The action centers on Lancelot's rescue of the queen after she has been abducted by Meleagant, the son of Bademagu. The Abduction of Guinevere is one of the oldest motifs in Arthurian legend, appearing also in Caradoc of Llancarfan's Life of Gildas and carved on the archivolt in Modena Cathedral. Chrétien's works include five major poems in rhyming eight-syllable couplets. Four of these are complete; 'Erec and Enide' (c. 1170); 'Cligès' (c. 1176), and 'Yvain, the Knight of the Lion' and 'Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart', both written simultaneously between 1177 and 1181. Chrétien's final romance was 'Perceval, the Story of the Grail', written between 1181 and 1190, but left unfinished, though some scholars have disputed this. This volume includes a comprehensive set of linked footnotes to deepen the reading experience.
