Chrétien de Troyes

Chrétien de Troyes (fl. late 12th century), French poet, born probably in Troyes. Chrétien was one of the medieval trouvères, a group of lyric poets of northern France who were influenced by the romantic verse of the poets of southern France known as troubadours. He was one of the first poets to write metrical romances in rhymed couplets, dealing with the semi-legendary English king Arthur and his knights. These poems, imbued with the ideals of chivalry and courtly love, include Percival, or the Story of the Grail, the earliest literary version of the legend of the Holy Grail; Erec and Enide; and Lancelot, or the Knight of the Cart, in which Arthur's favourite knight and rival in love is introduced. Chrétien's sources for these works are the subject of scholarly dispute, but his skilful and imaginative narrative led to his being widely imitated by poets in various European countries. He is considered the originator of the medieval romance and was praised by Dante for his contribution to French narrative verse.

Other works by Chrétien de Troyes include imitations of the Latin poet Ovid and Guillaume d'Angleterre (William of England), based on the legend of St Eustace.