Arthurian Romances Read Online Free PDF Page B

Yvain learns that the lord’s wife is Sir Gawain’s sister, but that Gawain is unable to succour them because he is away seeking Queen Guinevere, who has been carried off by ‘a knight from a foreign land’ (Meleagant) after King Arthur had foolishly entrusted her to Sir Kay. This is a direct allusion to the central action of
The Knight of the Cart
, and interweaves the plots of the two romances. Gawain cannot see to his own family’s welfare in
The Knight with the Lion
because he is concurrently engaged in a quest in
The Knight of the Cart
. During the second interlace pattern of
The Knight with the Lion
, the elder sister arrives at Arthur’s court just after Gawain has returned with the queen and the other captives from the land of Gorre, and it is specifically noted that Lancelot ‘remained locked in the tower’. This second direct reference to the intrigue of
The Knight of the Cart
refers, perhaps deliberately, to the point at which Chrétien abandoned this romance, leaving its completion to Godefroy de Lagny. This intertextual technique did not have the success of the interlace, but attests like it to an acute artistic awareness on the part of Chrétien to the structuring of his romances. This technique of intertextual reference could also be seen as an attempt by Chrétien to lenddepth or consistency to this work, setting each romance in a broader, more involved world (a technique used later in the
Lancelot-Graal
, where events not specifically recounted in that work are alluded to as background material). In Chrétien’s case it might even be seen as self-promotion, encouraging the reader or listener of one romance to seek out the other.
    Chrétien’s artistry was not limited to overall structure, but extends as well to the details of composition. In all of his romances Chrétien shows himself to be a master of dialogue, which he uses for dramatic effect. With the exception of
Cligés
, where the lengthy monologues are frequently laboured and rhetorical, his often rapid-fire conversations give the impression of a real discussion overheard, rather than of learned discourse. The pertness and wit of Lunete, as she convinces her lady first to accept the slayer of her husband as her second mate and then to take him back after he has offended her, are often cited and justly admired. Erec and Enide’s exchanges as they ride along on adventure show both the tenderness and irritation underlying their relationship. In
The Knight of the Cart
, the conversations between Meleagant and his father quite accurately set off their opposing characters through their choices of vocabulary and imagery, and the words used by Lancelot with the queen vividly translate his abject humility and total devotion. In
The Story of the Grail
, Perceval’s youthful
naïveté
comes across in his questions to the knights and his conversation with the maiden in the tent. In that same romance the catty exchanges between Tiebaut of Tintagel’s two daughters could not be more true to life. Chrétien gives his dialogues a familiar ring through his choice of appropriate vocabulary and a generous sprinkling of proverbial expressions. In Erec’s defiance of Maboagrain, he incorporates five proverbial expressions in only ten lines of dialogue (ll. 5873–82), using traditional wisdom to justify and support his current course of action. In the opening scene of
The Knight with the Lion
, Calogrenant shrugs off Kay’s insults by citing a series of proverbs, and shortly thereafter Kay himself uses proverbial wisdom to insult Yvain. Proverbs and proverbial expressions occur in the other romances as well, where they are particularly prevalent in the monologues and dialogues.
    Chrétien’s use of humour and irony has been frequently noted, as has his ability to incorporate keenly observed realistic details into the most fantastic adventures. Like the dialogues, the descriptions of