Enide :: Medieval Literature Essays

Enide Just as with Erec, the origin of Enide is widely debated. There are two basic theories of how she came into existence in medieval literature. One theory is that it was Chretien De Troyes who created the characters Erec and Enide, and it was the Welsh that drew off of Chretienà ­s work in order to fabricate their own tales of the two (Owen xvi). This theory may have evolved due to the fact that "Wales contributed very little, or even nothing of importance to the Arthurian legend as it developed in France, and Germany and then in England" (Jones and Jones xxv). Chretien was therefore given the credit because of his extensive writings on the Arthurian legends, and the fact that he was French. However, a more widely accepted theory is that the story of Erec and Enide was derived from the Welsh (Jones xxv). Evidence supporting this theory is that of the "comparative folktale, of proper names and linguistics, and what may be reasonably if tentatively deduced from the methods of literary c omposition in the Middle Ages" (Jones xxvi). Due to the fact that no one is sure who wrote about Enide first, the task of finding where she first appears in literature is daunting undertaking. Nevertheless, we are able to fill in some of the gaps as to where Enide is mentioned in some texts. Circa 1170, Chretien De Troyes wrote Erec and Enide that can be found in Chretienà ­s collection entitled Arthurian Romances. Erec also appears in The Mabinogion, another collection of Arthurian tales. In this book, Erec, also called Geraint, appears in the tale Geraint son of Erbin. Lord Alfred Tennyson includes Enide in two out of the four Idylls of the King. Both "The Marriage of Geraint" and "Geraint and Enide" were written between 1809 and 1892. Enide also appears in some lesser-known, more modern works. These include two plays: Ernest Rhyà ­s Enid: A Lyric Play (1918) and Donald R. Raweà ­s Geraint: last of the Arthurians (1972), and Marion Lee Reynoldsà ­ poem Geraint of Devon (Lupack ). Enide, daughter of a poor Earl, although dressed shabbily, is described to be the most beautiful woman ever created. Chretien describes her: I tell you truly that the hair of the blonde Iseut did not shine so fair that she could stand with her. Her brow and face were more pure and white than the lily. Her features were tinted with a fresh rosy hue wondrously painted by Nature upon the whiteness.