Erec and Enide by Chrétien de Troyes

Erec and Enide Reviews

• 
  Jesús De la Jara

  "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 the enigma

  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

  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 a 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

  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

  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.
• 
  Jim

  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.
• 
  saïd

  Édition bilingue. Traduction et présentation par Michel Rousse. Malgré la misogynie omniprésente et incontournable contre Énide (qui n’est prévisible que dans un roman courtois du XIIe siècle !), Érec et Énide entretiennent en fait l’une des relations les plus saines et mignonnes que j’aie jamais rencontrées dans la littérature moyenâgeuse ou arthurienne-adjacente. Low bar mais au moins ça roule.
• 
  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.
• 
  Sams

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

  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.
• 
  Mercedes Fernández Varea

  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.
• 
  Kiara

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

  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.
• 
  marta

  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
• 
  Emma Getz

  Bonjour Arthur embrasse ma femme s'il vous plaît
• 
  Mike

  The first of the Arthurian romances reminds me of my teenage years reading
  Malory,
  Geoffrey of Monmouth,
  T.H. White,
  the Pearl Poet,
  Tolkien's translations,
  Ivanhoe, etc. It is everything you imagine a medieval tale of the Round Table would be: gallant knights jousting and fighting to the death, maidens described in rapturous terms being cruelly abducted by evil counts, mythic battles with giants, and an ultimate quest to perform some supernatural-laden feat.
  
  If Erec and Enide appeared in any of those texts, I don’t remember, so the plot was new to me. Although I enjoyed much of the knightly derring-do, there were moments that dragged. And Erec’s curt treatment of Enide at times – amounting to “speak when you’re spoken to, because you’ve wounded my male vanity” – was quite off-putting at first. However, the final battle – much like Gawain’s battle with the Green Knight �� was actually about Erec’s own inner struggle. In this case, he learned to accept his wife’s love without having to constantly prove his macho street cred. So his sharp tone with Enide ended up directly relating to his growth as a character while going through this parallel “inner quest.” All-in-all, a fun read.
• 
  Melissa Rudder

  Chrétien de Troyes’ Erec and Enide, which presents the story of a knight and his beautiful love, while a story of adventure and romance, failed to interest me.
  
  Of course, there were aspects of Chrétien’s tale that were fun and amusing. Two giants chasing a naked knight through the forest as his maiden cries and whines, a dwarf whipping anyone who comes near him, the forced marriage between a widow who isn’t really a widow and a king who likes her only ‘cause she’s beautiful…
  
  But the whole story centered around the relationship between Erec and Enide, and a quest that seeks to challenge and test their relationship, and to me, it all amounts to Erec playing games with Enide’s emotions and it is really annoying. Enide is upset because Erec stopped doing tournaments and other knightly things, bringing him shame, so she talks to him about it and they go on a quest together, so Erec can prove himself to Enide and test her. He tells her not to speak to him as they travel, meaning that if enemies come to attack Erec, he expects Enide not to warn him. What kind of relationship is that? I don’t care if Enide is supposed to trust Erec to be able to defend himself and her: if she has information that he may not have that could help them, she should be able to say it. Maybe it’s my modern perspective, though the story otherwise seems fair in its evaluation of women: while it concentrates on beauty, it also repeatedly mentions wisdom, ability, personality, charm… It just presents what I think is an ugly relationship, trying to play it off as an ideal relationship, and it doesn’t work.
  
• 
  Liss Carmody

  I picked this up as a 12th-century Arthurian romance, of which there are comparatively few floating around - most of the tales we are familiar with come from Mallory or White or other, much more recent, authors. The introduction here is fascinating, especially the information about how British and Celtic tales were 'trending' in the French courts of the period, leading to a spate of literature on these characters. As to the tale itself, I thought the translation was fairly good, although I would have loved to see it published alongside the original lyrics. I always feel as if I'm missing some substantial literary devices, reading in translation. The story was fun, and mostly enjoyable, although I am not generally a fan of the 'testing the wife' element of the story. Rather too Griselda for my taste. I also could not understand at all why Enide was forever noticing these imminent dangers while Erec was blissfully unaware. Maybe his helmet destroyed all his peripheral view, haha. Anyway, glad I read it, enjoyed the cameos by Gawain, imagine that many of the other minor characters had whole backstories that the audience at the time would have been familiar with, but that are lost to us. Found it very interesting how not about Arthur it was, as a whole.
• 
  julia

  3.25 Stars.
  
  I finally had the chance to read this popular Chrétien de Troyes novel for my Middle English Romances seminar at uni and I’m not surprised to say I quite liked it. I am a fan of the blunt writing that’s quite typical for the Middle ages. Everything is straight to the point, nothing really leaves you guessing, it’s all about fighting for a beautiful maid and honour in the name of King Arthur, a manual on how to be the perfect knight. To be honest, these stories don't occupy much of my mind, but they make for diverting reads and since I do find Medieval times fascinating I don't mind diving into a romance every once in a while.
• 
  Frederick

  This is a very enjoyable story if you like knights bashing each other with swords and lances, exposed brains, losing consciousness from blood loss, and manipulative women who like to watch men fight. I must say that it is a great diversion after a stressful day, a welcome read.
• 
  Cyndie

  Un bon récit pour les fans des chevaliers de la table ronde dans une très bonne traduction.
• 
  Meghan

  Verse translations are the best! Ridiculously more difficult, of course, but oh so worth it when they're done well.
• 
  Walter

  The duty of manhood explained through the trials of medieval fantasy. Wonderful!
• 
  Daphy

  COMENTARIO CON SPOILERS
  Me estoy leyendo los libros de este autor por que me interesan las leyendas del rey Arturo, pero las obras de este autor no me gustan nada de nada por que son extremadamente machistas (con extremadamente me refiero a que ni por época se justifica).
  
  Al inicio de la obra el rey Arturo quiere reinplantar la tradición de la caza del ciervo blanco, en la cual, quiés consigue cazar al ciervo (pobrecito) da un beso a la mujer más guapa. Gawain/Galván le dice que recuperar la tradición es mala idea por que puede acabar en un coflicto, pero el dice que no se discute la palabra de un rey, es decir, no acepta consejos ni aunque sea para mantener la paz.
  
  Cuando el rey Arturo besa a Enid pone textualmente en el libro (editorial Siruela, página 35) "la doncella no era loca, y bien quiso que el rey la besara. Villana seria si le pesara." Esta frase no tiene sentiodo por que ya estaba prometida. O sea, el autor es ultraconservador al menos que al rey le dé la gana ir dando besos. Ella podría querer que solo le diera besos su prometido o a lo mejor el rey Arturo no era su tipo. Estoy segura de que el rey Arturo estaba seguro de que él casaría al ciervo y de esa manera tendría un motivo para liarse con alguien. Por cierto, en otros libros se dice que Ginebra es la más guapa del reino (y si no es del reino, lo es del mundo).
  
  También me parece mal que Erec no le compré nada para presentar a Enid a la corte, ya que en esa época, él debería mantenerla y ocuparse de sus necesidades, para eso se casan. ¡Se aprovecha de la reina!
  
  Cuando Eid le dice a Erec que quizás debería volver a guerrear, él la maltrata psicológicamente y no tiene ninguna justificación Al final se dice que la ponía a pruebe pero no es una justificación válida. Si es caballero tiene que guerrear.
  
  Erec se hizo amigo de Guivrete y por eso, cuando este se entera de lo sucedido con el conde Limors, decide ir a rescatar a Enid y llevarse el cádaver de Erec. Lo que quiero comentar es que se entera de la muerte de Erec y de lo de la boda forzada pero nadie le cuenta lo del demonio. Yo lo que más explicaría sería lo del demonio, además, yo me hubiese quedado para conocer al demonio.
  
  En la Aventura de la , por el título me pensé que sería algo como la película Star Trek: La próxima generación (por el hecho de que los caballeros que entran en el reino no pueden salir). Pues no cumplió para nada mis expectativas, fue un aburrimiento. Por otra parte, estuvo mal que Erec fuera allí y se arriesgase a no regresar. Lo digo por que a Enid la puso a prueba y había superado todo. Él debería haberse centrado en recompensarla.
  
  En ese mismo episodio, Erec ve a una mujer y se acerca a ella. Estoy segura que su objetivo era liarse con ella (como estaba solo nadie se enteraría). Esto solo es una deducción.
  También tengo que comentar que el conflicto de esta mujer con el caballero del jardín no se soluciona. Se narra que Enid la reconforta, pero no hay ninguna solución.
  
  Por último quiero destacar que nunca he encontrado un prólogo en estos libros en que se mencione el machismo, por eso he querido comentarlo.
  
  Conclusión: obra machista y pésima.
• 
  Magpie6493

  Going to be honest this has been the only one of the Arthurian romances that I have been unable to get through so far. I am perfectly aware that these stories are a product if their times but this one esspecially did not age well with time.
  
  I am aware Enide is menat to be portrayed as competent in later scenes but there is just so much overwhelming misogyny that happens it is unbearable. Eric treas her incredibly poorly. Like yes humiliating and dragging your wife out on a long stupid quest to prove how manly you are all while yelling at her for mercy talking and telling her you hate her as well as a ton of other nasty things when she was trying to warn you to save your life....yeah that's um..... not good.
  
  The amount that little people in this poem esspecially get demonized into nothing more than caricatures that are constantly being insulted or remarked upon like they're fantasy creatures was seriously off putting.
  
  I also have to add that Arthur is a complete asshole in this. Yes there's probably some honor thing at the start with the kiss where you have to be honest and kiss who you relaky think is the prettiest. However it's a real dick move to not then kiss your wife and instead kiss kne of your knights new wife who you've made a pint of siting her next to you for the whole feast already.
  Also Let's just remeber here that Arthur is kinda twice queneveres age and has fully grown and knighted bastards just running around in the court too all while he doesn't seem to have any children with quenevere either.
  I am honestly surprised after reading that that quenevere isn't the one that shanks him and it ends up being Mordred instead.
  
  Interesting note it is cool to see how Morgana was really different in earlier versions of these stories as opposed to the role that she would occupy later on in works such as La morte d'Arthur. She's very much just some random somewhat respectable lady who uses magic as opposed to this realky threading and unhinged vilaln that you see later on.
  
  Anyways... this was.... Interesting but is is far from the best of these works that I have read so far. Do bear jn kjnd that since I am reading these for enjoyment that is what I am rating and reviewing them on. I do not want to have a academic discussion where an upset guy decides to condescend to me like I have seen happen with a lot of other negative reviews of these works.
• 
  Anna Jo

  Book 3: Eric and enide by chretien
  Rating: more like 3 and a half out of 5 stars
  Book title e
  Authors last name c
  
  So far titles- b,e and l
  So far for authors last name a, c, and h
  
  Summery: Eric and enide is a love story about a knight a poor maiden. They go through many trials and tribulations. In the end, the end up living happily as king and queen.
  
  My thoughts: I have a lot of thoughts about this book but I am too tired to talk about the m all so I will just list a few. First of all, Eric is a pompous, spoiled, narcissistic a hole. He just thinks he can win every battle and get whatever he wants no matter what the consequences might be. And the way he treats enide is terrible. He tells her not to talk but yet she is the reason his ass is saved. And also the fact that she blames herself because she thinks Eric is dead is horseshit. It is no way her fault. It's dumbass is Eric's fault. And oh I want to deck that count who married her and then put his hands on her. And the whole court of joy is stupid. And the ending was very disappointing. I give it three and a half stars because I did like it and I was engaged but those parts really piss me off that I can't give it four stars. I will read more of cretins books in the next few weeks. I hope his other books have a more satisfying ending.