Erec et Enide

Romances Arthuriennes

by Chrétien de Troyes

Erec and Enide ( Érec et Énide) is Chrétien de Troyes' first romance, completed around 1170. Consisting of 7000 lines written in Old French, the poem is the earliest known Arthurian romance in any language besides the Welsh Culhwch and Olwen, which likely predates its surviving manuscripts. The work recounts the tale of Erec, one of King Arthur's knights, and the conflict between love and knighthood he experiences in his marriage to Enide. The poem begins with an unarmored Erec keeping Guinevere company while other knights participate in a stag hunt. A strange knight and his dwarf approach the queen and treat her servant roughly. The Queen orders Erec to follow the knight, Yder, to avenge the insult done to her servant. Erec ends up travelling to a far off town where he meets and falls in love with Enide. Erec defeats Yder and marries his love. Some time later, however, rumors spread that Erec has come to neglect his knightly duties. He overhears Enide crying over these rumors, and apparently doubts her love and devotion. He orders her to prepare for a journey, and they set off to parts unknown. He commands her to be silent through the whole ordeal, but she disobeys her obstinate husband several times to warn him of danger. The couple face and overcome a number of adventures, and Enide's undying love allows Erec to prove himself capable of handling both his marital and public duties. Erec and Enide displays the problems of love and chivalry that Chrétien takes up in all his later work. Popular in its own day, the poem was translated into several other languages, notably German in Hartmann von Aue's Erec and Welsh in Geraint and Enid, one of the Three Welsh Romances included in the Mabinogion. Erec and Enide has come down to us in seven manuscripts and various fragments. The poem comprises 6,878 octosyllables in rhymed couplets. A prose version was made in the 15th century. The first modern edition dates from 1856 by Immanuel Bekker, followed by an edition in 1890 by Wendelin Foerster.

Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Little is known of his life, but he seems to have been from Troyes, or at least intimately connected with it, and between 1160 and 1172 he served at the court of his patroness Countess Marie de Champagne, daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine, perhaps as herald-at-arms (as Gaston Paris speculated). His work on Arthurian subjects represents some of the best regarded of medieval literature. Chrétien de Troyes is generally considered as the first identified major French Language novelist. - Wikipedia

Genres: Classics, Medieval, Poetry, Arthurian, Fiction, France, Romance

84 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1160

About the author

Chrétien 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.

Reviews

[Imme [trying to crawl out of hiatus] van Gorp · Rating 2 out of 5]

|| 2.0 stars ||

Whether you want to call this a heroic epic or courtly romance, this Arthurian story, which was written in the twelfth century, certainly gives some interesting insights into the literary styles of the Middle Ages. Of course, I can therefore respect this text for its historical value, and I do find some interest in reading it because of that, but overall I cannot say this was worth it. It might have taught me something about Medieval norms in writing and story-telling, but that does not mean it was enjoyable or fun to read. It was boring; plain and simple as that.

This whole novel was beyond repetitive and the same thing happened over and over again. I was shocked by how often I could be told that someone was “beautiful beyond compare” or “the most courageous knight who ever graced these lands”; it was a never-ending stream of silly blabbering.
The battles between Erec and the other knights he encountered were all the same as well; the same scene was repeated over and over again. Additionally, the characters were all exact copies of each other too; everyone acted in the same manner and constantly repeated the same dialogue. Nobody stood out in any way.

Not to mention, I found the main character to be insanely annoying and stupid. Erec constantly made the most ridiculous decisions because of his over-inflated sense of ego and importance. Even worse, his wife, Enide, was constantly berated by him for simply warning him about danger ahead; he constantly said he hated her for daring to speak to him, and that she was to remain quiet without exception. This obviously pissed me off, and felt kind of random to me as well since the whole point of the text is supposed to be about how much he loves her. Like, how does that show any kind of love?? It was more like abuse.

Disclaimer: I read a translation by William W. Kibler, but I could not find his version on Goodreads, so I had to add someone else’s translation to my shelves.

[Jesús De la Jara · Rating 3 out of 5]

"La misma Naturaleza se maravilló más de quinientas veces por haber podido hacer una criatura tan bella de una sola vez; pero luego no pudo evitar afligirse por no poder volver a hacer, de ningún modo, otra semejante"

Mi primer acercamiento al famoso escritor Chrétien de Troyes, francés del medioevo, que compuso sus obras a fines del siglo XII, siendo ellas de bastante influencia tanto en temas como en estilo literario. Considerado por muchos uno de los primeros novelistas europeos.
El autor además de tratar temas mitológicos grecorromanos y poéticos dedicó gran parte de su obra al "Ciclo Artúrico" o a la "Materia de Bretaña"; así que estaré buen tiempo revisando esas novelas. "Erec y Enide" es la primera de ese ciclo. Aquí conocemos a Erec, hijo del rey de Nantes, caballero del gran rey Arturo quien durante una festividad de caza del ciervo blanco es testigo del desplante por parte de un enano de una de las doncellas de la reina Ginebra (esposa de Arturo), cuando Erec trata de cobrar venganza se ve imposibilitado debido a que el señor del enano iba armado. Eso no le impedirá continuar con la búsqueda ya armado y ahí conocerá a Enide con la que pasará diversas aventuras típicas de los caballeros de la edad Media, donde el honor y la cortesía, como siempre, son materia de particular devoción por ambos en su periplo.
Definitivamente la "motivación" del personaje no me pareció la mejor ni logré comprenderla del todo, desde luego el relato está lleno de fórmulas corteses pero lo medio absurdo del eje principal me hace ponerle una estrella menos.

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

De Troyes is little known unless one is a French medieval student. He write these four lyrical poems in the late twelfth century for the Countess Marie, daughter of Louis VII and that fabulous hoyden, Eleanor of Aquitaine. They are rich in " chivalric customs and ideals and have little in common with their Celtic prototypes."

Story One follows the peregrinations of Erec, a quite chivalrous knight, and his newly wedded wife, Enide. He is so ensnared of her beauty and virtue that he suspends his life of dueling, which starts tongues wagging around Court that he has most his courage. What follows is his idea of proving those gossipers wrong.

Story Two is the epitome of courtly love between Alexander, a Greek knight visiting King Arthur's Court, and one of Guenivere's ladies. It then progresses to the love story of their son, Cliges, and his paramour, a story with similarities to Tristan and Isold.

Story Three was a bit confusing at first. It tells the tale of Yvaine, or the Knight with a lion. It begins with a visit to a little known land and the mystical tree that holds a basin that causes tempests to blow. He naturally falls for a damsel of a great kingdom as all the other heroes did. The rest of the story is an intricately woven adventure upon adventure than then folds back upon itself.

Lastly we have Story Four, a romance about that most faithful of knights, Lancelot. This one is the only one of the four that was not finished by De Troyes.

In reading these lovely bits of French narratives I learned that Sir Kay is a royal knave. He has a terrible attitude, he mouths off, he can’t be trusted. And every maiden is more fair than the last, and the last was so beautiful she could move heaven with her face.

These stories have a tense issue. I dont know if it's a translation problem, but phrases jump between past and present tense even within the same paragraph. So that’s a bit jarring.

[Mina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Erec and Enide is one of those books that can take you by surprise and enrage you, and that is one of the numerous reasons I would recommend it to somebody.

On the surface, Erec and Enide is a classical story of old.

But let's say people gossip about the guy spending too much time with his one true love and not doing his manly doings anymore. I can't imagine what the average guy would think, should his beloved choose to share that this gossip makes her unhappy. Maybe he thinks she wants to get rid of him, maybe that she's bored, maybe that she shares the opinion of the court - it couldn't be that the sheltered lady is thin-skinned and had her feelings hurt. Whatever took place in that oft' concussed noggin of his, the cold shoulder was EPIC. The first quarter of the story, he meets her, fights for her attentions, marries her.

The stories go on into their married life, already, something unusual. They spend a lot of time together, however, his friends start gossiping about his recent lack of adventures. Enide shares this with him and he is, livid unhappy. Consequently, he takes her on such an adventure, asking her to never speak with him unless spoken to first. She breaks this rule several times, the one of which ends up saving his life. He nearly ends up dying from his wounds, she nearly ends up married by force, but he wakes up in time, chops up husband No. 2 and they reconcile.

A final episode has him dueling a knight bound by his sweetheart's promise never to leave a garden unless bested in combat. Erec beats him, they all realize they know each other, then Erec and Enide are crowned.

Stories are how we pass on, imperfectly, culture and values. Even as stories like those in A Game of Thrones satirise the knightly outlook, Erec and Enide represents transparent ideals of love, married life, the behaviours and duties of husband and wife and growing up. People might not have wholeheartedly believed in knights, but they dreamed of these valued, highlights of a more civilised world than reality could offer.

That being said, neither is perfect, and they both grow - character development is a plus.

The apparent lack of agency in women characters is expected, but ultimately deceiving. Willy-nilly, Chrétien de Troyes, has written two women who are very much in love - naturally - and will keep their loved one safe. On one hand, Enide is even willing to take her own life for love, she praises Erec up and down and would be his servant in anything he desires. So far, not unexpected. However, put in a conflict between saving him and obeying, she repeatedly disobeys him. He's not always grateful, but she's willing to lie and cheat for him. Her cousin is even more expedient, she has her lord bound by a promise not to roam until he is defeated on own his turf, which took a pretty long time - rather than let him roam and get himself killed.

Of course, this is within the confines of knightly poem logic here. In normal conditions, Erec would not have acted like a sulky teenager, knights wouldn't have waited their turn to fight him and Enide's warning him would have often proved vital - as for their travelling together unaccompanied, refer to Game of Thrones. Not to mention, that second knight is a serial head-chopper who is here welcomed back like a long lost son.

Bottom line, it delves into topics not often found in what passed for Disney 900 years ago, and it can prove interesting for those interested in Arthurian legends or women portrayed in medieval lit, or simply those yearning to get away from hard line PC. It gets three stars because it annoyed me and that made writing the review a pain in the ass.

[Candace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not a scholar. But I am a student these twenty years of Medieval history. I have studied Welsh, Scot, Irish and English Medieval history; in addition, I have read books and materials concerning the politics and the culture, and the faith and the myths. Based on this background, I wish to express how very much I thoroughly enjoyed reading Erec and Enide. Ruth Harwood Cline's English translation of this twelfth century poem, written by Chretien de Troyes, touches our senses by its rhythms and rhymes in the rhythmic beat this produces in the poem. Cline's translation also tickles our intellect because through it we can read the ecclesiastical elements and classical motifs. The Celtic legend, Griselda, which I have not read and is mentioned in the introduction, forms the skeleton of Erec and Enide's story. Cline further provides a history background for the poem within the introduction and the notes section.

I noticed the Arthurian legend and the Christian symbolism portrayed through the characters of Erec, Enide and King Arthur. I also noticed the "hero's journey." (See The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.)Each test proved both Erec and Enide more worthy of attaining their goal with the final test being the "Court of Joy."

This is the first of Chretien de Troyes' poems and I highly recommend it.

[Yann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Erec, le fils du roi de Nantes accompagne la reine Guenièvre lors d'une chasse au cerf blanc. Ils sont arrêtés par un chevalier discourtois et violent qui maltraite la suivante de la reine. Enide promet de défendre l'honneur de la dame, mais ne pouvant affronter le chevalier, étant désarmé, il se lance à sa poursuite. L'ayant rattrapé, il le vainc, et rencontre la belle Enide, dont les charmes ont raison de son cœur. Revenus à la cour du roi Arthur, ce dernier ne balance pas à unir nos deux charmants héros, qui se prélassent dorénavant dans les voluptés de l'amour.

Mais Enide est sensible aux rumeurs de couardise qui pèsent sur son mari. Laissant deviner son chagrin, elle ouvre son cœur à Erec, lequel ne pouvait être plus mortifié. On a jamais vu un homme si prompt à regagner l'estime de sa femme, car il décide sur le champ de l'emmener avec lui à l'aventure, en lui interdisant de prononcer la moindre parole. Cette dernière trouve bien à se repentir de son indiscrétion, mais ne peut s'empêcher de prévenir son époux des dangers qui le menacent et qu'elle prévoie, quitte à encourir son courroux. Le comte Galoain, fasciné par la beauté d'Enide, et témoin de la froideur d'Erec, veut la conquérir en faisant périr son rival, mais cette dernière le dénonce après l'avoir trompé; Erec blesse mortellement Gaolain alors qu'il les poursuit, mais est lui-même touché.

Alors qu'Erec blessé reste sans sentiments, le compte de Limors espère à son tout épouser la veuve de force. Rappelé à la vie, Erec ôte d'un coup d'épée la vie à son rival. Erec, enfin assuré de l'attachement de sa femme, se réconcilie bientôt avec elle. Il affronte enfin la "Joie de la Cour" : le chevalier Mabonagrain dans le château Brandiguan du roi Evrain, qui fit vœu d'affronter tous ceux qui se présenteraient. Après avoir vaincu, il rentre à Nantes pour être couronné roi.

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This romance is interesting as it is very well composed Chrétien put all capacity as a story teller at recounting a pleasant and agreable tale: it is a mediaeval romance into which he ût all his erudition to bring about the tale to his listeners, in Middle ages romances were told or read publicly rather than read in silence individually.
Je l'ai lu et relu cette oeuvre je l'ai adorée ce tout premier roman en langue romane en à peu près six mille vers en octosyllabes, écrits par tout premier romancier français du Xlle siècle, Chrétien de Troyes qui a presque inventé le genre de roman C'est un roman de la gloire de l'amour chevaleresque du cycle arthurien; dans le royaume du roi Arthur mais au code chevaleresque appliqué au Xlle siècle,l'inventeur du genre nouveau à l'époque qui nous a légué trois termes avec tous leur indistinction et mélange à savoir le conte et le roman et la nouvelle viendra un peu plus tard pour compliquer la définition illocutoire
Erec et Enide est son premier roman écrit c.a . en 1170, l'écrivain est né en environ 1130 et mort en environ 1189 sen laissant inachevé son dernier roman Le Conte du Graal ou le Roman de Perceval dont on ne peut pas etre bien certain les dates précises de sa vie

Il y a un prologue dans lequel le romancier fait éloge de sa manière de composer une oeuvre en belle conjointure à savoir une belle composition, au détriment de celle du jongleur professionnel qui multiplie les épisodes sans distinction ni science et dans lequel Chrétien de Troyes fait valoir sa science son application son sérieux et son érudition de la littérature antique romaine.
Il s'agit, dans ce beau roman, d'un chevalier royal impeccable et beau de vingt-cinq ans, Erec, qui dans son trajectoire héroique, au service du Roi Arthur, réussit à obtenir force vaillance et prouesse la belle et blanche Enide qu'il introduit et instaure comme sa femme, égale à lui et donc orientée à etre modèle de beauté et de courtoisie et de fin' amour.
Enide,son complémentaire et son contraire qui ensemble avec son époux Erec; parviendra à reconquérir pas seulement l'amour conjugal mais aussi l'amour conjugal face au devoir quotidien et ainsi prouveront- ils que l'amour mariage est possible tout en edulcorant les obligations sociétales et dues à leur classe de nobles. Il y a des fastes et des assemblées de la cour tout au long de ce roman courtois où participent ceux qui donnent le divertissement et assurent la continuité de l'événement- les trouvères ou les jongleurs marquant par leur présence professionnelle la vie possible dans l'avenir de l'oeuvre Par ses réunions de la cour le roi marque le temps en l'introduisant un personnage où un événement à un avenir plus important: le roman s'ouvre sur une telle assemblée où le roi annonce une chasse au blanc cerf qui annonce un mouvement tout particulier de la cour avec son espérance des chevaliers du jour et des femmes de la cour, une faste à l'occasion due l'épervier en or, une réunion de la cour où Enide est introduite par Erec et leur mariage qui s'ensuit, et le couronnement d'Erec et de la restauration du couple, une occasion pour les jongleurs de broder là-dessus le roman est une suite de fastes royales où là on en manque une occasion à réparer la situation, la cour délabrée du père d'Enide Mais c'est du couple éponyme qu'il s'agit et de leur statut jouant à l'amour courtois Chrétien est ici pour un amour utile aux roles solides en mariages et aux roles partages et aux couples sains et valeureux et pas pour un couple d'amoureux perdus dans leur tour d'ivoire comme le recèle l'épisode de la Joie de la Cour

Très beau roman d'amour et de mariage parlant de la femme et de l'homme se fiant l'un à l'autre, suggère un avenir commun rempli de respect de la communauté et la postérité Roman qui n'annule pas l'amour mais la passion en fait. Je fais lon retour à cet époque des premiers romans où je trouve la joie et le secret d'une création confrontés et complémentaires aux gouts d'une tradition et une civilisationThis story is the such where the its erudite writer met his knowledge of men and women of noble origin facing each other in mariage since Antiquity with their day to day problems

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting Arthurian tale by the 12th century Chrétien de Troyes, Erec and Enide is one of the earlier contributions to the Matter of Britain, coming hard on the heels of Geoffrey of Monmouth's History. Erec is a pugnacious knight who marries the lovely Enide and cozies up to living with her. When Enide hears complaints that Erec is no longer such a great fighter because of his canoodling with Enide, Enide suggests he go on an adventure. And go he does, with a vengeance, slaying giants, knights, and nobles -- and, wounded as he is, refusing to rest and recuperate from his wounds. But in the end, everything comes out all right.

[Léa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umm… surprenamment bon. Vive les histoires de chevaliers complètement absurdes I guess 🫡

Mes highlights : les vols de chevaux constants (pov tu fight des gens dans la forêt et ta blonde promène 8 chevaux en même temps) et le combat contre des géants en mode Shrek…

[Joel Larson]

WHOOOOOIIIEEE medieval literature is not at all what I thought!! This is a fascinating take on both the medieval romance and a courtly love story in that most of the love story occurs after Erec and Enide are already married, and requires *both* of them to grow and learn lessons along the way. Enjoyed it a lot (especially with some help from my Prof to explain a lot of the trends in 12th-century lit to help see what's going on in the repetitive bits).

Read for a class on medieval women.

[marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

the fact that this is about how people think it's weird that a knight loves his wife a lot but he just repeatedly tells them: no, fuck off, im gonna love her even more!!!


insane how much they love each other, INSANE I TELL YOU

[Tenaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels weird to rate medieval literature on Goodreads lol

[Guðrún Gunnarsdóttir · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5⭐️

Gaman að lesa arthúrska sögu, í raun alveg mjög skemmtileg, sma eins og að horfa a Merlin, alveg jafn mikið sexual tension milli riddara, endirinn reyndar svoldið langur og eg er glöð að vera buin🤝 (mæli samt alveg með, kom a óvart hvað þetta var gaman, bara pinu langdregið a köflum)

[Sams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un clásico de la Materia de Bretaña. Amor cortés + código caballeresco mezcla irresistible para los amantes de la plena E.M.

[Ian Slater · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the old, and obsolete, W.W. Comfort prose translation from the early twentieth century: he offered FOUR Arthurian romances by Chretien de Troyes, excluding the fifth, Perceval. Since they are out of copyright, these translations are now being reprinted, complete or one at a time. They are usually available very cheaply -- I suggest getting all four in one file, like this one, if you are interested, and can't afford the modern translations.

[elle est au nord · Rating 2 out of 5]

pas trop trop ma came, ce genre de récits, mais oui, on se retrouve face à une intrigue médiévale des plus classico. ingrédients : bagarre mariage bagarre bagarre on se claque la bise encore quelques bagarres et puis après tt le monde est content et c la fin. pas vrmt transcendée, je suis assez indifférente mais ça se lit bien en vrai

[Kiara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am fully aware that this is considered a great work in French literature mais c'était ennuyeux et Erec était un peu terrible.

[Mercedes Fernández Varea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Desde la memoria (no es una reseña al uso)

Este verano tan extraño me estoy despidiendo cada día de alguno de mis libros, pero hoy quiero hablar de uno que se va a quedar en mi minibiblioteca: Eric y Enid.

Durante la carrera tuve la inmensa suerte de tener como profesora a Victoria Cirlot, lo que me llevó a leer con pasión muchísimas novelas del llamado ciclo artúrico y convertirme en una coleccionista compulsiva de una bellísima editorial que editaba por aquel entonces estos libros medievales, la editorial Siruela.

Como estos libros me eran tan queridos tuve la desafortunada idea de forrarlos, lo cual ha acelerado su deterioro... En los próximos días me tendré que despedir de unos cuantos de esta colección debido a su lamentable estado; algunos ni siquiera los he leído...

Por suerte, uno de mis más queridos, el que ahora reseño, se ha conservado en un estado más que aceptable, la edición de Siruela está a cargo de Victoria Cirlot y además es mi libro preferido de todos los que leí en su día de Chrétien de Troyes (y creo haberlos leído todos). Qué más puedo pedir!

Este autor es en la Francia del siglo XII "el padre de la novelística posterior y el creador de personajes tan importantes como Lanzarote y Perceval (...)". Sin embargo, sin cuestionarme la inmensa importancia que tiene en la historia de la literatura que está fuera de toda duda, sí que me planteo si podría gustarle a alguien del siglo XXI. Lo cierto es que no tengo la respuesta. En cualquier caso, si alguien me pidiera que le recomendara un libro importantísimo de la Edad Media, que fuera relativamente fácil de leer, corto y con una historia mínimamente atractiva, yo le recomendaría éste.

[Illiterate · Rating 4 out of 5]

A poetic courtly romance about the need to balance love/lover with world/society.

[Nora Røssland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful story! About love, trials, and pride.

[Stian Ødegård]

Riddersommer 2025 fortsetter ...

[Hannah L]

Significant lack of animals in this one

[Emanuele Baseggio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joie de la court ~

[Mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

ICONIQUE jsp quoi vous dire de plus

[Sacha Vexler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Intéressant très loufoque notamment quand Erec qui est sur le point d’épouser enide se rend compte qu’il ne connaît pas son prénom !! couple goal🙏🏻

[Manon · Rating 3 out of 5]

allez, encore deux

[Cassie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2,5 Ça se lit mais c’est pas un plaisir, l’histoire est redondante ou au contraire trop rapide par moment. L’écriture est cependant appréciable

[Othy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story. I had read it in the Mabinogion without knowing so, but was reminded very soon into the story. The translation is good and keeps the rhyme, though at times I wonder how true it is to the original. Strangely, too, the French names are rhymed as if they were pronounced in English...but that's all nit-picking. In all, both the story and the translation were great, and I was left for a long while afterwards pondering some of the symbols and allegories of the tale.

[M F]

This is quite different from the others. I don't think I enjoyed it as much. Erec's kind of a jerk for the majority of the text, and there's a lot of misogyny at play which isn't all that fun. Interesting how there are constant Classical references and allusions though, to an extent that there aren't in the others. I'm sure that means something, and if I had brainpower right now, I'd figure out what.

[Emma Getz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bonjour Arthur embrasse ma femme s'il vous plaît