This image is the cover for the book Four Arthurian Romances

Four Arthurian Romances

Four twelfth-century epic poems detailing the quests of the knights of King Arthur, as well as their loves.

Erec and Enide: One of King Arthur’s knights, Erec, is assigned to keep Guinevere and her maiden company when a strange group of visitors arrive. Guinevere orders Erec to follow one of them, and his journey leads him to the fair Enide . . .

Cligès: The tale of Cligès begins with his father, Alexander, who leaves his home in Greece to serve King Arthur. In England, he marries Arthur’s niece, and together they have a son, Cligès. Alexander and his family return to Greece where his son becomes a man and falls for a married woman . . .

Yvain, the Knight of the Lion: In his search for revenge, Yvain finds love with a beautiful widow. But when Gawain encourages him to pursue a chivalric quest, it places their relationship in jeopardy . . .

Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart: This epic story details the knight Lancelot’s trials in his rescue of the beautiful Guinevere from the hands of Meleagant, son of Bademagu, King of Gorre . . .

Four Arthurian Romances collects some of the greatest works of medieval literature. Chrétien de Troyes is credited with inventing the Arthurian romance genre and originating the character of Lancelot. The adventure and romance contained in these epic poems is sure to delight readers.

Chretien DeTroyes

Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for the first writing of Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart and Perceval, the Story of the Grail. Chrétien’s works, including Erec and Enide, Lancelot, Perceval, and Yvain, the Knight of the Lion, represent some of the best-regarded medieval literature. His use of structure, particularly in Yvain, has been seen as a step toward the modern novel.