romance is incomplete. But there is also evidence that Chrétien died before completing it.
The last 1,000 lines of the Charrette were written by the otherwise unknown Godefroi de
Leigni, who names himself in the epilogue and says that he is following Chrétien’s plan
for the romance. The Charrette plot is referred to three times in Yvain, and it is likely that
Chrétien worked on the two romances at about the same time; this may explain why he
left the completion of the Charrette to another, whose work he supervised while himself
completing Yvain.
Erec treats the love of Erec and Enide. In the first part, Erec successfully completes
the combat for the sparrowhawk and brings Enide to Arthur’s court, where they marry. A
dispute between husband and wife breaks out in the second part because Erec abandons
deeds of prowess, notably in tournaments, to dally with his wife. Erec and Enide set out
in quest of reconciliation, after which they return to Arthur’s court and are crowned king
and queen there upon the death of Erec’s father.
Cligés also has two parts. The first relates how Alixandre, the first son of the Emperor
of Constantinople, goes to Arthur’s court to test his mettle, falls in love with Gauvain’s
sister, Soredamors, and helps put down an insurrection by one of Arthur’s vassals.
Alixandre and Soredamors then marry. The second part recounts the career of their son,
Cligés. Alixandre’s younger brother, Alis, had been crowned emperor during his older
brother’s absence. The latter relinquished the throne after Alis had promised not to marry
so as to allow Cligés to succeed him. But Alis breaks his word by marrying Fenice.
Fenice and Cligés fall in love. At the end of a complicated plot, including a magic potion,
a false death, and a secret hideaway, Alis dies and Cligés and Fenice are united in
matrimony.
The Charrette tells the first known version of the love of Lancelot and Guenevere. The
queen is abducted by Meleagant to the land of Gorre. Lancelot, known as the Knight of
the Cart after riding in that infamous conveyance, succeeds in saving her from her captors
while liberating Arthur’s subjects held captive with her.
Yvain tells how the hero knight wins the hand of Laudine, the lady of the magic
fountain, by defeating and mortally wounding her husband. After this courtly variant of
the Widow of Ephesus tale, Yvain neglects to return to her after more than a year of
following tournaments, then goes mad when she repudiates his love. A quest ends with
their reconciliation. During the quest, Yvain aids, befriends, and is accompanied by a
lion—whence his sobriquet: the Knight with the Lion. Yvain offers interesting parallels
and contrasts in plot, structure, and theme with Erec.
Chrétien’s last major work, the incomplete Conte du graal, or Perceval, relates how a
young, naive squire rises to prominence through combat and love, then fails in the
adventure at the Grail Castle because an earlier wrong or “sin” committed against his
mother ties his tongue, preventing him from asking the questions he should. The Grail
Castle is closed to him, and, as he later learns, great misfortune spreads through the land
because of his fault, affecting orphans, widows, and others whom the knight should
protect. Perceval sets out to right the wrong. After five years of wandering, during which
time he forgets God, Perceval finds himself and God again at his uncle’s hermitage,
where he also learns of his fault. Interlaced with Perceval’s quest are the adventures of
Gauvain, accused of murder, and later obliged to seek the Bleeding Lance, which was
also found in the Grail Castle during Perceval’s visit there. The romance breaks off while
relating his remarkable adventures.
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