Yvain, Le Chevalier Au Lion
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, original_title_lang = fro , translator = , written = between 1178 and 1181 , country = , language =
Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
, subject =
Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Wester ...
, genre =
Chivalric romance As a literary genre, the chivalric romance is a type of prose and verse narrative that was popular in the noble courts of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a chivalric k ...
, form = , meter =
Octosyllable The octosyllable or octosyllabic verse is a line of verse with eight syllables. It is equivalent to tetrameter verse in trochees in languages with a stress accent. Its first occurrence is in a 10th-century Old French saint's legend, the '' Vie de ...
, rhyme =
Rhyming couplets A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...
, lines = 6,818 , oclc = , wikisource = Yvain, the Knight of the Lion , orig_lang_code = fr , native_wikisource = Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion ''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'' (french: Yvain ou le Chevalier au Lion) is an Arthurian
romance Romance (from Vulgar Latin , "in the Roman language", i.e., "Latin") may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings * Romance languages, ...
by French poet
Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...
. It was written c. 1180 simultaneously with ''
Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart , original_title_lang = fro , translator = , written = between 1177 and 1181 , country = , language = Old French , subject = Arthurian legend , genre = Chivalric romance , fo ...
'', and includes several references to the narrative of that poem. It is a story of knight-errantry, in which the protagonist
Yvain Sir Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien ...
is first rejected by his lady for breaking a very important promise, and subsequently performs a number of heroic deeds in order to regain her favour. The poem has been adapted into several other medieval works, including ''
Iwein ''Iwein'' is a Middle High German verse romance by the poet Hartmann von Aue, written around 1200. An Arthurian tale freely adapted from Chrétien de Troyes' Old French ''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'', it tells the story of Iwein (Yvain), a k ...
'' and '' Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain''.


Synopsis

In the narrative,
Yvain Sir Ywain , also known as Yvain and Owain among other spellings (''Ewaine'', ''Ivain'', ''Ivan'', ''Iwain'', ''Iwein'', ''Uwain'', ''Uwaine'', etc.), is a Knight of the Round Table in Arthurian legend, wherein he is often the son of King Urien ...
seeks to avenge his cousin,
Calogrenant The Knights of the Round Table ( cy, Marchogion y Ford Gron, kw, Marghekyon an Moos Krenn, br, Marc'hegien an Daol Grenn) are the knights of the fellowship of King Arthur in the literary cycle of the Matter of Britain. First appearing in lit ...
, who had been defeated by an
otherworld The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherwor ...
ly knight
Esclados Red Knight ( cy, Marchog Coch, kw, Marghek Rudh, br, Marc'heg Ruz) is a title borne by several characters in Arthurian legend. In legends Tales of Perceval The Red Knight prominently appears in the tales of the hero Perceval (Percival) as his ...
beside a magical storm-making stone in the forest of
Brocéliande Brocéliande, earlier known as Brécheliant and Brécilien, is a legendary enchanted forest that had a reputation in the medieval European imagination as a place of magic and mystery. Brocéliande is featured in several medieval texts, mostly r ...
. Yvain defeats Esclados and falls in love with his widow
Laudine Laudine is a character in Chrétien de Troyes's 12th-century romance ''Yvain, or, The Knight with the Lion'' and all of its adaptations, which include the Welsh tale of '' Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain'' and the German epic ''Iwein'' by ...
. With the aid of Laudine's servant
Lunete In Arthurian legend, Lunete (also known as Luned or Lunet) is a handmaiden and advisor to the Lady of the Fountain ( Laudine). It is she who is responsible for convincing Laudine to accept Ywain in marriage. She is described in Chrétien de Troyes' ...
, Yvain wins his lady and marries her, but
Gawain Gawain (), also known in many other forms and spellings, is a character in Arthurian legend, in which he is King Arthur's nephew and a Knight of the Round Table. The prototype of Gawain is mentioned under the name Gwalchmei in the earliest ...
convinces him to leave Laudine behind to embark on chivalric adventure. Laudine assents but demands he return after one year. Yvain becomes so enthralled in his knightly exploits that he forgets to return to his wife within the allotted time, so she rejects him. Yvain goes mad with grief, is cured by a noblewoman, and decides to rediscover himself and find a way to win back Laudine. A lion he rescues from a dragon proves to be a loyal companion and a symbol of knightly virtue, and helps him defeat a mighty giant, three fierce knights, and two demons. After Yvain rescues Lunete from being burned at the stake, she helps Yvain win back his wife, who allows him to return, along with his lion.


History and connections

''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'' was written by
Chrétien de Troyes Chrétien de Troyes (Modern ; fro, Crestien de Troies ; 1160–1191) was a French poet and trouvère known for his writing on Arthurian subjects, and for first writing of Lancelot, Percival and the Holy Grail. Chrétien's works, including ''E ...
in
Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
, simultaneously with his ''
Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart , original_title_lang = fro , translator = , written = between 1177 and 1181 , country = , language = Old French , subject = Arthurian legend , genre = Chivalric romance , fo ...
'', between 1177 and 1181. It survives in eight manuscripts and two fragments. It comprises 6,808
octosyllable The octosyllable or octosyllabic verse is a line of verse with eight syllables. It is equivalent to tetrameter verse in trochees in languages with a stress accent. Its first occurrence is in a 10th-century Old French saint's legend, the '' Vie de ...
s in
rhymed couplet A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...
s. Two manuscripts are illustrated, Paris BnF MS fr. 1433 and Princeton University Library Garrett MS 125 (c. 1295), the former incomplete with seven remaining miniatures and the latter with ten. Hindman (1994) discusses these illustrations as reflecting the development of the role of the knight, or the youthful
knight-errant A knight-errant (or knight errant) is a figure of medieval chivalric romance literature. The adjective '' errant'' (meaning "wandering, roving") indicates how the knight-errant would wander the land in search of adventures to prove his chivalric ...
, during the transitional period from the high to the late medieval period. The first modern edition was published in 1887 by
Wendelin Förster Wendelin Förster (often written as Foerster; 10 February 1844 – 18 May 1915) was an Austrian philologist and Romance scholar. Biography Förster was born in Wildschütz in Silesia (present day Vlčice, Czech Republic) and educated in Vienna, ...
. Chrétien's source for the poem is unknown, but the story bears a number of similarities to the
hagiographical A hagiography (; ) is a biography of a saint or an ecclesiastical leader, as well as, by extension, an adulatory and idealized biography of a founder, saint, monk, nun or icon in any of the world's religions. Early Christian hagiographies might ...
''Life of
Saint Mungo Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this ...
'' (also known as Saint Kentigern), which claims Owain mab Urien as the father of the saint by Denw, daughter of
Lot of Lothian King Lot , also spelled Loth or Lott (Lleu or Llew in Welsh), is a British monarch in Arthurian legend. He was introduced in Geoffrey of Monmouth's influential chronicle ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' that portrayed him as King Arthur's brother ...
.Duggan, Joseph J. (1987). In Chrétien de Troyes; Burton Raffel, ''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'', pp. 214–216. Yale University Press. The ''Life'' was written by
Jocelyn of Furness Jocelyn of Furness (fl. 1175–1214) was an English Cistercian hagiographer, known for his Lives of Saint Waltheof, Saint Patrick, Saint Kentigern and Saint Helena of Constantinople. He is probably responsible for the popular legendary associati ...
in c. 1185, and is thus slightly younger than Chrétien's text, but not influenced by it. Jocelyn states that he rewrote the 'life' from an earlier Glasgow legend and an old
Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
document, so that some elements of the story may originate in a British tradition. The name of the main character Yvain, at least, ultimately harks back to the name of the historical
Owain mab Urien Owain mab Urien (Middle Welsh Owein) (died c. 595) was the son of Urien, king of Rheged c. 590, and fought with his father against the Angles of Bernicia. The historical figure of Owain became incorporated into the Arthurian cycle of legends wh ...
(fl. 6th century). Other narrative motifs in ''Yvain'' have been convincingly traced to early Celtic lore. ''Yvain'' had a huge impact on the literary world. German poet
Hartmann von Aue Hartmann von Aue, also known as Hartmann von Ouwe, (born ''c.'' 1160–70, died ''c.'' 1210–20) was a German knight and poet. With his works including ''Erec'', '' Iwein'', ''Gregorius'', and ''Der arme Heinrich'', he introduced the Arthurian ...
used it as the basis for his masterpiece ''
Iwein ''Iwein'' is a Middle High German verse romance by the poet Hartmann von Aue, written around 1200. An Arthurian tale freely adapted from Chrétien de Troyes' Old French ''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'', it tells the story of Iwein (Yvain), a k ...
'', and the author of '' Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain'', one of the
Welsh Romances The Three Welsh Romances ( Welsh: ') are three Middle Welsh tales associated with the '' Mabinogion''. They are versions of Arthurian tales that also appear in the work of Chrétien de Troyes. Critics have debated whether the Welsh Romances are b ...
included in the ''
Mabinogion The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...
'', recast the work back into its Welsh setting. The poem was translated into a number of languages, including the
Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English p ...
''
Ywain and Gawain ''Ywain and Gawain'' is an early-14th century Middle English Arthurian verse romance based quite closely upon the late-12th-century Old French romance '' The Knight of the Lion'' by Chrétien de Troyes. Plot Ywain, one of King Arthur's Knights of ...
''; the
Old Norwegian nn, gamalnorsk , region = Kingdom of Norway (872–1397) , era = 11th–14th century , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = North Germanic , fam4 = West Scandinavian , fam5 ...
Chivaldric ''Ívens saga'', and the
Old Swedish Old Swedish (Swedish language, Modern Swedish: ) is the name for two distinct stages of the Swedish language that were spoken in the Middle Ages: Early Old Swedish (), spoken from about 1225 until about 1375, and Late Old Swedish (), spoken fro ...
'' Herr Ivan''. The Valþjófsstaður door in Iceland, c. 1200, depicts a version of the ''Yvain'' story with a carving of a knight slaying a dragon that threatens a lion; the lion is later shown wearing a rich collar and following the knight, and later still the lion appears to be lying on the grave of the knight.


See also

* Henry the Lion in folklore and fiction


References


Bibliography

*Chrétien de Troyes; Owen, D. D. R. (translator) (1988). ''Arthurian Romances''. New York:
Everyman's Library Everyman's Library is a series of reprints of classic literature, primarily from the Western canon. It is currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent (itself later a division of Weidenfeld & Ni ...
. . *Chrétien de Troyes; Raffel, Burton (translator) (1987). ''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion''.
Yale University Press Yale University Press is the university press of Yale University. It was founded in 1908 by George Parmly Day, and became an official department of Yale University in 1961, but it remains financially and operationally autonomous. , Yale Universi ...
. . *Lacy, Norris J. (1991). "Chrétien de Troyes". In Norris J. Lacy, ''The New Arthurian Encyclopedia'', pp. 88–91. New York: Garland. .


Further reading

* * * * * * * * *


External links

(includes ''Yvain'')
Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at Princeton University Library
(page has a links to a pdf file of a facsimile of Garrett MS 125)
''Yvain, the Knight of the Lion'' in a freely-distributable PDF document
* {{Authority control 1170s books 12th-century poems Arthurian literature in French French poems Medieval French romances Love stories Works by Chrétien de Troyes