Chretien De Troyes by Topsfield, L.T - 1981: A Study of Arthurian Romances

Leslie Topsfield has established a reputation as a leading scholar of medieval French literature through a number of publications including Troubadours and Love (first published by Cambridge in 1975). In his new book, Dr. Topsfield turns his attention to the five Arthurian romances of Chretien de Troyes. He attempts to show the ways in which this most enigmatic and influential of medieval romance-writers reveals his ideas about man, society and God. The book studies the evolution of these ideas from Chretien's earliest known romance, Erec and Enide, through Cliges, Lancelot and Yvain, to the unfinished Perceval or Le Conte du Graal.

Dr. Topsfield demonstrates the importance of Chretien de Troyes for the development of the genre of medieval romance, and the establishment of Arthurian material within the Western literary tradition. In this respect, the book will be of interest to all those involved in European medieval studies.