Chretien de Troyes, Erec et Enide [Erec and Enide]

Paola Scarpini (University of York)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.5.2.01: French Writing and Culture: Old French to the Middle Ages , 500-1400.
Vol. editors: Marianne Ailes (University of Bristol), Matthew Siôn Lampitt (University of Cambridge), Tim Unwin (University of Bristol), David Williams (University of Sheffield)

Dates

First circulation or publication 1170

Places

France (Country of Origin)

Genres and Modes

Poetry (any)

Resources

Erec et Enide, written around 1169-1170 (see note 1), is the first of the five romances of Chrétien de Troyes. Whether it had a precursor is still a matter of controversy, as some scholars (notably Prof. P. Eley and Prof. P. Simons) showed through an accurate literary analysis that the first version of the Partenopeu de Blois probably predates the Champenois poet’s first work. Although this question has not been fully resolved, Erec et Enide undoubtedly marks the birth of the Arthurian romance as a literary genre.

Chrétien wrote in Champagne during the third quarter of the twelfth century and was, presumably, from Troyes, where he lived between 1160 and 1172, probably as herald-at-arms (…

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2775 words

Citation: Scarpini, Paola. "Erec et Enide". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 December 2015 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=5324, accessed 26 November 2024.]

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