Chrétien de Troyes has 4 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 4 narrators, with an average listener rating of 4★ across 2 ratings. The most-rated is Four Arthurian Romances.
Four Arthurian Romances
Summary
The Arthurian Romances by Chrétien de Troyes form the wellspring of the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Stories of knightly valour in the Welsh Marches had existed before the 12th century, but it was the magnificent poetry and imagination of Chrétien, the 12th century French poet and trouvère, which brought alive the great characters of Arthur, his wife Guinevere, Lancelot and others. In fact, it was here, in these romances, that the tale of Lancelot of the Lake and his fated love for Guinevere first made its appearance in European literature. And far from being trapped in formal medieval stanzas, their passion has come down to us in words that still resonate: 'From the moment he caught sight of her, he did not turn or take his eyes and face from her.' From these four romances emerge a chivalric Arthurian vision as vivid and human as the more familiar telling by Sir Thomas Malory three centuries later. The three other stories are equally rich and compelling, painting images of knightly ethics, courageous deeds and above all love, honour and service. Chrétien's telling is the outstanding Arthurian literary source, bringing together as it does the British plot, the characters and the adventures with a French courtly sensitivity. Though less known than Lancelot and Guinevere, the story of the trials leading to the love between Eric and Enide is just as memorable; in Cligès, the young hero travels between Greece and Arthur's court in order to win his spurs and his love; and in Yvain, the knight is helped by a faithful lion to achieve his aim. These Four Arthurian Romances are read with full commitment by Nicholas Boulton using the translation by W. W. Comfort.
Public Domain (P)2017 Ukemi Productions Ltd
Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart
Summary
Chrétien de Troyes's masterpiece Lancelot, The Knight of the Cart is a riveting tale of knightly valor and courtly love. This romance marks the first known appearance of Lancelot as a major player in the Arthurian canon, and it also provides the first account of his affair with Guinevere. The first half of the narrative follows Lancelot (then unnamed) as he rescues Guinevere, who has been taken hostage by the evil Méléagant. Méléagant visits Arthur's court, boasting that he has ensnared many from Arthur's land (Logres). He ultimately convinces Arthur through trickery to give him Guinevere, and sets out to bring her to his homeland of Gorre as another prisoner. When Lancelot ends up without a horse, he encounters a dwarf with a cart, who claims to have information about the queen's whereabouts. However, he will not share his information unless Lancelot ride in his pillory cart, which is usually reserved for criminals, and hence brings shame to any who ride in it. Lancelot nevertheless rides in the cart, which brings him much shame and causes confusion amongst many he encounters.
©2021 Erika.Translated by A. S. Kline (P)2021 Erika
Lanzarote o el Caballero de la Carreta
Summary
Lanzarote o el caballero de la carreta no solo se distingue por ser la precursora de la narrativa moderna, sino que destaca aún más si cabe, por su aportación trascendental a la literatura artúrica. Con Chrétien de Troyes el héroe emprende sus hazañas, exclusivamente, por amor a una dama o una doncella. El denominado amor cortés importado de los trovadores occitanos. Es así como Lanzarote, por su desmedido amor a Ginebra, sensual y carnal a la vez, traiciona incluso a su propio rey Arturo. Chrétien de Troyes fue un poeta en la corte de Champaña. Fue el primer novelista de Francia y se dice que fue el padre de la novela occidental.
©2020 SAGA Egmont (P)2020 SAGA Egmont
Perceval
Summary
Chrétien de Troyes' Perceval is the single most important Arthurian romance. It contains the very first mention of the mysterious grail, later to become the Holy Grail and the focal point of the spiritual quest of the knights of Arthur's court. Chrétien left the poem unfinished, but the extraordinary and intriguing theme of the Grail was too good to leave, and other poets continued and eventually completed it. This is the only English translation to include selections from the three continuations and from the work of Gerbert de Montreuil, making the romance a coherent whole, and following through Chrétien's essential theme of the making of a knight, in both worldly and spiritual terms. It is not hard to see why Chrétien’s unfinished story of the Grail proved such a compelling story, for its fundamental theme could hardly have been bolder, clearer or move movingly simple - or more important to its medieval audience. It is about the making of a knight in the most complete sense. It is not by chance that the story begins with a boy who had been brought up in a remote forest with no knowledge whatever of the world of knighthood and with only the haziest understanding of matters religious - he does not even know what a church is, let alone a knight’s hauberk, shield or lance. Chrétien’s plan is so forthright and sweeping that he sets out to depict a knight’s development from a point of total innocence and ignorance. The importance of the spiritual alongside the martial in the development of a knight, symbolised so powerfully by the Broken Sword, is a constantly recurring theme. Gerbert de Montreuil, whose poem is by far the most inspired and methodical continuation of Chrétien’s themes, shows by his handling of the broken sword motif that he was acutely aware of how much remained to be done before Perceval was fully worthy to know the secrets of the grail and the lance. Nigel Bryant’s fluent and engaging translation, with his useful opening introduction to the subject and texts, makes this an absorbing account of the essential Arthurian romance, the origin of the Grail legend. Read with warmth and engagement by Mike Rogers.
©1982 Nigel Bryant (P)2020 Ukemi Productions Ltd