Classic Arthurian Tales by Chretien de Troyes

Antonio G.Antonio G.: The book looks old and the first page is torn on the top side. The edges are partially deteriorated. I expected a book in good conditions and it is not what I got.

Germany on Oct 19, 2022

Joseph NeSmith: It's a good copy of these stories. Similar to the Penguin publication. It does not have the lines on the pages which is slightly annoying if you're reading in a group.

United States on Apr 21, 2022

Kindle Customer: It's a bit different from what I normally read and takes a lot of concentration but I liked it.

United Kingdom on Apr 19, 2021

flandan: This review is for the Penguin Classics version of the text.
ISBN-10 : 0140445218
ISBN-13 : 978-0140445213

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭: Mediocre print quality, small text, notes in the back [3/5]
Being that this is a medieval text, some of the terminology and language is not of this century. The word brattice, for example, now carries the meaning of "a partition or shaft lining in a coal mine", whereas in the text it was actually referring to the wooden protrusion on castles. I would much prefer if there were marginal glosses and proper footnotes at the bottom of the page like in other scholarly or critical editions.

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭: Prose translation, very easy to read [?/5]
I'm not a medievalist and I have no knowledge of Old French. That being said, I am somewhat skeptical of the quality of this translation. It is very easy to read, which strikes me as odd. The fact that it is a prose translation doesn't bother me per se, but the translator has omitted all semblance of verse, rendering the text as one would an ordinary novel. I can't help but think that this would detract from the poetic quality of Old...

United States on Feb 15, 2021

Michael Dodds: I read these first as a young child which inspired an life long interest in the legends of King Arthur and his knights. I have read them again, and I consider them to be essential reading for anyone with an interest in these stories. Excellent. A absolute classic.

United Kingdom on Mar 04, 2020

EllisScottPollard: This collection is one of the most important primary texts that informs Arthurian lore. The translation feels more contemporary but doesn't sacrifice essential material that makes the original text so important to Arthurian studies. One also gets very unique judgments of round table figures. Chretien's account of Lancelot is probably the most damning retelling of Arthur's most famous knight's fall from his king's favor. The book is worth it for the chronicling of the Lancelot/Guinevere episode, perhaps the most intricate detailing and morally focussed interpretation of the legend, whose judgmental tone continues to inform new incarnations of the affair portion of Arthurian mythos.

In addition to the important Lancelot story, Chretien's stories provide a very lucid glimpse of both artistic and broadly cultural views of these staple romances, along with a crucial view into the changing nature of written accounts of legendary material that was in flux soon after the tales were put to paper. The writing is particularly subtle, in the spirit of Sir Gawain's romance. On a personal note, I used to be quite involved in tales about Arthur but felt I lost my fire for the subject....

United States on Nov 11, 2015

Sharon Kirk: "Arthurian Romances" is a recent translation of five of the medieval writer Chretien de Troyes' stories about King Arthur's court. The stories are Erec and Enide, Cligés, The Knight of the Cart (Lancelot), The Knight with the Lion (Yvain), and The Story of the Grail (Perceval).
The book also has an appendix of Continuations of the Grail Stories, a Medieval glossary, and a good Notes section. I bought it as I was studying 'The Knight of the Cart' for a course on Magic in the Middle Ages.

I found this translation more readable than some of the previous ones I tried. The Notes and Glossary were also helpful as was the Introduction. It's written in a modern style yet keeps the flavour of knighthood, battles and ladies who need rescuing but may also be enchanted. I would recommend this book to anybody studying this period in literature, or to anybody interested in King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, or if you enjoy tales of adventure, romance and magic.

United States on Jun 18, 2015

therealus: If you have time - and if you're about to read this book you must have it to burn - please indulge me in my offer of an introduction to Chrétien de Troyes as an alternative to the overreverent and numbingly serious one offered by Penguin. I do so not because I feel Chrétien's work lacks value. To the contrary, it's without doubt a cultural treasure, offering an insight into the sensibilities and preoccupations of its time. It's more because if you're about to spend the long, long time it is going to take you to read the work, you deserve a health warning. And maybe one of those Parental Guidance stickers Tipper Gore wasted so much time inventing, instead of doing something worthwhile like her old man did and campaigning for some cleaner air.

One particularly shocking realisation from reading Chrétien's account is that, far from being a great English hero, Arthur is in fact very French. As, of course, was England itself at the time. So possibly one of the more interesting perspectives the Arthurian Romances give us is of England as an extension of France, with Arthur trundling off for extensive stays in Brittany, leaving the estate in the care of one of his counts. Even...

United Kingdom on Mar 26, 2012

Deb Schlueter: Got it for school, but I'm not too big on romances so maybe I'm biased. I'm trying.
It's a pretty good story...actually a set of stories written by this Troyes guy, all about everyone except noble King Arthur. Gotta buy a different book to get the sword in the stone story. Great for in depth details on the romance-period view of the barbarian Arthurian story, and even better for writing a detailed paper on it.
If you're into Arthurian stories (and already know the story lines of the main story but want more on the offshoots and the only-mentioned-once characters like Yvain) this is a great book for you! Not good for people who don't know the story. Watch the disney movie first for some background or read the Mists of Avalon (long but good).

United States on Sep 10, 2003

Bookfiend: I really can't say enough in praise of this wonderful book. Each poem is translated into prose in a lively and vivid style. The dialogue is crisp and natural and the action non-stop. But Chretien's intentions go even deeper than merely telling cracking yarns. Each are sensitive and intelligent explorations of human nature.
Marital love is ever an important theme in Chretien. In Erec and Enide, the hero neglects his knightly reputation in order to devote himself to his new bride, and in Yvain the hero does the opposite and neglects his bride for valour. Both must set off on a series of adventures that culminate in them seeing the error of their ways and setting matters right.
Lancelot is an excellent story, though rather odd in that the theme this time is an adulterous relationship, that of Lancelot and Guinevere. Nowhere does Chretien condemn this relationship, despite negative references elsewhere to the shameful adulterous love between Tristan and Iseult. In Kibler's introduction he suggests that the theme may have been suggested by Chretien's patroness. Perhaps, then, Chretien was anxious not to offend the French Court. At any rate, he didn't bother to finish the romance...

United Kingdom on Aug 23, 2003