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Originally published in 1903.This volume from the Cornell University Library's print collections was scanned on an APT BookScan and converted to JPG 2000 format by Kirtas Technologies.All titles scanned cover to cover and pages may include marks notations and other marginalia present in the original volume. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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The best nuggets from the gold mine of Arthurian legend and lore are collected here in this informative and entertaining addition to the "Little Book" series. Full-color throughout. ... Read more

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The mythology of the Celts can be claimed to be one of the jewels of the European cultural heritage. This book offers us a window on pagan Celtic society, with its love of spectacle, its strict marital code, and love of the good things in life. ... Read more

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This study of Arthurian and Welsh mythology is one in a series of seven that consists of comprehensive analyses of each of the six major Indo-European mythologies.
The Indo Europeans are defined by a common group of languages that extend, as the name implies, from India to Ireland.Among these peoples extensive mythologies have survived in Indian, Persian, Greek, Norse or Germanic, Irish, and Welsh and Arthurian stories.We caution that our account is not for the faint-hearted since our studies have analyzed all of these six mythologies individually in a long and intensive study to a depth that has not even been attempted for a hundred years or more.
Arthurian and Welsh mythology is found in Welsh, Latin, and French and German sources.However, almost all of these have been strongly contaminated by the false identification of much of the stories with the semi-historical figure of the British hero who briefly stemmed the Saxon invasions of Britain.Such a figure is found and named by Bede but his name was not Arthur, and this name and his identification with the Welsh hero is due to the Welsh monk Nennius.
Nevertheless the charm and vigor of the story as told later by Geoffrey of Monmouth led to its immense popularity of the story of Arthur in many European courts and to the telling, re-telling, and probable fabrication of many stories over several hundred years.Said to be to be translated into Latin from a “little Welsh book”, Geoffrey’s work was quite probably translated from “Breton Welsh” by an ally of the Norman invaders.Two-thirds concerns a supposed history of the descent of British kings from survivors of Troy and the last third is the first recognizable account of the “traditional” story of Arthur.
However though much has been lost, hidden within all of the stories are elements of the older true stories and our analysis shows that some striking, largely unrecognized, links with the other Indo-European myths are present.This volume presents those links.
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This volume is produced from digital images created through the University of Michigan University Library's preservation reformatting program. The Library seeks to preserve the intellectual content of items in a manner that facilitates and promotes a variety of uses. The digital reformatting process results in an electronic version of the text that can both be accessed online and used to create new print copies. This book and thousands of others can be found in the digital collections of the University of Michigan Library. The University Library also understands and values the utility of print, and makes reprints available through its Scholarly Publishing Office. ... Read more

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This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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In this final part of our study of Indo European mythology we combine the results of our analyses of Indian, Arthurian, Greek, Norse, Irish, and Persian myths to produce composite pictures of the lives of the seven “Gods of the Indo Europeans”.In particular we are able to build with confidence upon clear similarities in both the names and themes in the accounts of two or more individual mythologies.In all mythologies we are able to see the conflicts and reconciliations of two different peoples as shown by the Tuatha de Danaan and Milesians in Ireland.We also see the strikingly similar destruction of the city of the enemies in Greek Troy and Indian Tripura, and the identical creation of the world by the sacrifices Of Brahma and his counterpart in Indian and Norse.And there are smaller but striking links between the mythologies such as the use of a sickle to kill a woman by the Greek Perseus and Indian Parashurama and the creation of a “blue-throated” individual by poison in Irish and Indian.But some of our perspectives cast previously unperceived darker shadows on some cherished images such as that of the noble Arthur.In fact we see no support for the traditional picture of Arthur as defender of Britain against the Saxons, and so placing Arthur in this British scene is simply false.There are several further aspects of his life and character that are apparently ignored by most writers.Among these is Arthur’s attempt to drown the child Mordred at the instruction of Merlin that is so clearly reflected in the story of Krishna in India as well as in other myths.Also the story of Arthur does not include the fact that the very creation of his kingship is founded on the treacherous assassination of his uncle with an arrow shown in the story of Balder in Norse and Rama in Indian.
In summary we show that the wealth of matches in both names and exploits in the six mythologies is undeniable and we are indeed able to construct the elements of the lives of seven people that form the “Family of the Gods”.
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Taking the legends surrounding King Arthur and weaving in new psychological elements of personal desire and courtly manner, Chretien de Troyes fashioned a new form of medieval Romance. The Knight of the Cart is the first telling of the adulterous relationship between Lancelot and Arthur's Queen Guinevere, and in The Knight with the Lion Yvain neglects his bride in his quest for greater glory. Erec and Enide explores a knight's conflict between love and honour, Cliges exalts the possibility of pure love outside marriage, while the haunting The Story of the Grail chronicles the legendary quest. Rich in symbolism, these evocative tales combine closely observed detail with fantastic adventure to create a compelling world that profoundly influenced Malory, and are the basis of the Arthurian legends we know today. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (8)

Arthurian Romances
Four Arthurian Romances: Erec et Enide -- Cliges -- Yvain -- Lancelot by Chretien de Troyes. Published by MobileReference (mobi).

I've read several books on Arthurian literature, and this is one of my favorites. In Knight of the Cart, Chretien really makes Lancelot shine as he sacrifices more than anyone (Arthur particularly) to save Guinevere. Knight with the Lion is a little on the twisted side as Yvain falls in love with the wife of the man he kills, breaks a promise with her, then gets her back through trickery of words. If chivalry and courtly love interest you, this collection of romances is sure to please you. Very solid, very readable translation.

Drawing legends from legends, conventions from myths
D.D.R. Owen, late professor emeritus of French in the University of St. Andrews, states of his translation that he kept "the needs of students" in mind. For that reason, Owen tells us, his "renderings...incline towards the literal." In other words Owen's translation of Chrétien of Troyes's "Arthurian Romances" shuns poetic and literary licence. Decide what you want. This is a scholar's book, a dry literal translation from twelfth century French of original tales that were too long to start with. General readers may find it dull.

Near the end of his substantive Introduction (which itself makes a useful essay for students of Chrétien's times) Owen comments that "Chrétien has bequeathed to us a brilliant portrait of the society that gave him his livelihood." That's true, but these romances set up portraits that will seem "brilliant" only from a scholar's perspective.

Chrétien's productive years spanned 1170 to 1182, the very pinnacle of chivalry -- and of chivalry's unlikely twin, courtly love. Chrétien was an eye-witness, working in the halls of noble patrons, observing and recording the highest values of the culture of his time. He wrote "Lancelot" around 1177, dedicating it to Marie of Champagne (Eleanor of Aquitaine's eldest child), and bringing the world the first mention of Camelot. By 1182, Chrétien was introducing the Holy Grail in "Perceval: the Story of the Grail." Before he won fame under Marie's sponsorship, one wonders if Chrétien had made his observations about the conventions of courtly love and chivalry earlier, at Eleanor's Court of Ladies in Poitiers (1168-'73). Owen was too much the perfect scholar to speculate, but we can. "Arthurian Romances" contains much that Chrétien absorbed from an influential source, a royal hall replete with courtly traditions, poets and bards. This book is a struggle, but it can be rewarding.

By Robert Fripp, author of
"Power of a Woman. Memoirs of a turbulent life: Eleanor of Aquitaine"

Free SF Reader
There are several examples of the French chivalrous tradition here, and all that courtly love stuff.Or, how to wear shiny armor, look pretty, do what your religion tells you, be nice to ladies but don't knock them off their pedestals.

Try to get really, really good at killing people and beating people up, too.

Read this and you'll appreciate Cervantes.
An awful yawner.It shows all the reasons chivalry made for tiresome tales, and why the world needed Don Quixote so badly.

The Chretien de Troyes version of Lancelot is repetitious, has many loose ends, and is full of plot holes.Lancelot jumps into a cart to shame himself in pursuit of Guenivere.Before Lancelot jumps into the cart, the narrator states that "reason is the enemy of love."In the scope of the book, and the code of chivalry, reason is the enemy of this genre.

Take with Nyquil.

Early Arthur
Chretien de Troyes is an early French romantic writing, who wrote the first known story about the Holy Grail. De Troyes lived in the Champagne region of France during the latter twelfth century. Peripherally attached to courts including that of the famous Eleanor of Acquitaine, de Troyes stories of the Arthurian legends provides a foundation for almost all future Arthurian stories.

Chretien's major works include four poems included in this collection:Erec and Enide, Cliges, The Knight of the Cart (Lancelot), and The Knight of the Lion (Yvain).For Grail seekers, the story of most interest will be the unfinished Perceval: The Story of the Grail.Although the tale exists in finished form (in fact, several variations of finished forms), de Troyes in fact only wrote the first 9000 lines of the approximately 32,000 line text.(De Troyes also was embellished or supplemented by later additions to the tale of Lancelot, perhaps because de Troyes did not want to include an adulterous affair).

The story of Erec and Enide is a love story between one of Arthur's knights, Erec, who while out with Guinevere encounters a mean-spirited knight Yder; Erec's pursuit of Yder leads to his meeting Enide, and the two have a stormy relationship (by medieval romantic standards) but ultimately are able to reconcile their love and relationship with public duty.

The story of Cliges is one of tricky and forbidden relationships.Cliges, a native of Greece, falls in love with Fenice, his uncle's wife (Cliges' uncle happens to be the emperor).Their love is discovered, but with the aid of King Arthur, their relationship continues in Cliges' home country of Greece.

Lancelot's story is one of the oldest ideas from the Arthurian legends - the rescue of Guinevere when she is taken captive.This could be done in a chaste and honourable way, but the tale of Arthur has both virtuous and dark elements.Even though this story comes from much older antecedents, de Troyes telling (with the possible additions by a later writer) became the standard Lancelot-Guinevere tale, being the principal one incorporated into Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur.

The story of Yvain is one of romantic questing - Yvain is gone so long on his knightly quests that his wife refuses him to return home.However, with the aid of mystical powers (the lion is an otherworldly creature that symbolises knightly virtue - C.S. Lewis will develop similar symbolic material much later) he returns to his wife after going mad with despair at being barred from her.

Perceval's story is that of the classic search for the Grail, which is also considered now a standard part of Arthurian legend - however, it is not clear that de Troyes was working from earlier stories here.

William Kibler provides notes, an introductory essay, and an essay tracing the history of revisions and continuations to the Grail story.This is fascinating reading, and a must for anyone interested in the Arthurian legends.
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Noted Canadian author and poet Theodore Goodridge Roberts was fascinated with Sir Dinadan, perhaps the most practical of the Knights of the Round Table. Roberts expressed his affection for the character Malory dubbed "the merriest knight" through a cycle of bright and witty tales published throughout the 1950s in the popular magazine Blue Book. Toward the end of his life, Roberts created a final Dinadan adventure and set about collecting the stories into a single volume, but he died before that book saw publication

Under the guidance of editor Mike Ashley, The Merriest Knight gathers for the first time all of Roberts' tales of Sir Dinadan-including the previously unpublished "Quest's End"-and several other long lost Arthurian works by this master of the stylish adventure yarn and the historical romance. Within these pages, readers will find a collection of Arthurian tales that are sometimes poignant, often humorous, and always ingenious, as well as a Camelot made fresh by the wry and often scathing eye of Sir Dinadan, who never rushes into battle without first being certain of the need to fight at all. ... Read more