Arthurian Romances Page 4

  … tant que vint a la nuit oscure.

  Si li enuia molt la nuiz,

  et de ce dobla li enuiz

  qu’il plovoit a si grant desroi

  com Damedex avoit de coi,

  et fu el bois molt au parfont.

  Et la nuiz et li bois li font

  grant enui, et plus li enuie

  que la nuis ne li bois, la pluie. [ll. 4840–48]

  [… until the shadows of night fell. She was frightened by the night, but her fright was doubled because it was raining as heavily as God could make it pour and she was in the depths of the forest. The night and the forest frightened her, but she was more upset by the rain than either the night or the forest.]

  Certainly no translation can hope to capture all the subtlety and magic of Chrétien’s art. But one can hope to convey some measure of his humour, his irony and the breadth of his vision. He was one of the great artists and creators of his day, and nearly every romancer after him had to come to terms with his legacy. Some translated or frankly imitated (today we might even say plagiarized) his work; others repeated or developed motifs, themes, structures and stylistic mannerisms introduced by him; still others continued his stories in ever more vast compilations. Already in the last decade of the twelfth century his Erec and Enide had been translated into German as Erek by Hartmann von Aue, who in the first years of the thirteenth century also translated The Knight with the Lion (Iwein). At about the same time Ulrich von Zatzikhoven translated The Knight of the Cart, also into German (Lanzelet). But his greatest German emulator was Wolfram von Eschenbach, who adapted Chrétien’s The Story of the Grail as Parzival, one of the finest of all medieval romances, in the first decade of the thirteenth century. There were also direct adaptations of this romance into Middle Dutch and Old Welsh.

  In the fifty years from 1190 to 1240 Arthurian romance was the prevailing vogue in France, and no writer could escape Chrétien’s influence. Some, like Gautier d’Arras and Jean Renart, deliberately set out to rival him, fruitlessly attempting to surpass the master. Others – the majority – flattered his memory by their imitations of his work. Among the motifs first introduced by Chrétien that are found in more than one romance after him are the tournament in which the hero fights incognito (Cligés), the sparrow–hawk contest (Erec), the abduction (The Knight of the Cart), Sir Kay’s disagreeable temperament (Erec, The Knight of the Cart, The Story of the Grail), and the heads of knights impaled on stakes (Erec).

  His incompleted The Story of the Grail sparked by far the greatest interest. In the last decade of the twelfth century two anonymous continuators sought to complete the poem. The first took it up where Chrétien left off, continuing the adventures of Sir Gawain for as many as 19,600 lines in the lengthiest redaction, but never reaching a conclusion. The second continuator returned to the adventures of Perceval for an additional 13,000 lines. In the early thirteenth century the romance was given two independent terminations, one by Manessier in some 10,000 additional lines, and the other by Gerbert de Montreuil in 17,000 lines. (See Appendix).

  Meanwhile, also in the late twelfth century, Robert de Boron composed a derivative verse account of the history of the Grail in three related poems – Joseph d’Arimathie, Merlin, Perceval – of which only the first survives intact. It tells of the origin of the Grail, associating it for the first time with the cup of the Last Supper, and announces that it will be carried to the West and found there by a knight of the lineage of Joseph of Arimathea. Robert’s Perceval (now totally lost) would have recounted how this knight found the Grail and thereby put an end to the ‘marvels of Britain’. The second poem, now fragmentary, links the others by changing the scene to Britain, introducing Arthur and having Merlin recall the action of the first and predict that of the second. Robert’s poems were soon replaced by prose versions, notably the so-called Didot-Perceval. In the early thirteenth century there was a second prose reworking of Chrétien’s Grail story, known as the Perlesvaus, by an anonymous author who also knew the work of Robert de Boron and both the First and Second Continuations.

  Chrétien’s influence can still be felt in the vast prose compendium of the mid-thirteenth century known as the Lancelot-Graal or the Vulgate Cycle (1225–50), which combined his story of Lancelot’s love for the queen (The Knight of the Cart) with the Grail quest (The Story of the Grail), and was the source of Malory’s Le Morte D’Arthur, the fountainhead of Arthurian material in modern English literature. However, the success of the Lancelot-Graal ironically marked the decline of Chrétien’s direct influence. As prose came to replace verse as the preferred medium for romance and the French language continued to evolve from Chrétien’s Old French to a more modern idiom, his poems were forgotten until the rediscovery of their manuscripts in the nineteenth century.

  Thanks to Malory, the Arthurian materials were never lost sight of so completely in England, and Tennyson’s Idylls of the King reflect the vogue for Arthuriana in the Romantic period. Today in both England and America there is a renewed and lively interest in the Arthurian legends that Chrétien was the first to exploit as the subject matter for romance. All those who have celebrated and still celebrate King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table – from the anonymous authors of the Lancelot-Graal through Malory and Tennyson to Steinbeck, Boorman and Bradley today – are forever in his debt.

  William W. Kibler

  June 1989

  A NOTE ON THE TRANSLATIONS

  It is acknowledged as fact that there exists no adequate edition of Chrétien’s romances on which to base a translation. Like any medieval text that exists in more than one manuscript, there are significant variations between one version and the next. Wording often differs slightly from text to text, lines may be inverted or moved, and occasionally whole passages are altered significantly or omitted. It is the editor’s job to make sense of these variants and to produce a text that is as authoritative as possible. The first editor of Chrétien’s romances, Wendelin Foerster, produced a composite text for each poem based on all manuscripts known to him. This composite edition, although highly personal in many cases and occasionally productive of lines that could not be found in any medieval version, is still generally recognized as the best overall edition of Chrétien’s works. A second approach to editing Chrétien was taken by Mario Roques and Alexandre Micha in their editions of Erec, Cligés, Lancelot, and Yvain for the Classiques français du moyen âge series. They chose a single manuscript, the so-called ‘Guiot MS’, which they believed to be the best overall and the closest to Chrétien’s usage, and reproduced it as exactly as possible, eliminating only some of the most flagrant scribal slips. However, this ultra-conservative approach resulted in a text that in many instances was demonstrably not that of the great Champenois poet. With the exception of Cligés, therefore, for which we have used the Foerster edition as the base, the following translations are all done from new editions of the romances. These editions, like Roques’s and Micha’s, are based on the Guiot MS, but we have attempted to find a middle ground between Foerster’s eclecticism and Roques’s conservatism, intervening and emending whenever there was a problem in Guiot and a satisfactory solution could be found in the other manuscripts. These editions, along with facing-page translations, were first published in the Garland Library of Medieval Literature.1

  Specific textual problems affecting the translations are discussed in the notes to the GLML editions. However, the line-for-line translations in the GLML have been rearranged and substantially revised for this volume in light of the most recent scholarship. Reconsideration of the syntax or interpretation of a number of lines of the original has led in some instances to modifications in the translations. Of particular value in this respect have been Brian Woledge’s recent two volumes of Commentaire sur Yvain. As the changes are for the most part minor and of interest only to Old French textual specialists, we have refrained from mentioning them in the notes to the present translations. Nor have we sought to use the notes to guide our readers’ interpr
etations of Chrétien, preferring to limit ourselves to explaining historical, topical, and classical allusions that might enhance their understanding and appreciation of the text.

  The gap of eight hundred years between the composition of these poems and our reading them cannot be wholly bridged by the notes. Some terminology and institutions that were familiar then are no longer with us today. To eliminate them entirely, however, would be to create a false modernity, so we have in some instances preferred to respect the works’ ‘otherness’ and retain archaic words for which there exist no precise modern equivalent. These terms are explained in the Glossary of Medieval Terms that immediately follows the Appendix.

  As Cervantes once lamented, reading a translation is like viewing a tapestry from the back. Through the knots and loose ends you can make out the central design and colour, but it is impossible to recreate the original in all its subtlety, detail and energy. We have attempted to provide a straightforward English prose rendition of Chrétien’s romances, but one which retains some of the richness and flow of the original. We have sought to remain as faithful as possible to Chrétien’s text, while keeping in mind the habits and needs of the contemporary reader. The elliptical nature of Old French syntax, as well as its tendency to separate relative clauses from their antecedents and to use a postpositioned subject, frequently necessitated substantial syntactical modifications. Like other writers of his day, Chrétien made little effort to avoid ambiguity in his use of personal pronouns, so we have frequently clarified ambiguous referents by the use of proper names. Nor have we attempted to reproduce the tenses of the original exactly, for Old French allowed apparently indiscriminate switching between past and present for narrative, a technique which only appears inattentive in modern English.

  Divisions into paragraphs according to modern usage have been provided by the translators. Medieval manuscripts divided the poems into lengthy sections, often of many hundreds of lines each, by the use of decorative initials, but these were the work of the scribes rather than the poet and vary in frequency and placement from manuscript to manuscript. The line numbers provided in the running heads correspond to those in the editions used to make the translations.

  Until 1987 the only available English translation of Chrétien’s major romances (except The Story of the Grail) was that by W. W. Comfort, published in the Everyman’s Library series in 1914 and reprinted well into the 1980s. Although accurate in the main, its Victorian style had become antiquated and accessible only with difficulty. In the past two decades a number of translations have appeared in a variety of formats and series. Rhyming translations of all five romances have been produced by Ruth Harwood Cline (Georgia UP, 1975–2000), and a poetic rendering in three-stress, unrhymed verse by Burton Raffel is now complete (Yale UP, 1987–99). Prose translations of Chrétien’s Arthurian romances have appeared by D. D. R. Owen (Dent, 1987) and David Staines (Indiana UP, 1993). In French, new translations were produced to accompany the editions of Chrétien’s poems in the Pléiade edition, edited by Daniel Poirion (Paris, 1994), as well as in the ‘Lettres gothiques’ series, edited by Michel Zink, which, in addition to appearing individually, have been published collectively in the Pochothèque by Livre de Poche (Paris, 1994). Earlier French translations that appeared in Champion’s ‘Traductions des Classiques français du moyen âge’ series remain useful.

  Our special thanks go in the first instance to Gary Kuris of Garland Publications, who always dreamed of reading these translations together in a single volume and who oversaw the negotiations that made this possible. Special encouragement was also given by Glyn S. Burgess of the University of Liverpool, whose timely intervention is most appreciated. We would also like to thank James Wilhelm, who first welcomed Chrétien into the GLML, Paul Keegan, who brought him to Penguin, and the many other colleagues, reviewers, and readers whose insightful comments and criticisms have guided us along the way. Research and released time was made possible by the University Research Institute of the University of Texas. The preparation of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency.

  W.W.K./C.W.C.

  SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY

  For a more complete list, consult Douglas Kelly, Chrétien de Troyes: An Analytic Bibliography, Research Bibliographies & Checklists, 17. London: Grant & Cuder, 1976, as well as the Bulletin Bibliographique de la Société Internationale Arthurienne – Bibliographical Bulletin of the International Arthurian Society (BBSIA), published annually since 1949.

  EDITIONS OF CHRÉTIEN’S WORKS

  Busby, Keith, ed. Chrétien de Troyes. Le Roman de Perceval, ou Le Conte du Graal. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1993.

  Carroll, Carleton W., ed. and trans. Chrétien de Troyes. Erec and Enide. Garland Library of Medieval Literature, 25A. New York & London: Garland, 1987.

  Foerster, Wendelin, ed. Christian von Troyes. Sämtliche Werke, nach allen bekannten Handschriften, herausgegeben von Wendelin Foerster, 4 vols. Halle: Niemeyer, 1884–99.

  Gregory, Stewart and Claude Luttrell, trans. Chrétien de Troyes, Cligés. Arthurian Studies, 28. Cambridge (England) and Rochester, NY: D. S. Brewer, 1993.

  Hilka, Alfons, ed. Der Percevalroman von Christian von Troyes. Sàmtliche Werke, vol. 5 (1932); repr. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1965–6.

  Kibler, William W., ed. and trans. Chrétien de Troyes. Lancelot, or, The Knight of the Cart (Le Chevalier de la Charrete). Garland Library of Medieval Literature, 1A. New York & London: Garland, 1981.

  Kibler, William W., ed. and trans. Chrétien de Troyes. The Knight with the Lion, or Yvain (Le Chevalier au Lion). Garland Library of Medieval Literature, 48A. New York & London: Garland, 1985.

  Lecoy, Félix, ed. Les romans de Chrétien de Troyes, édités d’après la copie de Guiot (Bibl. nat., fr. 794). Classiques Français du Moyen Age 100 and 103. Paris: Champion, 1972 and 1975. V Le Conte du Graal (Perceval).

  Micha, Alexandre, ed. Les romans de Chrétien de Troyes, édités d’aprés la copie de Guiot (Bibl. nat., fr.794). Classiques Français du Moyen Age 84. Paris: Champion, 1957. II Cligés.

  Pickens, Rupert T., ed. and William W. Kibler, trans. Chrétien de Troyes. Perceval, or, The Story of the Grail (Le Conte du Graal). Garland Library of Medieval Literature. New York & London: Garland, 1990.

  Poirion, Daniel, ed. Chrétien de Troyes. Œuvres complètes. Bibliothèque de la Pléiade, 408. Paris: Gallimard, 1994.

  Roach, William, ed. Chrétien de Troyes. Le Roman de Perceval, ou le Conte du Graal. Textes Littéraires Français 71. Geneva: Droz; and Paris: Minard, 1956; repr. 1959.

  Roques, Mario, ed. Les romans de Chrétien de Troyes, édités d’après la copie de Guiot (Bibl. nat., fr. 794). Classiques Français du Moyen Age 80, 86, and 89. Paris: Champion, 1952–60. I Erec et Enide; III Le Chevalier de la Charrete; IV Le Chevalier au Lion (Yvain).

  Zai, Marie-Claire, ed. Chrétien de Troyes. Les Chansons courtoises de Chrétien de Troyes. Publications Universitaires Européennes, Série 13: Langue et Littérature Françaises 27. Bern and Frankfurt-am-Main: Lang & Lang, 1974.

  Zink, Michel, ed. Chrétien de Troyes. Romans. La Pochothèque, Classiques Modernes. Paris: Livre de Poche, 1994.

  PRINCIPAL TRANSLATIONS

  Cline, Ruth Harwood, trans. Yvain, or the Knight With the Lion. Athens: Georgia UP, 1975; Perceval, or the Story of the Grail. Athens: Georgia UP, 1985; Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart. Athens: Georgia UP, 1990; Erec and Enide. Athens: Georgia UP, 2000; Cligés. Athens: Georgia UP, 2000.

  Comfort, William W., trans. Arthurian Romances. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, Inc., 1914.

  Owen, D. D. R., trans. Chrétien de Troyes, Arthurian Romances. Everyman Classics. London and Melbourne: Dent, 1987.

  Raffel, Burton, trans. Yvain: The Knight of the Lion. New Haven: Yale UP, 1987; Erec and Enide. New Haven: Yale UP, 1996; Lancelot: The Knight of the Cart. New Haven: Yale UP, 1997; Cligés. New Haven: Yale UP, 1997; Perceval: The Story of the Grail. New Haven: Yale UP, 1999.


  Staines, David, trans. The Complete Romances of Chrétien de Troyes. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana UP, 1993.

  Parallel French translations accompany the above-listed editions by Daniel Poirion and Michel Zink.

  OTHER MEDIEVAL WORKS CITED

  Andreas Capellanus. The Art of Courtly Love, trans. John J. Parry. Milestones of Thought. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1969.

  Béroul. Le Roman de Tristan, ed. Ernest Muret. 4th ed. by ‘L. M. Defourques’. Classiques Français du Moyen Age 12. Paris: Champion, 1947.

  Chrétien. Guillaume d’Angleterre, ed. A. J. Holden. Textes Littéraires Français 360. Geneva: Droz, 1988.

  Geoffrey of Monmouth. History of the Kings of Britain, trans. Lewis Thorpe. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1966.

  The Mabinogion, trans. Gwyn Jones and Thomas Jones. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1949.

  Marie de France. Les Lais de Marie de France, ed. Jean Rychner. Les Classiques Français du Moyen Age 93. Paris: Champion, 1968.

  —— The Lais of Marie de France, trans. Glyn S. Burgess and Keith Busby. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1986.

  Roach, William J., ed. The Continuations of the Old French Perceval of Chrétien de Troyes, 4 vols. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1949–50 (1–2), American Philosophical Society, 1953–72 (3–4).

  —— ed. The Didot Perceval. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1941.

  Robert de Boron. Le Roman de l’Estoire dou Graal, ed. William A. Nitze, Classiques Français du Moyen Age 57. Paris: Champion, 1927.

  Thomas. Les Fragments du Roman de Tristan, ed. Bartina Wind. Textes Littéraires Français 92. Geneva: Droz and Paris: Minard, 1960.

  Wace. La Partie arthurienne du Roman du Brut (extrait du manuscrit B. N. fr. 794), ed. I. D. O. Arnold and M. M. Pelan. Bibliothèque Française et Romane, Série B: Textes et Documents 1. Paris: Klincksieck, 1962.