The Romances of Chr&233tien de Troyes [Paperback]

Twelfth-century French poet Chr?tien de Troyes was one of the most influential figures in Western literature, for his romantic poems on the legend of King Arthur gave rise to a tradition of storytelling that continues to this day. This important and fascinating book is a study of all of Chr?tiens work.

Joseph J. Duggan begins with an introduction that sets Chr?tien within the social and intellectual currents of his time. He then organizes the book in chapters that focus on major issues in Chr?tiens romances rather than on individual works, topics that range from the importance of kinship and genealogy to standards of secular moral responsibility and from Chr?tiens art of narration to his representation of knighthood. Duggan offers new perspectives on many of these themes: in a chapter on the influence of Celtic mythology, for example, he gives special attention to the ways Chr?tien integrated portrayals of motivation with mythic themes and characters, and in discussing the Grail romance, he explores the parallels between Percevals and Gauvains adventures.