The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes
by Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétian's Arthurian Romances (Collections and Selections — Omnibus, 1-5 plus the probably spurious Guillaume d'Angleterre)
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--ChoiceThis new translation brings to life for a new generation of readers the stories of King Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, Gawain, Perceval, Yvain, and the other "knights and ladies" of Chrétien de Troyes' famous romances.Tags
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Member Reviews
As it happens, David Staines is my Traditions of King Arthur prof. Chretien is definitely the best stuff we've looked at so far in the course, and this edition is very readable and at times a definite riot. Tales of the knights as they should be told, most definitely.
Excellent translations of Chretien's romances by David Staines -- very readable. I particularly liked the fact that, in The Story of the Grail Staines translates "graal" as "bowl," rather than "grail," a word which has no clear meaning in modern English. The "graal" that Chretien wrote about was described in a comtemporary Latin dictionary (i.e., "gradale," from which the OF graal is a corruption) as "a somewhat-deep dish," and Chretien's narrator refers to it as the sort of thing used to serve a lamprey or other large fish -- clearly not the chalice that the "grail" becomes later in the tradition. In other words, Staines give a fresh translation which does not make unwarranted interpretations about what the original meant, allowing the show more reader to make up his/her own mind what is going on. show less
Chretien was a romancer in the Court of Marie of Champagne, eldest daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine. His works are well translated by David Staines. The Title is a little ironic as Chretien only completed three of the six stories in the book. But as an ancestor of Thomas Malory, and a major figure in the "Matter of Britain", he is well served by this translation. The poems are presented in prose.
Besides the endless joy of going "Cretien!", this is a very enjoyable set of Arthurian legends. It's readable, and generally enjoyable, and sure to keep you entertained after long nights stuck inside without a tv, or, perhaps you will turn off your tv (since this isn't the middle ages) to enjoy this classic. Perhaps you are like me, and actually get college credit for reading this. Yes, go me.
Ce volume contient les oeuvres suivantes : Érec et Énide - Cligès - Yvain ou Le Chevalier au Lion - Lancelot ou Le Chevalier de la Charrette - Perceval ou Le Conte du Graal. Oeuvres diverses : Philomena - Guillaume d'Angleterre - Chansons courtoises. Traduit de l'ancien français par Anne Berthelot, Peter F. Dembowski, Daniel Poirion et Philippe Walter. Édition de Daniel Poirion avec la collaboration d'Anne Berthelot, Peter F. Dembowski, Sylvie Lefèvre, Karl D. Uitti et Philippe Walter. Édition bilingue.
Jul 13, 2011French
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60+ Works 7,077 Members
Author of early Arthurian romances, Chrétien de Troyes was born in France around 1150. Little is known about this medieval writer. His poems cannot be dated, except to say that they were written sometime in the second half of the twelfth century. His most famous works include Erec; Cligès; Lancelot, ou Le Chevalier à la Charrette; Yvain, ou Le show more Chevalier au Lion; Perceval, ou Le Conte du Graal, and Guillaume d'Angleterre. He also composed a version of Tristan and Isolde. During his life, he enjoyed the patronage of Marie de Champagne, the daughter of Philip of Flanders and Eleanor of Aquitaine. Although it is not confirmed, it is believed that he died in Paris in 1190. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes
- People/Characters
- Perceval; Lancelot du Lac; King Arthur; Gawain; Erec; Enide (show all 8); Cliges; Yvain
- Dedication
- For Brian
- First words
- The peasant has a proverb: "What you scorn may be worth much more than you think."
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Roger le Cointe, a companion of mine, who is friend to many worthy men, recounted the matter to me.
- Disambiguation notice
- This entry represents those works containing all of those medieval romances that have been variously attributed to Chrétien de Troyes. (Erec and Enide; Cligès; Yvain, the Knight of the Lion; Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart... (show all); Perceval, the Story of the Grail; Guillaume d'Angleterre).
Please do not combine it with works containing only the Arthurian romances, or with works containing only selections from them.
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- English, French
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- Paper, Ebook
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