Erec and Enide

Erec and Enide, the first of five surviving Arthurian romantic poems by twelfth-century French poet Chrétien de Troyes, narrates a vivid chapter from the legend of King Arthur. Now an experienced translator of medieval works who is himself a poet has translated Erec and Enide in verse form that fully captures the movement, the sense, and the spirit of the Old French original.

Library Journal

A new verse translation makes this first Arthurian romance (composed around A.D. 1170), also the first of five extant works by French court poet Chretien de Troyes, a pleasure to read. Erec and Enide, newly married and lost in erotic, conjugal bliss, are brought back to reality when gossip suggests that Erec, son of a king, prefers life at home to the existence of a fearless, heroic knight. Celtic legend, classical motifs, and ecclesiastical elements are masterfully interwoven in this tale, whose colloquial translation brings to life the clashing sounds of battle, de Troyes's multiple poetic tones and colorful expressions, and the rhyme and meter of the original's lively octosyllabios. This is not a literal translation along the lines of Carleton W. Carroll's (Garland, 1987), yet it remains scholarly and mindful of the vocabulary of de Troyes's day. Both scholars and general readers will surely enjoy this story of the quest for honor, glory, and the Arthurian way.-- Danielle Mihram, Univ. of Southern California Lib., Los Angeles