Chretien

Chretien, or Chrestiens de Troyes, a poet and romance-writer of the 12th century, of whose life little is known, but as several of his works were dedicated to Philip of Alsace, Count of Flanders, killed at the siege of St. Jean d'Acre (1190), it is conjectured that he lived under the patronage of that prince. His death is assigned to 1196. As specimens of early French language and style, and as supplying links in the Arthurian legend, his remains are of high interest. They display, moreover, considerable ingenuity, and a pure yet vivid imagination. The six romances that may be confidently pronounced to be his are: - 1. Irec et Enide, from which Tennyson has borrowed; 2. Cliges or Cliget; 3. La Chevalier au Lion; 4. Guillaume d'Angleterre, more modern in treatment; 5. Le Chevalier de la Charette, dealing with Lancelot du Lac; and 6. Perceval le Gallois, a very popular poem translated into all the languages of Europe. Tristan et Yseult, and Le Chevalier de l'Epee are lost, and the other poems attributed to him are unauthentic.