Full Description
New edition, with facing English translation, of one of the most important Arthurian works from the middle ages.
Erec is the earliest extant German Arthurian romance, freely adapted and translated into Middle High German by the Swabian knight, Hartmann von Aue, from the first Old French Arthurian romance, Chrétien de Troyes' Erec et Enide. Hartmann's work dates from c. 1180, but the only (almost) complete manuscript dates from the early sixteenth century, copied into the huge two-volume Ambraser Heldenbuch, now housed in Vienna - the most comprehensive extant compilation of medieval German romances and epics, commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I. Otherwise, only a few earlier medieval fragments survive.
Erec tells the story of a young knight at King Arthur's court, whose early prowess wins him high repute, and a beautiful wife, Enite. He falls into disrepute because of his excessively zealous devotion of his time to her. Alerted to his notoriety, he embarks on a series of symbolic adventures, which eventually lead to his achieving a new balance between the claims of love and those of society. Far more than a simple translation, Hartmann's first attempt at an Arthurian romance is notable for its zest and gusto.
This is the first edition with a parallel text translation into English; it is presented with explanatory notes and variant readings.
Cyril Edwards is a Senior Research Fellow of Oxford University's Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages, and an Honorary Research Fellow of University College London.
Contents
Introduction
The stranger knight and his dwarf
Coralus and Enite
The combat for the sparrow-hawk
King Arthur's justice after the killing of the white stag and Iders' arrival in Cardigan
Erec's last night in his father-in-law's house
Enite's reception at King Arthur's court
Erec and Enite marry
The tournament between Tarebron and Prurin
Erec's return home; his sloth
Erec's fight with robbers; his harshness to Enite
Lady Enite's ruse
Guivreiz li Pitiz
Erec's encounter with Kay
Erec's encounter with Gawein; Morgan le Fay
Erec fights with two giants
Erec's collapse and Enite's despair
Count Oringles in Limors; Erec and Enite reconciled
Erec encounters Guivreiz; his sojourn in Penefrec
Enite's palfrey
Castle Brandigan
Joie de la curt and the Red Knight
Mabonagrin's tale
The eighty widows; return to Arthur's court
Erec's homecoming
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