Customer Reviews

The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes: The Complete Romances of Chretien de Troyes

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This is without a doubt one of the finest translations into English of Chrétien de Troyes' Arthurian romances, which includes the seldom found "William of England".
In "Cliges" are many references to the "Tristan and Iseult" story found in other venues. The tale of Greek and English lovers is not typical of what one expects to find in Arthurian romances.
The term "courtly love" wasn't introduced until the nineteenth century, but according to French scholars, the story of "Le Chevalier de la Charette", or "The Knight of the Cart" (AKA, Lancelot and Guinevere) is the first lyric poem that dealt with this subject. I'm sure I won't be the only person who finds surprises in this early version of the tale.
For those who would like to see one of Sir Thomas Malory's sources, and enjoy a good read into the bargain, this is indeed a book to consider purchasing.

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.

Very solid, very readable translation by Staines.

Man these are fun stories. I don't even read often and I loved reading these. Every one of them was fun and interesting. I would recommend this book to people who like fun things and/or happiness.

This book has the chapters listed by others, and also "The Story of the Grail". Knowing this beforehand would have saved me from buying a separate book on Parsifal. Every story in the book is written in prose so if you want a poem format you'll need get books of that kind. I just started reading this book and am totally satisfied with it so far. A good one stop book for all your Chretien needs.

If chivalry and courtly love interest you, this collection of romances is sure to please you.