquises of the 18th century! And Chrétien de Troyes writes: "The courtesy of a dead person is worthier of interest than the vulgarity of a living one. "
Have we ever read more biting replies?
"When the knight Keu denigrates another knight of the court, the queen says to him:
You are odious and disrespectful.
And Keu answers:
Madam, if your presence among us is not a blessing, at least make sure it’s not a nuisance!
Then Colegrant speaks:
We cannot prevent the manure from stinking and Keu from being odious! "
Personally, I love this frankness! 😊
And can we refrain from thinking of Rabelais when de Troyes describes this character more than picturesque:
"A big head, tousled hair, ears big and hairy like those of an elephant, thick eyebrows, flattened face, owl’s eyes, a cat's nose, mouth slit like that of a wolf, sharp and yellow boar's teeth, a red beard, the chin directly welded to the bust, a long, curved and hunched spine. "
Who can’t feel that the author has feasted to write this description!
Besides, Chrétien de Troyes is full of humour. Listen to what the knight answers to the previous character who asks him who he is:
"I am an errant knight in search of what I cannot find. I searched a lot, but in vain. "
There is parody here, or my name is not Gabrielle Dubois!
But de Troyes also writes some truths:
"It is not the one who gives the first shot that triggers the fight, but the one who replies. "
And he also knows how to talk about love:
"Injury of love is more durable than a spear blow. " (I’m not sure at all about my English, here…!
And then, from time to time, there are small morals, precursor of Jean de Lafontaine: "Like all the preachers who are only liars and preach a moral they don’t practice, I offer you advices that I would be unable to follow."
It reminds us that if costumes change, men remain the same.
Finally, isn’t there in Yvain, the Knight with the Lion all the ingredients of a good story, if not a tale? Proud knights, beautiful ladies, cracked skulls from which the blood drips in waves, horses sliced in half by iron gates like guillotines, battles between knight and giant where the comparisons between the flesh of men and the meat of the butcher is at the same time bloody and comical: blood-red humor! There are also humans looking like animals, rings giving the power of invisibility, and spells. But can someone tell me what did Tolkien invent? 😉
And if men are knights, brave or coward, women, who don’t have the leisure to go to war, have more time to make their minds work. The way Lady Laudine and her maid Lunette (who leads the game) lead the whole court to their idea is worthy of the greatest minds.
What more can I tell you? Even death is picturesque in this story: "A lord, having had a dispute with death, was compelled to succumb. "
So, open your heart and your ears at once, for the wind is quick to carry away the words you only hear. And what will you hear in this book? That a great question is asked: who is the most devastating among men : love or war? Then, tell around you about these knights, for, as Chrétien de Troyes writes so maliciously, "what’s the point to perform feats if we don’t make them know? " "what’s the point to perform feats if they are not known? "
February 7, 2019
The great thing about classics like this one is that we’ve gained this great reverence for them, maybe just by virtue of how old and enduring they are, but so often if you actually take the time to read them you find they’re quite entertaining. To people in Chrétien de Troyes’ time, the idea of studying “low entertainment” like this would’ve been absurd—and yet I’m writing an essay on this very book for my Western Classics in Translation class.
When you get past the pretence that capital-C Classics are complicated books for big-brained lit majors, there’s a lot of fun to be had. Like Yvain, in which our titular knight really just manufactures his own problems and then laments them. He kills a giant, adopts a lion, and fights a bunch of people but for seemingly no other reason than that it’s something to do. And there’s this side plot about Love and the pain of losing it and whatever but the only reason Yvain’s lover broke up with him is because he couldn’t bring himself to stop jousting all the goddamn time. It’s fun and it’s dumb and I love that I was so apprehensive about reading a twelfth century French chivalric romance only for it to turn out to be little more than a rollicking bedtime story.
When you get past the pretence that capital-C Classics are complicated books for big-brained lit majors, there’s a lot of fun to be had. Like Yvain, in which our titular knight really just manufactures his own problems and then laments them. He kills a giant, adopts a lion, and fights a bunch of people but for seemingly no other reason than that it’s something to do. And there’s this side plot about Love and the pain of losing it and whatever but the only reason Yvain’s lover broke up with him is because he couldn’t bring himself to stop jousting all the goddamn time. It’s fun and it’s dumb and I love that I was so apprehensive about reading a twelfth century French chivalric romance only for it to turn out to be little more than a rollicking bedtime story.
December 2, 2017
I loved this translation nearly as much as I love the original text. Cline has a great ear for rhyme and rhythm, captures the breathless excitement of Yvain’s battle with Sir Esclados perfectly.
Read
July 23, 2022think this woulda been more fun if he gave the lion a name. Like crusty or Rex or pippin or sommat idk
February 11, 2019
Things this medieval romance made me want to do: befriend a lion who then follows me around like a loyal dog; unknowingly battle my BKBF (Best Knight Bro Forever) until the sun sets and we have to stop fighting and ONLY THEN realize that it's my BKBF and not some random knight; and, of course, go feral and live in the woods thanks to my wife breaking my heart because I broke a promise to her
October 18, 2012
Avant que la Renaissance trouve son âge d’or dans l’Antiquité, ce qui sera qualifié de bas Moyen-Âge le trouvera dans les légendes arthuriennes du haut Moyen-Âge et c’est à partir de ces légendes que seront élaborés les premiers romans par Chrétien de Troyes à la fin du XIIe siècle.
Cette invention du roman s’est faite par le coup de génie de ce traducteur virtuose qui ne s’est pas contenté de traduire quelques légendes en sa langue, mais les a transposées dans un tout autre esprit qui exigeait un tout nouveau genre d’écriture où l’on ne se contente pas de « rêves, de fables ni de mensonges ». (31) Évidemment, cela n’empêchera en rien son auteur de mettre en scène un paysan qui « avait bien dix-sept pieds de hauteur » (34), un anneau qui rend invisible (51) ou un lion en Bretagne...
Sur un autre plan, dans ce roman, les personnages suivent leur destin qui les conditionne absolument, laissant le champ libre à la naïve poésie pleine de charme qui accompagne tout le récit. On en trouve le plus joli exemple lorsque « Amour…attaque Yvain doucement en le frappant au cœur par les yeux », elle lui inflige alors une plus profonde blessure qu’un coup d’épée, qui « cicatrise très vite, dès qu’un médecin s’en occupe, tandis que la blessure d’Amour empire plus elle est près de son médecin. » (60)
Ce roman, d’abord récit d’aventure, d’amour et de folie est capables de plaire à tous les publics parce que Chrétien sait se limiter pour s’assurer de lui plaire. Le public, en effet, ne saurait apprécier quelques vérités trop sublimes pour lui. Par exemple, sur le thème de l’amour Chrétien nous dit : « je pourrais vous parler si longtemps que je n’en finirais pas d’aujourd’hui, s’il vous plaisait de m’écouter; mais quelqu’un s’empresserait peut-être de déclarer que je vous entretiens de futilités. C’est que les gens ne sont plus amoureux, et n’aiment plus comme ils le faisaient autrefois. Ils ne veulent même plus en entendre parler. » (161) On peut aussi aisément comprendre que le même motif se cache derrière les protestations de Chrétien que la vérité transcende parfois toute expression possible : « la langue ne saurait décrire tous les témoignages d’honneur qu’un gentilhomme sait donner » (46), « ces cris, manifestations d’un chagrin que je renonce à décrire, car personne ne pourrait le faire, et de plus, jamais un [chagrin] semblable n’a été raconté dans un livre » (55), « la tempête fut si terrible que nul ne pourrait en raconter le dixième » (188-189).
Et d’ailleurs, moi-même, je n’en finirais pas de parler aujourd’hui si il me fallait donner toutes mes impressions sur ce délicieux roman, alors je souhaite à tous preux lecteurs et nobles lectrices de trouver le loisir nécessaire afin d'apprécier cet immortel ouvrage.
Cette invention du roman s’est faite par le coup de génie de ce traducteur virtuose qui ne s’est pas contenté de traduire quelques légendes en sa langue, mais les a transposées dans un tout autre esprit qui exigeait un tout nouveau genre d’écriture où l’on ne se contente pas de « rêves, de fables ni de mensonges ». (31) Évidemment, cela n’empêchera en rien son auteur de mettre en scène un paysan qui « avait bien dix-sept pieds de hauteur » (34), un anneau qui rend invisible (51) ou un lion en Bretagne...
Sur un autre plan, dans ce roman, les personnages suivent leur destin qui les conditionne absolument, laissant le champ libre à la naïve poésie pleine de charme qui accompagne tout le récit. On en trouve le plus joli exemple lorsque « Amour…attaque Yvain doucement en le frappant au cœur par les yeux », elle lui inflige alors une plus profonde blessure qu’un coup d’épée, qui « cicatrise très vite, dès qu’un médecin s’en occupe, tandis que la blessure d’Amour empire plus elle est près de son médecin. » (60)
Ce roman, d’abord récit d’aventure, d’amour et de folie est capables de plaire à tous les publics parce que Chrétien sait se limiter pour s’assurer de lui plaire. Le public, en effet, ne saurait apprécier quelques vérités trop sublimes pour lui. Par exemple, sur le thème de l’amour Chrétien nous dit : « je pourrais vous parler si longtemps que je n’en finirais pas d’aujourd’hui, s’il vous plaisait de m’écouter; mais quelqu’un s’empresserait peut-être de déclarer que je vous entretiens de futilités. C’est que les gens ne sont plus amoureux, et n’aiment plus comme ils le faisaient autrefois. Ils ne veulent même plus en entendre parler. » (161) On peut aussi aisément comprendre que le même motif se cache derrière les protestations de Chrétien que la vérité transcende parfois toute expression possible : « la langue ne saurait décrire tous les témoignages d’honneur qu’un gentilhomme sait donner » (46), « ces cris, manifestations d’un chagrin que je renonce à décrire, car personne ne pourrait le faire, et de plus, jamais un [chagrin] semblable n’a été raconté dans un livre » (55), « la tempête fut si terrible que nul ne pourrait en raconter le dixième » (188-189).
Et d’ailleurs, moi-même, je n’en finirais pas de parler aujourd’hui si il me fallait donner toutes mes impressions sur ce délicieux roman, alors je souhaite à tous preux lecteurs et nobles lectrices de trouver le loisir nécessaire afin d'apprécier cet immortel ouvrage.
May 20, 2011
This is probably Chrétien de Troyes' greatest poem, beautifully translated into English octosyllabic couplets by Ruth Harwood Cline.
The story concerns the young knight Yvain who, having killed the Knight of the Fountain, falls in love with the knight's late wife, Laudine. So that's a bit of an awkward situation. Eventually, Laudine's lady-in-waiting, Lunete, is able to persuade Laudine to marry Yvain, as he will be able to protect her realm against an impending invasion. The invasion turns out to be by King Arthur, and not a threat at all. But Yvain asks if he can leave for a year to attend tournaments and other knightly exercises. When he forgets to return to Laudine at the end of the year, his trials begin.
This really is Chrétien at his best. The character psychology is plausible, the soliloquies and allegorical representations of their conflicted emotions don't get in the way of the story (as they sometimes do in Chrétien's Lancelot: Or, the Knight of the Cart). Most of all, Yvain's suffering once he has been rejected by Laudine, his humility before her, and the painfulness of her slow and somewhat ambiguous forgiveness all mark this as a romance of unequalled sensitivity.
Chrétien de Troyes is unusual among medieval romancers. Most Arthurian romances end with the marriage of the protagonist to a beautiful lady. In this romance, and in Chrétien's Erec and Enide, marriage occurs a third of the way into the story, enabling Chrétien to write a story about the pitfalls and trials of one of life's greatest adventures, marriage.
The story concerns the young knight Yvain who, having killed the Knight of the Fountain, falls in love with the knight's late wife, Laudine. So that's a bit of an awkward situation. Eventually, Laudine's lady-in-waiting, Lunete, is able to persuade Laudine to marry Yvain, as he will be able to protect her realm against an impending invasion. The invasion turns out to be by King Arthur, and not a threat at all. But Yvain asks if he can leave for a year to attend tournaments and other knightly exercises. When he forgets to return to Laudine at the end of the year, his trials begin.
This really is Chrétien at his best. The character psychology is plausible, the soliloquies and allegorical representations of their conflicted emotions don't get in the way of the story (as they sometimes do in Chrétien's Lancelot: Or, the Knight of the Cart). Most of all, Yvain's suffering once he has been rejected by Laudine, his humility before her, and the painfulness of her slow and somewhat ambiguous forgiveness all mark this as a romance of unequalled sensitivity.
Chrétien de Troyes is unusual among medieval romancers. Most Arthurian romances end with the marriage of the protagonist to a beautiful lady. In this romance, and in Chrétien's Erec and Enide, marriage occurs a third of the way into the story, enabling Chrétien to write a story about the pitfalls and trials of one of life's greatest adventures, marriage.
July 23, 2011
C'est le premier roman du cycle Arthurien que j'attaque, et je suis véritablement séduit. Tout est construit pour soutenir l’intérêt du lecteur du début jusqu'à la fin.
December 24, 2025
Pensaba que me la había leído para 1o de carrera, pero parece ser que fui al examen sin haber abierto el libro... Ahora que lo he podido leer con calma, puedo afirmar que me lo he pasado en grande. Aunque no creo que fuese la intención del pobre Chrétien, me he reído mucho con algunos pasajes!!! A ver si consigo hacerme con alguna otra novela de él...
August 29, 2025
Comme pour beaucoup, la première fois qu'Yvain croisa mon chemin fut au collège, dans une édition sans doute abrégée, en cours de français. Des années plus tard, après un BAC en spécialité Littérature et trois années de prépa, Yvain rencontre à nouveau mon chemin à l'ENS. Cette information, aussi insignifiante semble-t-elle, dit en réalité beaucoup de cette œuvre, habile à divertir et émerveiller les plus jeunes, mais aussi à fasciner les chercheurs les plus téméraires et les plus aguerris.
Au terme de ma relecture, cette fois-ci exhaustive, dans une édition critique de qualité (la collection "Lettres Gothiques" du LDP), j'ai pu redécouvrir un texte riche et complexe. L'amour courtois incarné dans la relation entre Yvain et Laudine, qui suit la codification du modèle tristanien qui se répand dans la littérature médiévale de cette période, est représenté comme un amour artificieux fondé sur l'intérêt personnel et l'échange commercial, par opposition avec l'amour gratuit et fidèle que se portent mutuellement Yvain et son lion.
De la même manière se déploie la critique subtile d'une société féodale fondée avant tout sur un honneur superficiel et égocentré, incarné au début du texte par Calogrenant, et dont Yvain se montrera, au fil de ses prouesses chevaleresques, un contre-exemple remarquable.
Ce texte gagne à être relu aujourd'hui, tant pour la quête initiatique brillante qu'il transcrit que pour la densité de son tissage narratif et linguistique. Une véritable expérience de lecture.
Au terme de ma relecture, cette fois-ci exhaustive, dans une édition critique de qualité (la collection "Lettres Gothiques" du LDP), j'ai pu redécouvrir un texte riche et complexe. L'amour courtois incarné dans la relation entre Yvain et Laudine, qui suit la codification du modèle tristanien qui se répand dans la littérature médiévale de cette période, est représenté comme un amour artificieux fondé sur l'intérêt personnel et l'échange commercial, par opposition avec l'amour gratuit et fidèle que se portent mutuellement Yvain et son lion.
De la même manière se déploie la critique subtile d'une société féodale fondée avant tout sur un honneur superficiel et égocentré, incarné au début du texte par Calogrenant, et dont Yvain se montrera, au fil de ses prouesses chevaleresques, un contre-exemple remarquable.
Ce texte gagne à être relu aujourd'hui, tant pour la quête initiatique brillante qu'il transcrit que pour la densité de son tissage narratif et linguistique. Une véritable expérience de lecture.
July 29, 2009
I bought this book by accident, to be perfectly honest with all of you. I was thinking it was a play by some author I forget, and instead I bought this story by Chretien de Troyes and imagine my surprised when I received the wrong book in the mail... I'm not sad about it, mind you. No, I'm quite thankful that the fates stepped in and gave me this book.
I have never read such a story of high adventure and knighthood in my life. Yvain/Ywain, the main character, is a knight in King Arthur's court. You follow this knight on all kinds of adventures that include dragons, giants, devils, and evil knights. Plus, he has a lion for a companion. That's just awesome...
This is one of the French poems written by Chretien de Troyes in the 15th century (I believe) about the adventures of the knights of King Arthur. I definitely recommend it! It's super fun!
I have never read such a story of high adventure and knighthood in my life. Yvain/Ywain, the main character, is a knight in King Arthur's court. You follow this knight on all kinds of adventures that include dragons, giants, devils, and evil knights. Plus, he has a lion for a companion. That's just awesome...
This is one of the French poems written by Chretien de Troyes in the 15th century (I believe) about the adventures of the knights of King Arthur. I definitely recommend it! It's super fun!
December 10, 2016
Ok, I'm no expert. These are French remakes of Arthurian tales, and many pages are spent on courtly love and wealth. The adventures are exciting, but nothing like you might expect.
February 12, 2019
I wish i had a pet lion
March 6, 2019
Absolutely F E R A L
March 10, 2025
Cervantes would have you think there were people going around thinking romances were more real than reality, and meanwhile Yvain hits a guy so hard his spine snaps in half and his heart explodes.
April 26, 2024
Yvain learns that loyalty and home are more important than selfishness and tournaments.
April 2, 2012
Having taught this twice and had it pop up in two or three classes I've taken, I feel like I'm pretty familiar with this text--and yet I keep getting surprised by it. I'm not a huge Arthurian lit fan, and I'm definitely not a French Romance fan, but this has so many layers that it's fascinating. You have to read the endnotes of this version, you just do; the sarcasm and brilliance of Troyes are just scathingly wonderful. The translation is really good, as well, in terms of ease of reading and rhythm without being too sing-songy. (I've not read the Old French, so I can't speak to faithfulness.) The introduction is short and helpful, which is what introductions should be, and the story is allowed to be itself, which is the best kind of translation. I recommend it highly if you're looking for a teaching text, but I also recommend it just to read. Sex, fights, and really strange monsters--sure, what's not to like?
July 7, 2020
This was a little out of my usual reading material but as Yvain (Owen) is my son’s namesake I wanted to explore what made him such a popular knight.
I thought a book of French poetry would be more of a struggle, but the translation quickly transported me to Camelot. Between his marital issues (forgetting as he was on adventures), how he gained his lion/best friend, to defeating the Giant that threatened to give the local princess to his henchman, this was a really fun read.
I thought a book of French poetry would be more of a struggle, but the translation quickly transported me to Camelot. Between his marital issues (forgetting as he was on adventures), how he gained his lion/best friend, to defeating the Giant that threatened to give the local princess to his henchman, this was a really fun read.
March 10, 2010
A wonderful version of a spectacular romance. I'm partial to the Welsh version Owein better, and have had my problems with Chretien's romantics, but for Yvain the tale is really beautifully told. Cline's translation is poetic, and as I do not know any Old French, I'm not sure if it's very accurate. Still, it is very good, without too many forced modernisms, and sounds very good.
February 5, 2019
J'ai pris grand plaisir à relire ce classique des légendes Arthurienne. Cette adaptation de Jean-Pierre Tusseau se lit avec aisance. Ma chronique complète https://songedunenuitdete.com/2019/02...
June 12, 2012
Everybody says that Lancelot is the best but! I like more Yvain!!!
March 23, 2022
Another great read finished for my Medieval lit. class! It was a lot of fun and I genuinely want to read the rest of the Arthurian Romances now :)
February 12, 2025
The lion was the best character.
August 21, 2025
Un capo el Yvain, también el Gauvian
Un hijo de puta ese senescal Kay
Es verdad lo que decía Twain que que cantidad de lanzas que se parten loco
Un hijo de puta ese senescal Kay
Es verdad lo que decía Twain que que cantidad de lanzas que se parten loco
May 22, 2025
The lion is the best developed character throughout all of the Courtois Romances.
The most realistic scene is the rain in England.
The most realistic scene is the rain in England.
November 8, 2023
un altre llibre que no m'hagués llegit mai si no fos per l'assignatura de literatures romàniques de la uni... entretingut però em cansa tant cavaller i tanta lluita
August 2, 2020
I had never heard of this knight until one of my sons recommended it to me, since his son has the same name (albeit the English translation Owen). While written as French poetry in the 12th century, one could be put off and categorize it as....BORING. However, the translator of this edition did an outstanding job of not only making it palatable for a modern English reader, but highly interesting. The tales are classics focused on fighting, valor, chivalry and other heroics. For a fresh view on Camelot, give it a try!
June 2, 2022
I started this book years ago and couldn't keep reading because I didn't like the way it was written. I decided to pick it back up and I read it entirely in an evening!
I'm still not a great fan of the writing-style, but I focused on the story and enjoyed discovering a new Knight of the Round Table. It's unrealistic, it's far-fetched, the characters are unbelievable, but it is what makes this novel charming after all.
I'd like to read more of Chrétien de Troyes' novels in the future!
I'm still not a great fan of the writing-style, but I focused on the story and enjoyed discovering a new Knight of the Round Table. It's unrealistic, it's far-fetched, the characters are unbelievable, but it is what makes this novel charming after all.
I'd like to read more of Chrétien de Troyes' novels in the future!
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