Four Arthurian Romances -Eric Et Enide-: The First Great Arthurian Romance - Hardcover

Erec et Enide is one of the foundational works of Arthurian romance, a story of love, honour, marriage, adventure, and knightly reputation by the writer who helped shape the genre itself. At King Arthur's court, Erec wins the love of the noble Enide, but after marriage his devotion to her threatens his standing as a knight. When whispers arise that love has softened him, Erec sets out with Enide on a dangerous series of trials meant to prove his courage, restore his fame, and test the bond between husband and wife.

Chrétien de Troyes brought together many of the elements that later readers would recognise as central to Arthurian literature: the court of King Arthur, the knightly quest, public honour, private desire, mysterious adventures, tests of loyalty, and love as a force that drives action. Erec et Enide is not merely a tale set in Arthur's world; it is one of the works that taught later writers and audiences what Arthurian romance could be. Its influence reaches across medieval literature and into the long afterlife of chivalric storytelling.

This SMK edition is suited to readers of Arthurian legend, medieval romance, classic literature, chivalric adventure, courtly love, French literature in translation, and the origins of European romance fiction. Erec et Enide remains essential reading for anyone interested in how the stories of Arthur, knights, quests, love, and honour became one of the great imaginative traditions of the Western world.