Chrétien de Troyes

Chrétien de Troyes (* 1140 in Troyes, † 1190 ) was a French author.

Chrétien is considered the founder of the genus Courtly novel and as its main representative in the Old French literature. His verse romances also have the literary and artistic influence throughout Europe sustainable. For example you were a model for the Middle High German epic poet Hartmann von Aue and Wolfram von Eschenbach.

Life

Concrete life data Chrétiens are not known, except that he is in his novel Erec et Enide as derived from Troyes called ( he wrote in the dialect of Champagne) and that he must have enjoyed a good education like a cleric. His creative period extended obvious from about 1160 to the 1180s - years into it. One of his novels, Lancelot, was written, according to the dedication on behalf of the Countess Marie de Champagne, which was given this title by her marriage in 1164; his last and unfinished work, the Conte du Graal, Count Philip of Flanders is dedicated to the 1169 took over the title and in 1180 (which does not mention the obviously written before that date dedication) Regent of France was. Chrétien must therefore have temporarily been in relation to the said princes in each case after 1164 and before or around 1180.

The audience Chrétien were these and other princely patrons, including wives, ladies and damsels in distress, as well as the living or circulating at their courts small and medium sized military and administrative nobility. His work documents the culmination of the power of these territorial princes ( dukes, counts, etc. ), the courts competed in the 11th and 12th centuries as power and cultural centers with the court of the French kings.

Creation

The works of Chrétien are not completely preserved. Narrated are mainly five novels whose materials mainly come from the so-called Matière de Brittany, the Celtic- Britannic cycle of legends of King Arthur. This sagas are probably widespread oral stories, just as they are processed in the Welsh Mabinogion and the Irish echtrai ( tales of adventure trips). These substances accumulate Chrétien with fictional episodes and transferred the actions in a world that corresponded to the court zeitgeist. The ideas of love-service, as they had been developed in the troubadour lyric, flow into his epics; mainly is the Minne content of the numerous dialogues and inner monologues. His method of creating of different elements an elaborately structured and meaningful action, Chrétien called a novelist with self-confidence a molt bele conjointure ( "a very nice connection ").

His novel Cliges he initiates with a catalog of works, ranging up to about 1170. According to these statements, he would have first written Erec et Enide, later, the transmissions of the Ars Amatoria and Remedia amoris of Ovid, then a history of " King Mark and the blond Isolde " and three adaptations of transformation legends from Ovid's Metamorphoses. The works referred to are not survived down to the Erec and the transformation legend of Philomena, the nightingale.

From Chrétien's works are, besides a few poems to the courtly love theme, especially novels with pairs of rhyming eight Silver posterity been handed down:

Erec et Enide ( created after 1160 ) is the story of the king's son Erec. Once the knight has distinguished himself early in Arthur's court, he married a young woman named Enide. Out of love he neglects his knightly duties. From it noted he realizes his mistake, but doubts their love and pulls together with her out to adventure. EREC is numerous fights, learns in return, the fidelity of his wife and returns gloriously back to the Artus Court. Later, he followed his father Lac to as king.

Cliges ( created 1165-1170 ) has 6784 verses is divided into two parts: a history and the actual narrative structure. The first part tells of the Byzantine emperor's son Alexandre, who travels to Arthur's court, there in love with the maid of honor Soredamors, she marries and returns after a long time with her ​​and his son Cliges to Byzantium. Meanwhile, his younger brother Ali has occupied the throne. Shortly thereafter dies Alexandre and Ali remains emperor because he breaks the promise to leave his nephew Cliges the throne. Ali breaks the vow to remain unmarried and decides Fenice, the daughter of the German emperor to marry. A Byzantine delegation reached Cologne; among them is also Cliges who falls in love with Fenice and desires the bride of his uncle's wife. A sorceress nurse ensures that Fenice, which has to marry Ali, is affected by this, only in his dreams. Cliges who can not stand the wait, go on an adventure trip to King Arthur. After his return, he manages to kidnap Fenice as a seemingly dead and to love in secret for a while. Both are discovered. The couple must flee to it (unlike Tristan Isolde ) can marry and assume the throne after the death of Ali. The beginning of the Cliges contains the famous thesis of the " translatio studii " the dissemination of scholarship that had been transferred from the Greeks to the Romans, and by them to the French.

Le Chevalier de la charrette (formed in 1170 ) is the colorful story of the adventures is the young knight Lancelot to find the kidnapped queen Guenièvre, the wife of King Arthur, and to prove to her his entsagungs and devoted love (which once rewarded for short). The last 1000 verses of Lancelot were written by a certain Godefroi de Lagny, apparently with the knowledge and according to plans Chrétien, who looks a bit dull in this commissioned work from the beginning.

Le Chevalier au lion (originating from 1170 ) is a story of the Arthurian knight Yvain, who married the young widow of a slain by him in knightly duel Castle Lord can soon take leave of her, and goes on an adventure ride. The compound annual appointment his return forgets the knight who can reconcile his wife only after many tests passed, in which he purifies himself the ideal knight.

Perceval or Li Contes del Graal ( begun in 1180 for Philip of Flanders) is the attempt to penetrate the genre of courtly novel with Christian elements and the myth of the Holy Grail. The novel tells the story of the grown in a forest solitude boy Perceval, who becomes the Arthurian knights and Gralsucher. In addition to the Perceval - action Chrétien tells the story of the knight Gawain. The work that Chrétien had clearly planned as the sum and summit of man and his work, remained at first, apparently by his death, by around 9000 verses unfinished. The fragment was later continued by several unknown successors to, and extends to about 32,000 verses.

The adventure novel Guillaume d' Angleterre has long been attributed to Chrétien de Troyes. The story of a fictional English king comes according to recent research from one, except his name Chretien, unknown author.

Afterlife

Chrétien's Erec and Yvain were retightened before or around 1200 by Hartmann von Aue in Middle High German verse, which soon after 1200 by Wolfram von Eschenbach Perceval - a sign of how exemplary the French literature from across worked in France's neighboring countries at this time.

In France almost all novels Chrétien were rewritten for a predominantly urban audience in prose in the 13th century. In particular, the extensive prose Lancelot was widely read and was written and read to the 15th century.

In England in the 15th century, Sir Thomas Malory compiled various strands of the Arthurian legends. Even Richard Wagner was inspired ( mediated by tungsten) of fabrics Chrétien.

List of works

• Erec et Enide ( about 1170 ); Erec and Enide dt: see Erec by Hartmann von Aue
• Cliges (about 1176 )
• Le Chevalier de la charrette (about 1177-1181 ); German Lancelot or the Knight carts
• Yvain ou Le Chevalier au lion (about 1177-1181 ); German Iwain or the Knight of the Lion: see Iwein by Hartmann von Aue
• Li Contes del Graal ou Le roman de Perceval (1182-1191), not completed; German Perceval or the Story of the Grail
• Guillaume d' Angleterre ( 1175 ); dt William of England (probably not written by AD de Troyes, but another Chrétien )

Werkausgaben

• Les romans de Chrétien de Troyes. Édités d'après la copie de Guiot (Bibl. Nat., Fr. 794 ). 5 volumes (in 6 ). H. Champion, Paris ( Old French text, introduction and glossary French); Volume 1: Erec et Enide ( = Les Classiques Francais du Moyen Âge No. 80, ISSN 0755-1959. ). Publié par Mario Roques. 1952 ( ibid. Nachdruck. 2009, ISBN 978-2-7453-1955-5 );
• Volume 2: Cliges. ( = Les Classiques Francais du Moyen Âge. No. 84). Publié par Alexandre Micha. 1957 ( ibid. Nachdruck. 1982, ISBN 2-85203-045-4 );
• Volume 3: Le Chevalier de la Charrete ( = Les Classiques Francais du Moyen Âge No. 86. ). Publié par Mario Roques. 1958 ( ibid. Nachdruck. 1997, ISBN 2-85203-807-2 );
• Volume 4: Le Chevalier au Lion ( Yvain ) (= Les Classiques Francais du Moyen Âge No. 89. ). Publié par Mario Roques. 1960 ( ibid. Nachdruck. 1999, ISBN 2-7453-0210-8 );
• Volume 5 subband 1: Le Conte du Graal ( Perceval ) (= Les Classiques Francais du Moyen Âge No. 100. ). Volume 1: v. 1-6008. Publié par Félix Lecoy. 1972 ( Nachdruck. ibid, 1990, ISBN 2-85203-039- X);
• Volume 5 volume 2: Le Conte du Graal ( Perceval ) (= Les Classiques Francais du Moyen Âge No. 103. ). Volume 2: Verse 6009-8960. Publié par Félix Lecoy. 1975, ISBN ( Nachdruck. ibid. 1998, ISBN 2-85203-910-9 ).

Dictionary

• Wendelin Foerster: Dictionary to Kristian von Troyes ' all works. Revised and Revised: Hermann Breuer. 5, unchanged edition. Niemeyer Tübingen 1973, ISBN 3-484-50006-9.