Chrétien de Troyes
c. 1130 – c. 1191
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet of the late twelfth century and the most influential author of Arthurian romance. Working at the courts of Marie of Champagne and Philip of Flanders, he wrote verse romances including Erec and Enide, Lancelot, Yvain, and the unfinished Perceval, which introduced the Grail into European literature. Almost nothing is known of his life beyond his works.
Lived at the same time
Well-documented people whose lives overlapped with Chrétien de Troyes.
- Averroes (1126–1198) Overlapped 61 years →
- Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122–1204) Overlapped 61 years →
- Jayavarman VII (1122–1218) Overlapped 61 years →
- Zhu Xi (1130–1200) Overlapped 61 years →
- Frederick Barbarossa (1122–1190) Overlapped 60 years →
- Bhaskara II (1114–1185) Overlapped 55 years →
Life events
Chrétien was probably born around 1130 in the region of Troyes in Champagne; no records of his birth survive.
By the 1160s Chrétien was writing at the court of Troyes, later enjoying the patronage of Countess Marie of Champagne, daughter of Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAround 1170 Chrétien composed Erec and Enide, generally considered the earliest surviving Arthurian romance.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgChrétien composed the romance Cligès, blending Arthurian and Byzantine material, around 1176.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAt the request of Marie of Champagne, Chrétien wrote Lancelot around 1177-1181, introducing the love affair of Lancelot and Guinevere; the poem was completed by Godefroi de Leigni.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgChrétien composed Yvain, often regarded as his most polished romance, in roughly the same period as Lancelot, around 1177-1181.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgChrétien began Perceval around 1182 under the patronage of Count Philip of Flanders, introducing the Grail into literature; the poem was left unfinished.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgChrétien is presumed to have died around 1191, apparently before completing Perceval; nothing certain is known of his death.